The Water Report: Water Rights, Water Quality and Water Solutions in the West Issue 17

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July 15, 2005 The Water Report GRAVELLY ; FORD R i FRIANT DAM GENERALLOCATION Copyright© 2005 Envirotech Publications; Reproduction without permission strictly prohibited. 21 Discovery will also be required to evaluate whether the historic fishery can actually be restored and, Fish & Farms if so, what must be done to accomplish that result. Any attempt to order a remedy to restore the historical fishery faces nearly insurmountable obstacles. Unless these obstacles are overcome, any water spent in Historic Fishery the attempt to restore the historical fishery will be "wasted." Depriving irrigators of that water would Restoration also result in severe economic impacts. Thus, it is extremely unlikely that these obstacles can be overcome in a manner that is "reasonable, prudent and feasible." The remainder of this article describes the physical challenges that defendants contend will frustrate any effort to restore the historic fishery on the San Joaquin River, as well as the economic impacts that could be expected to accompany such efforts. Challenges to Restoration of the River FRIANT DAM TO GRAVELLY FORD For the first 38 miles below Friant Dam, the San Joaquin River supports a healthy fishery. Salmon spawning, however, could potentially occur only in the upper portion of this reach of the river. Spawning generally takes place from about September through December. For salmon to spawn successfully, there Gravel Needs must be sufficiently large areas of gravel, of certain sizes and depths in the spawning riffles to allow the spawning salmon to dig out redds. Gravel in this reach is very limited due to prior gravel mining operations and gravel movement along the river is restricted due to the presence of several dams. Even if the dams did not restrict gravel movement, the amount of water required to transport gravel and scour the riverbed would be approximately 20,000 cfs. Friant Dam's valves, however, can only release a maximum of 16,400 cfs. Moreover, as explained below, the current maximum channel capacity is only 8,000 cfs. The river must be at certain temperatures to support suitable habitat. For example, temperatures Temperature above 56° F. would result in mortality of incubating eggs and decreased hatching success. Maintaining proper temperatures for salmon and steelhead may adversely impact other native fish species requiring warmer temperatures. Moreover, there may not be sufficient capacity in Millerton Reservoir to produce the volume of cold water required to reach the confluence of the San Joaquin and Merced Rivers. Even if it did have sufficient capacity, the San Joaquin River is very flat, which tends to result in higher temperatures. GRAVELLY ; FORD R i FRIANT DAM GENERALLOCATION Copyright© 2005 Envirotech Publications; Reproduction without permission strictly prohibited. 21