Agreement to Support Healthy Rivers & Landscapes
The voluntary agreements approach marks “a path forward, one that will … set us up for a secure and prosperous water future.” Gov. Gavin Newsom
TID, MID and the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission have proposed a comprehensive alternative, the Agreements to Support Healthy Rivers & Landscapes, for continued management of Chinook salmon and O. mykiss (rainbow trout) within the lower Tuolumne River. The alternative is based on Tuolumne River specific studies and relevant scientific literature, and forms the substance of Don Pedro Project Amended Final License Application and LaGrange Licensing Application.
The agencies have funded more than 200 publicly available studies relevant to salmon and their habitat in the lower Tuolumne River.
The Tuolumne River Agreements to Support Healthy Rivers & Landscapes provides a foundation for comprehensively managing the Tuolumne River. It provides benefits to fish and their habitats as well as to farms, businesses and communities that depend on the river for water supply.
Protecting Fish, Farms and Future Generations
Self-funded by the Partners
At least $80 million dedicated for specific habitat improvements.
Implementation can commence immediately and will not depend on state or federal grants, loans, taxes, or fees.
A 8-year management plan based on solid science and responsiveness to nature
Multiple ecosystem
benefits
Greater flows to help fish
Enhanced habitat for feeding, spawning and rearing
Suppression of non-native predators to improve salmon outmigration success
Balances water supply
needs across all sectors
Environment
Cities, communities and industries
Agriculture
Key Elements Of The Agreements To Support Healthy Rivers & Landscapes
Elevated River Flows for the Environment
More water for all year types: Enhanced flows will occur in all water year types, even the most challenging, from just over 24,000 acre-feet of greater flows to approximately 110,000 acre-feet above current requirements.
Responding to hydrological variation: The Agreements to support healthy rivers & landscapes provides a variable flow schedule for every season of every water year type to meet in-river life cycle needs of native fish species.
In dry and critically dry years, for example, the Agreements to support healthy rivers & landscapes will provide 75 to 125 cubic feet per second (cfs) of water to serve environmental needs, which is more than under the current flow schedule.
Depending on water year type, a new floodplain pulse flow of 2,750 (cfs) for up to 20 days will be released to enhance fish habitat.
Improved Habitat and Predation Control to Support Fish Populations
Habitat Improvements: The Tuolumne River Partners are investing $83 million for non-flow measures in and along the river to support native fish species throughout their in-river life cycles, including:
Increased gravel to support and improve spawning.
Creation of additional quality habitat for fish, including enhanced and increased in-channel and floodplain habitat.
Placement of large woody debris to improve habitat complexity.
Predation Control: The Agreements to support healthy rivers & landscapes includes active control measures targeting striped and black bass that prey on juvenile out-migrating salmon.
Expected Benefits
Enhancing Fish Populations
The Agreements to Support Healthy Rivers & Landscapes contains flow and non-flow measures designed to enhance in-river spawning, rearing, and out-migrating conditions to help more juvenile salmon survive.
Salmon productivity is expected to increase by 150 percent over current conditions and more than 80 percent over conditions in the State Water Board’s Bay-Delta Plan Update flow regime.
Preserving Water Supply for A Strong Economy
Water supplies will be protected for agricultural, business, and municipal interests served by the Tuolumne River Partners.
Economic savings are estimated at nearly $50 billion in economic output.
Job creation is estimated at more than 194,000 jobs.
A Statewide Vision
The Agreements to Support Healthy Rivers & Landscapes is a suite of several Voluntary Agreements being forged in Northern and Central California. These agreements seek to:
Enhance sensitive fish species and their habitats.
Ensure a reliable water supply for urban and rural residents, farms, businesses, and industry.
These agreements represent a more progressive way of managing watersheds than current regulatory approaches and have widespread support by government agencies, environmental stewards, as well as agricultural, businesses, and civic leaders throughout the Sacramento and San Joaquin Valleys and the San Francisco Peninsula.
“The Tuolumne River Voluntary Agreement ushers in a new era of cooperative management on the river and its floodplain to ensure ecosystem health, reliable water supplies and economic strength for the future.”
The Agreements to support Healthy Rivers & Landscapes Partners: Turlock Irrigation District, Modesto Irrigation District and San Francisco Public Utilities Commission