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Russian River Weekly Update 11/10/25

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Lake Mendocino from intake tower, August 2025 by E Salomone
Lake Mendocino from intake tower, August 2025 by E Salomone

Reservoir Storage & Operations:

Water supply information provided by Sonoma Water (find more water storage info here).

Storage data for Lakes Mendocino, Pillsbury, and Sonoma, showing current storage, target curves, and 7-day changes in acre-feet.
Graph showing Lake Mendocino storage (2018-2025) in acre-feet over time, highlighting 57,559 acre-feet on November 10, 2025.
Graph of Lake Pillsbury storage and target scenarios (2018-2025), showing acre-feet over time.
Graph of Lake Sonoma's storage in acre-feet from 2018-2025, showing trends over different years.

PG&E will not be increasing the East Branch Russian River diversion from 5 cfs to 25 cfs on October 1, 2025 as allowed by the flow variance due to storage conditions at Lake Pillsbury.

Russian River/Lake Mendocino 2025-2026 Operation

On October 15, 2025, Sonoma County Water Agency (Sonoma Water) filed temporary urgency change petitions with the State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Water Rights  requesting approval of temporary changes to water right Permits in the Russian River watershed.  The petitions seek authorization to implement a hydrologic index based on Lake Mendocino storage values, rather than the current index based on cumulative inflow into Lake Pillsbury, starting December 24, 2025.
This temporary change is requested to ensure that the water supply condition for the Russian River is determined by an index that is reflective of watershed conditions. Sonoma Water states there is an urgent need to implement the proposed changes due to the significant reduction of potential Eel River water imports through PG&Es Potter Valley Project. The influence of Eel River imports on downstream hydrologic conditions in the Russian River has been, and will continue to be greatly diminished, and thus use of the Eel River hydrologic index is not a reliable metric for Russian River water supply conditions. For more information, visit the Sonoma Water Agency - TUCP Webpage

 

PG&E’s Final Surrender Application for Potter Valley Project

RRFC webpage on the Future of the Eel River to Russian River Diversion

SWRCB Potter Valley Hydroelectric Project webpage

FERC has issued the notice of public comment period for PG&E’s application for Surrender of License and Non-Project Use of Project Lands. Deadline for filing comments, motions to intervene, and protests is December 1, 2025 5:00 PM EASTERN TIME (2:00 PM Pacific Time.)

2025, 10- 31 FERC Notice of comment period for PGE PVP Decommissioning.pdf

Recent Comments Submitted to FERC on Decommissioning:

Note: Only comments submitted by agencies, organizations, Tribes, and similar will be posted here and on the RRFC website.

  • The State Water Resources Control Board filed a Motion to Intervene with no comments.
  • Seven individuals have submitted comments in the past week, all in support of PG&E’s license surrender.

PVP related articles:

 

📢 State Water Board Announces New Water Rights Reporting System - CalWATRS

CalWATRS, short for California Water Accounting, Tracking, and Reporting System, is the State's new-and-improved water rights data system, replacing the legacy eWRIMS platform. With CalWATRS, water right holders will have a streamlined way to view all their water right records, file annual reports, and request water rights services. CalWATRS successfully launched on Oct. 7, as planned.

Learn more:

Maven's Notebook: Cal WATRS: A new era of transparency and efficiency in water rights 11/6/25

November 19, 2025:  Ukiah Workshop on CalWATRS at 890 Bush Street

Mendocino County Farm Bureau and the Russian River Flood Control District are hosting the State Water Resources Control Board staff in holding a workshop on the new water rights platform replacing ewrims. Staff will have computers available or you can bring your own along. You can get help registering and getting acquainted with the platform.  Location: 890 N Bush St, Ukiah, CA 95482  (building shared w/ Mendo Co. Ag Dept & UC Cooperative Extension) For questions about the event: districtmanager@rrfc.net    No registration required, open to the public; refreshments provided.

In the press:

 

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