Russian River Weekly Update 11/24/25

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Russian River at the Forks, November 2025 by E Salomone — Russian River at the Forks, November 2025 be E Salomone

Reservoir Storage & Operations:

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

Data on water storage levels for Lake Mendocino, Lake Pillsbury, and Lake Sonoma, with current figures and 7-day changes.

The image shows Lake Mendocino's storage levels over time, with projected data for 2025 indicating 55,136 acre-feet on November 24.

The chart shows Lake Pillsbury's storage levels and target scenarios from 2018 to 2025, measured in acre-feet over time.

Graph showing Lake Sonoma's water storage levels from 2018 to 2025, with notable data point for November 24, 2025.

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 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.) Visit RRFC webpage for more information.

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 US Department of the Agriculture, the US Forest Service, County of Lake, and America First Policy Institute have filed a Motion for Extension of Time due to the recent government shutdown.
Many individuals have submitted comments in the past week; as of Sunday 11/23/25, 85 additional comments are in favor of granting PG&E’s application (for a total of 216) and 138 are opposed (for a total of 210.) note: numbers are approximate

2025, 11-18 MCRRFC&WCID Motion to Intervene P-77-332.pdf 2025, 11-19 County of Lake Motion to Intervene.pdf 2025, 11-17 US Forest Serice Motion for Extension of Time.pdf 2025, 11-19 USDA Motion for Extension of Time.pdf 2025, 11-21 County of Lake Motion for Extension of Time.pdf 2025, 11-21 America First Policy Inst request for time extension.pdf

Public workshop in Ukiah to update community on Potter Valley Project, November 24, 1-4 PM at Ukiah Valley Conference Center in Ukiah

The Mendocino County Inland Water and Power Commission will be holding a workshop on November 24 to provide factual updates, answer questions and support a collaborative informed dialogue about the Potter Valley Project. Attendees will receive updates on planning efforts, future infrastructure needs, timelines related to PG&E’s decommissioning and ongoing storage investigations. More information in the press release linked below:

PVP Workshop Today in Ukiah, 11-24-25 at 1 PM

Podcast on Potter Valley Project

Janet Pauli (Inland Water & Power Commission) and Sean White (City of Ukiah) were featured on the local “Like it or Not Podcast” linked HERE, talking about PVP decommissioning for over an hour.

PG&E License Amendment Application to FERC

FERC has issued the public comment period for PG&E’s application for Non-Capacity Amendment of License. Deadline for filing comments, motions to intervene, and protests is December 1, 2025 5:00 PM EASTERN TIME (2:00 PM Pacific Time.) Visit RRFC webpage for more information.

📢 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 about CalWATRS and get the latest updates, visit the CalWATRS webpage.

Notice of Document Availability for Proposed Adoption of Water Measurement Regulation (SB88)

The State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board or Board) will consider adopting revisions to the Diversion Measurement Regulation (regulation) on Tuesday, December 2, 2025. The initial regulation, adopted as an emergency regulation in 2016, requires anyone with a water right to divert over 10 acre-feet annually to measure the rate and volume of their diversions and submit measurement data to the Board. The proposed revisions clarify requirements, standardize measurement data reporting, and align regulations with new water right reporting systems.

Document Availability: The draft regulation text, agenda item, draft resolution, and other supporting documents are available on the State Water Board’s website at:

Regulation Rulemaking Webpage

Additional Resources: For more information regarding the rulemaking process for this regulation, visit the Water Measurement and Reporting Regulation Rulemaking webpage. Subscribe to the Water Measurement list on the State Water Board’s Email Lists webpage for further updates about the water measurement regulations. For information regarding the existing regulation, and resources on how to measure, visit the general Water Measurement webpage. If adopted, the regulation revisions will change how diverters must comply and currently posted guidance will be replaced with updated resources.

Wrap-up of Nov 4 Draft California’s Groundwater: Bulletin 118 – Update 2025 Public Webinar

The Department of Water Resources (DWR) released the Draft California’s Groundwater: Bulletin 118 – Update 2025 (CalGW Update 2025) on October 20, 2025, opening a 45-day public comment period.

A public webinar was held on November 4, DWR that presented an overview and accepted questions on the Draft CalGW Update. A 45-day public comment period is now open on the Draft CalGW Update 2025. All comments will be reviewed and will provide valuable feedback to DWR to improve the analysis, reporting, and access to California’s groundwater information.The final version of CalGW Update 2025 is expected to be released in spring 2026. More information linked here.