Tom Howard, Executive Director of the State Water Resources Control Board, has sent a letter to Ron Milligan at the Bureau of Reclamation, temporarily suspending the Sacramento River Temperature Management Plan approved on May 14th until further notice.
The temperature management plan was submitted as by Reclamation as condition of the Temporary Urgency Change Petition approved on April 6 for the state and federal water projects, and is intended to protect winter run Chinook salmon.
In the letter, Mr. Howard notes that at the time the plan was approved, it was based on temperature modeling that Reclamation submitted indicating temperature could be maintained throughout the control season. The approval also required the Bureau to update the plan should conditions change.
Mr. Howard notes that at the May 20 workshop on drought-related activities, the Board heard significant concerns with the temperature management plan and as a result, several board members requested a margin of safety be added. At the same time, preliminary information submitted by Reclamation indicates that temperatures are significantly warmer than expected, likely making it impossible to maintain the temperatures required throughout the temperature control season. In addition, Mr. Howard notes that the US Fish and Wildlife Service is showing that water temperatures coming from Whiskeytown Dam into Clear Creek are about 2 degrees warmer than last year and 3 degrees warmer than average.
Therefore Mr. Howard is suspending the temperature management plan until further notice. Next week, fisheries agencies, Reclamation and the State Water Board will work to develop an updated temperature management plan which considers this new information. In the meantime, releases from Keswick Reservoir are to be no more than 7,500 cfs and lower if possible.
These issues will be discussed further at the June 2nd Board meeting.
Bottom line: This is bad news for Central Valley Project water users who were expecting to receive some water supplies.
Read the full letter here: 5-29-15 sac temp plan suspend OSB
More information …
- May 14, 2015 – Letter from State Water Board Executive Director to U.S. Bureau of Reclamation regarding Sacramento River Temperature Modeling and Operations.
- May 4, 2015 – Email from U.S. Bureau of Reclamation regarding Sacramento River Temperature Modeling Information
- More information at the State Water Project and Central Valley Project Temporary Urgency Change Petition webpage.
