Redwood Creek Flow Enhancement Public Meeting - February 25

Press Release: Redwood Creek Flow Enhancement Public Meeting
February 25, 5-6:30pm

RE: Status of Marshall Ranch Flow Enhancement Project and Alternative Scenarios

Contact: Dana Stolzman, Executive Director, SRF,  (707) 923-7501, srf@calsalmon.org

Salmonid Restoration Federation (SRF) will be hosting a public meeting on February 25 to share information on the status of the existing Marshall Ranch flow enhancement project and other potential scenarios to achieve significant flow enhancement and habitat restoration in the Redwood Creek watershed. The project team, including SRF and Stillwater Sciences, has been studying the feasibility of flow enhancement in this watershed for over five years and the target flow for this phase of work is 50 gallons per minute during the 5 month dry season. This flow release target requires approximately 15-million gallons of water storage and is expected to provide flow connectivity throughout the dry season, allowing juvenile salmonids to survive.

Since 2013, Salmonid Restoration Federation has been conducting low-flow monitoring throughout Redwood Creek. Stillwater Sciences previously conducted a feasibility study in a portion of the Redwood Creek watershed that identified the Marshall Ranch as the highest priority project.

That project is at a 90% design phase and a Mitigated Negative Declaration CEQA document has been prepared for the project. During the public comment period, the County received many letters of support and opposition. The letters of support expressed support for this methodology, the goals of flow enhancement in Redwood Creek, and the dire need for a project that could address the scale of the habitat impairment in Redwood Creek. Letters of opposition focused on public safety and seismic concerns, long-term operations and maintenance, and questioning the placement of a pond project that would only benefit the mainstem when there is better habitat in the headwaters of Redwood Creek.

Stillwater Sciences is currently working on a feasibility study assessing flow opportunities throughout the entire Redwood Creek watershed and one additional opportunity for large scale flow enhancement has been identified. The public meeting will provide additional information on these topics through the following agenda:

1. Brief Overview of Redwood Creek low flow conditions, fisheries significance, and flow enhancement planning efforts

2. Status Report on the Marshall Ranch Flow Enhancement Project and CEQA

3. Discussion of scientific studies that informed the Marshall Ranch design and flow augmentation target

4. Summary of additional Geotechnical Investigations and Seismic Slope Stability Analysis conducted for the Marshall Ranch project in October-December 2020

5. Discussion of three Project Alternatives that achieve target flow goal

6. Moderated Q & A

Due to COVID-19, this meeting was conducted via Zoom with moderated Q&A. The meeting is now available online for anyone who was not able to attend the Zoom meeting.
Click here to watch.