Lower American River. The American River provides important fish and wildlife habitat, a high-quality water source, a critical floodway, and a spectacular regional recreational parkway. The Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) operates Folsom and Nimbus Dams to provide flood control and water for irrigation, municipal and industrial uses, hydroelectric power, recreation, water quality, and the protection of aquatic resources. In April of 2000, a diverse group of over 40 local business and agricultural leaders, citizen groups, environmentalists, water managers and local governments ended decades of conflict concerning the American River by signing the Water Forum Agreement (WFA). The foundational elements of the WFA are two coequal objectives: to provide a reliable safe water supply for the region and to preserve fishery, wildlife, recreational, and aesthetic values of the lower American River. Working in cooperation with Reclamation, California Department of Fish and Game, National Marine Fisheries Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Water Forum developed the Flow Management Standard (FMS) as an alternative to the standards set by the State Water Resources Control Board in 1958’s Decision 893 (the current instream flow requirements on the lower American River). The FMS is intended to improve the condition of aquatic resources in the lower American River, particularly fall-run Chinook salmon and steelhead by improving flow-related habitat and water temperature. In addition, the FMS benefits other fish species, the aquatic environment and the riparian ecosystem of the lower American River Corridor. Designed to achieve these benefits over a wide range of hydrologic conditions, the FMS provides a forum through which biologic and ecologic factors are considered in the river management process, and provides for the analysis of hydrologic and biologic information collected though the monitoring and evaluation component. The lower American River FMS is designed to allocate flow releases from Folsom and Nimbus Dams in consideration of variable hydrology and cold water pool availability in Folsom Reservoir. The FMS includes: (1) minimum flow requirements; (2) water temperature objectives; (3) implementation criteria; (4) an agency group to address river management and operational actions (the American River Group); and (5) a monitoring and evaluation component.
Lower American River. The Lower American River is nationally recognized for its beauty, fisheries and recreation. Each year there are over five million visitor-days recorded for the American River Parkway. We need to find ways to protect the River for our enjoyment and for generations to come. Groundwater Reliability Threatened Over reliance on xxxxx in some areas has lowered the water table as much as 90 feet. If nothing is done, the problem will get worse; pumping costs could double; some shallow xxxxx could go dry. Also, past actions have contaminated parts of our groundwater basins. Unless we continue to contain and correct these problems, additional xxxxx that provide our drinking water could become contaminated. Water Reliability At Risk Some suppliers obtain all of their water from surface sources; other suppliers get their water solely from xxxxx. There are always some disadvantages to having only one source of supply. We will have a more reliable supply if most of the suppliers have multiple sources of water. WHAT HAS HELD UP SOLUTIONS TO OUR PROBLEMS? Here in the American River watershed, the biggest stumbling block to balanced water solutions is that individual groups — water suppliers, environmentalists, local governments, business groups, agriculturalists, and citizen groups — have been independently pursuing their own water objectives — without much success. In many cases, competition among groups has generated protests, lawsuits and delay. Even though millions of dollars had been spent in the past decade pursuing single purpose solutions, there was little to show for these fragmented efforts. HOW THE WATER FORUM IS USING INTEREST BASED NEGOTIATION TO “GET TO YES” The stakeholder representatives chose to approach their long standing conflicts as a formal mediation, using an innovative process known as interest-based negotiation. This conflict resolution method requires negotiators to initially put aside their traditional demands (“positions”) and instead focus on the underlying reasons (“interests”) behind both their own and their adversaries’ concerns. This creative approach resulted in a Water Forum Agreement that will meet the needs of all stakeholders. WATER FORUM SUCCESSOR EFFORT Signing the Water Forum Agreement does not mean that stakeholders can go back to doing business as usual. The Water Forum Agreement will be implemented over the next three decades. There will be many changed circumstances that we cannot now foresee. It is critical that all signatorie...
