1. science
2. ecology
3. pollution

May 11, 2015
The Honorable Jerry Brown
Governor, State of California
State Capitol
Sacramento, CA 95814
The Honorable Kevin de Leon
Senate President Pro Tempore
State Capitol
Sacramento, CA 95814
The Honorable Toni Atkins
Assembly Speaker
State Capitol
Sacramento, CA 94249
Dear Governor Brown, President Pro Tem de Leon, and Speaker Atkins:
The drought is taking a major toll on California’s rivers and everything they support, from fish
and wildlife to the river recreation and fishing industries that generate billions of dollars and
thousands of jobs in the state. The undersigned organizations urge California’s elected leaders
to pursue sustainable drought solutions to address this crisis and ensure rivers are protected
from further harm.
Rivers have been providing more than their fair share of water for years, and it has stretched
them beyond their ability to give. California rivers have suffered from a permanent drought as
on average, more than half of their natural flow has been diverted for consumptive purposes.
The current crisis has greatly exacerbated the problem as the State Water Resources Control
Board, and other agencies, have relaxed environmental flow standards to reduce cuts to
agricultural and urban water users.
While we are encouraged by several actions you have taken to advance sustainable water
solutions, pressure is growing for short-sighted policies that would devastate our rivers while
doing virtually nothing to address the drought crisis. Some state and federal decision-makers
are pushing to build expensive and destructive new dams that provide few real benefits,
weaken environmental protections, undermine the public trust doctrine enshrined in the
California Constitution, and undermine the State Water Resource Control Board’s authority to
keep an adequate amount of water in our rivers to maintain water quality.
There are also efforts to de-designate Wild & Scenic Rivers to open them up for water
infrastructure development. The United States House of Representatives has voted twice to strip
the Merced River of its Wild & Scenic status, and two appointees to the California Water
Commission, Anthony Saracino and Dave Orth, have expressed a desire to use funds from the water
bond to raise Shasta Dam, which would violate existing state protection for the McCloud River.
Building massive surface storage projects will not address the water crisis. The Public Policy
Institute of California recently reported that the five major surface water storage projects
currently under study (including the three most controversial projects – the Shasta Dam raise,
Temperance Flat Dam, and Sites Reservoir) will cost roughly $9 billion but increase annual
average supplies by just 1 percent. What these projects will do is put the state deeper in debt,
delay our pursuit of real solutions, and destroy rivers along with Native American culture,
family ranches, and thousands of acres of habitat for wildlife.
Californians and our rivers deserve better. While the Governor’s April 1 Executive Order, and
subsequent action by the SWRCB was another step in the right direction, more work is
urgently needed—especially in the agricultural sector which represents 80% of the water we
use in California—to incentivize farmers to plant water-efficient crops and improve farming
practices that move away from flood irrigation to more efficient methods.
While our organizations will continue to provide extensive policy recommendations related to
the drought, such as those presented in Wetter or Not—Actions to Ease the Current Drought
and Prepare for the Next, we are currently focused on legislative priorities and issues and urge
the following actions:
1. Oppose any potential legislative efforts to weaken environmental protections for rivers
such as removing Wild & Scenic River protections for the McCloud River, reducing
minimum flow standards, or shortcutting the environmental review process for surface
storage projects by undercutting the California Environmental Quality Act. These
protections are set to protect our waterways and inform the public and elected decision
makers in times like these and should remain. Legislation to repeal Wild & Scenic
protections from rivers is particularly dangerous as it would set a precedent that would
undoubtedly lead to subsequent efforts to de-designate rivers.
2. Oppose AB 1242 (Gray) as it would undermine the Water Board’s authority to require
adequate instream flows to protect water quality, fish and wildlife, and aquatic habitat.
Maintaining and restoring flows in our rivers preserves water quality and protects fish and
wildlife, as well as thousands of fishing jobs across the state that depend on healthy rivers.
3. Support SB 226 (Pavley), and expedite implementation of the Sustainable Groundwater
Management Act of 2014, especially for critical overdraft basins, to ensure that the
limits on surface water sources do not lead to over-pumping of groundwater and the
collapse of our aquifers—California’s largest, cheapest, and most environmentally
sound reservoirs.
4. Support SB 637 (Allen) to provide for the regulation of motorized suction dredge gold
mining. Suction dredge mining mobilizes mercury in the riverbed and sends a plume of
pollution downstream that violates state standards for toxic mercury. The current
statewide moratorium on suction dredge mining permits is under court challenge. It is
essential that the Legislature act now to ensure protection of our drinking water and
river ecosystems, using the Water Board’s authority under the federal Clean Water Act.
5. Support AB 142 (Bigelow) to require the Resources Secretary to study and make a
recommendation to the Legislature as to whether 37 miles of the Mokelumne River
should be protected in the California Wild & Scenic Rivers System. The river would be protected
from new dams and major diversions until the study is completed and the Legislature acts on
the Secretary’s recommendation.
6. Support SB 555 (Wolk) to take a needed step toward reducing system losses by
requiring annual water loss audits and reporting. A 2009 study found that California
water utilities lose an estimated total of 0.87 million acre-feet per year (Water Systems
Optimization Inc. 2009), equivalent to about 21 gallons per capita per day.
7. Support AB1, now in the Senate, (Brown) to prohibit a city or county from imposing a
fine for a brown lawn or failure to water a lawn during a period for which the Governor
has issued a state of emergency due to drought conditions.
On behalf of our organizations, and the millions of Californians we represent, we urge you to
protect our rivers as we all work together to address the drought crisis.
Sincerely,
Eric Wesselman
Friends of the River
Dave Steindorf
American Whitewater
Cecily Smith
Foothill Conservancy
Patrick Koepele
Tuolumne River Trust
Bill Jennings
California Sportfishing Protection Alliance
Caleen Sisk
Winnemem Wintu Tribe
Lucas RossMerz
Sacramento River Preservation Trust
Caleb Dardick
South Yuba River Citizens League
Lowell Ashbaugh
Northern California Council of the
International Federation of Fly Fishers
Elena DeLacy
American River Conservancy
John Dye
Rivers For Change
Scott Greacen
Friends of the Eel River
Jill Ratner
Rose Foundation for Communities and the
Environment
Carolee Krieger
C-WIN
Kathy Bunton
Delta Kayak Adventures
Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla
Restore the Delta
Grant Werschkull
Smith River Alliance
Gavin Feiger
Sierra Nevada Alliance
/s/ Frank Egger
North Coast Rivers Alliance
Nate Rangel
California Outdoors
/s/ Keith Miller
California Canoe and Kayak
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