Hillsburg council backs Eel'Russian project authority, citing water reliability and fish protections

HILLSBURG — The Hillsburg City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to adopt a resolution supporting the Eel'Russian Project Authority's plan to preserve a diversion from the Eel River to the Russian River following PG&E's surrender of the Potter Valley hydropower license.

Acting Utility Director Patrick Fouse and David Manning, executive director of the Eel'Russian Project Authority, told the council the proposal would remove older dams and construct a new pump station with fish screens, then convey water through the existing tunnel to Lake Mendescino. Manning said the authority's modeling indicates the new operating rules would contribute roughly "30,000 acre-feet per year" on average to the Russian River system while protecting seasonal flows and fish habitat.

"We're trying to strike a two-basin solution," Manning said, describing the project as paired with investments in Eel River restoration after the removal of Cape Horn and Scott dams. He said the project would include seasonal floor flows and a diversion cap (300 cubic feet per second) keyed to fish life cycles.

City officials and the council pressed the presenters on cost and local impacts. Manning estimated preliminary design costs at about $5 million and a construction cost of roughly $50 million based on 30% design; he said annual operations and maintenance are projected in the $7 million to $12 million range. The Eel'Russian authority also anticipates annual payments of $1 million to the Round Valley Indian Tribes for water rights and $750,000 a year to a conservation fund for Eel River restoration.

Fouse told the council that local customers should expect higher water costs than in the past because the diversion has previously been a byproduct of hydropower operation and will now require active pumping and rights payments. "Yes," he told Council Member Hegley when asked, "it will be more than you are paying now. Water users will have to pay for this reliability."

Supporters of the authority say the project is intended to balance the two basin goals of improving fish passage in the Eel River while providing a controllable, rules-based diversion to sustain Russian River supplies that towns like Hillsburg rely on. Manning emphasized adaptive management, seasonal floors, and limits intended to protect the Eel River's hydrograph and spawning habitat.

Council members praised the multi-jurisdictional effort to reach agreement among Sonoma Water, Mendocino interests, the Round Valley Indian Tribes and conservation groups. The council's resolution of support passed on a unanimous roll-call vote.

What happens next: Manning said federal and state permitting, NEPA and CEQA work, and further design would take place over coming years; he suggested a potential construction and dam removal window around 2030—1035 but cautioned timelines depend on Federal Energy Regulatory Commission actions and funding.

Why it matters: The Potter Valley project historically moved large volumes between watersheds. With PG&E's withdrawal and the dams' pending removal, local water managers say a replacement diversion under enforceable ecological rules is urgent to avoid repeated summer shortages and more frequent curtailments across the Russian River system.