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Sonoma County backs binding water diversion agreement to preserve Russian River supplies while pursuing Eel River restoration
Summary
The Board of Supervisors unanimously authorized execution of a water diversion agreement with IRPA and Sonoma Water to keep water moving from the Eel to the Russian River while supporting fish restoration. The agreement includes diversion rules, lease payments to Round Valley and preliminary cost estimates; major federal and state approvals are still required.
The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors on July 22 authorized county leaders to sign a binding water diversion agreement intended to preserve transfers from the Eel River into the Russian River while advancing habitat restoration in the Eel.
Grant Davis, general manager of Sonoma Water, and David Manning, the agency's division manager for environmental resources, presented the Potter Valley Project background and the joint effort that produced the Eel Russian Project Authority (IRPA). David Manning said engineers model the proposed Eel–Russian facility to divert about 30,000 acre-feet per year on average under a set of diversion rules designed to protect Eel River resources. "The new Eel Russian facility, on average, will divert about 30,000 acre feet per year," Manning said.
Outside counsel Richard Roose Collins described the agreement's key features: it follows a February memorandum of understanding among…
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