Water
Gold Ridge RCD works with local, regional and state partners to improve the quality of our watersheds. The RCD helps landowners to manage their sediment and nutrient contributions to waterways, improve flow within our streams by developing alternatives to groundwater and surface water diversions, enhance the wildlife habitat within and near waterways, and more. Below are descriptions of our work in improving overall watershed health, the quality of water in our district, and the opportunities landowners and residents have to conserve water.
Frequently served: Farmers, ranchers, rural landowners
Agricultural Water Conservation
Conserving water where we have it and using it responsibly is a major charge for the Gold Ridge RCD. Conservation measures and projects such as protecting groundwater supply, helping to improve water use efficiency, and developing alternative water sources and supplies such as greywater, rainwater and building seasonal water storage are all essential parts of local water conservation during California’s fifth year of drought.
Project examples:
RCD Project Tracker | Bodega Goat Ranch Rainwater Catchment Project | Fact Sheet (rcdprojects.org)
Resources:
Instream Flow Enhancement and Monitoring
One of the most challenging limiting factors to recovery of the endangered coho salmon and threatened steelhead trout is low summer streamflow. As water is diverted from streams from instream pumps or alluvial wells, stream levels drop, leading to warmer water temperatures, disconnected pools, low dissolved oxygen levels, and even completely dry streambeds. This threatens rearing juveniles that must survive in stream pools throughout the summer. Other wildlife species also depend on summer streamflow for drinking water and food sources. The Gold Ridge RCD, in partnership with the Russian River Coho Water Resources Partnership and many funding agencies, has launched multiple streamflow enhancement projects to augment late summer flows in the most critical coho rearing reaches of the Green Valley and Dutch Bill Creek watersheds.
Projects include large-scale winter water storage to offset summer stream withdrawals, late summer streamflow augmentation from large agricultural ponds, and water conservation on irrigated agricultural lands. Research has shown that late summer streamflow increases of as little as 0.1 cfs (cubic feet per second) can significantly improve juvenile coho survival rates by extending the timeframe that pools remain connected.
It is also important to note that one of our most critical programs to support instream flow enhancement is rainwater catchment. Through rainwater catchment, water can be stored and used in the summer dry season, reducing the impact that summer diversions have on wildlife, like salmon, that rely on the already scant water in the stream for survival. For more information on rainwater catchment, see our Rainwater Catchment Programs here.
Project examples:
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Groundwater Management
There are four groundwater basins that overlap with the Gold Ridge RCD: the Santa Rosa Plain, Wilson Grove, Bodega Bay and Fort Ross Terrace. Groundwater management is key to guarantee sustainability in California’s groundwater basins. Through groundwater monitoring efforts (such as CASGEM – see more below), we can track trends in groundwater elevation to inform other conservation efforts as well as provide security for those that rely on these basins. Over 85% of Californians depend on groundwater for some portion of their water supply.
California Statewide Groundwater Elevation Monitoring (CASGEM) Program has tracked seasonal and long-term groundwater elevation trends in groundwater basins statewide. The Gold Ridge RCD has been monitoring groundwater elevation in the Wilson Grove since 2012.
Santa Rosa Plain Groundwater Sustainability Agency-The Santa Rosa Plain Groundwater Sustainability Agency (GSA) is a public agency formed to sustainably manage groundwater in the Santa Rosa Plain groundwater basin. The agency was formed in June 2017 and has a Board of Directors, an administrator and an advisory committee. The Gold Ridge RCD holds one seat on the board out of ten. You can find information on GSA board meetings here.
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Ways to participate: Are you a well owner around the Bodega Bay or Santa Rosa Plain groundwater basins? The Gold Ridge Resource Conservation District and the Sonoma County Water Agency are working to implement the California Statewide Groundwater Elevation Monitoring (CASGEM) program, designed to collect groundwater-level elevations in existing private wells to better understand the water resources of west Sonoma County. The groundwater well monitoring program is voluntary, confidential, and at no cost to the landowner. We are seeking participants in the CASGEM groundwater well monitoring program specifically around Bodega Bay or the Santa Rosa Plain. If you are interested and would like to learn more, please contact Will Spangler.
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Water Quality Improvements and Sediment Reduction
The RCD uses scientifically sound methods to assess and better-understand water quality in the watershed as it relates to supporting ecological, agricultural, rural and urban uses. Fine sediment and contaminants in urban run-off are the primary focus of our water quality monitoring. Monitoring and assessment results are used to establish credible information for the community and policy makers to consider when making decisions that influence conservation. Information gained from monitoring and assessment is incorporated into our education programs and often leads to conservation and habitat enhancement planning and implementation.
Streambank Stabilization: Stabilizing the banks of streams from erosion reduces the amount of sedimentation entering the waterway and the degradation of the riparian corridor. Riparian habitats are dynamic systems, constantly gaining and losing sediment, wood, and nutrients, but streams that lose these resources too quickly become impaired and this degradation can contribute to poor water quality. Techniques for stabilizing banks include armoring the banks with large woody debris, boulders, erosion control fabric, or woven willow mattresses and by planting the banks with strong rooted plant species.
Gully Restoration: Gullies form above streams as a result of soil disruption (such as from improper grazing, intense rainfall events, construction activities, etc.) and will continue to incise or unzip if untreated, sending lose soil and sediment into waterways. Not only do gullies lose precious soil resources, they also damage water quality. Restoration techniques include armoring (with boulders or wood) and replanting with strong-rooted plant species. Gullies that are armored or planted will accumulate debris and soil over time, contributing positively to the soil cycle.
Road Repair: Unpaved rural roads seriously impact hydrology and sediment transport across a landscape if built improperly. Roads can be reshaped with rolling dips and out- and in-slopes to manage stormwater discharge across the road. Roadside ditches can be disconnected from streams by frequently draining them through ditch relief culverts. Stream-crossings should be fitted with culverts that allow for healthy stream flow: they should be level with the streambed, sized for storms, and feature flat bottoms for easy fish and wildlife passage.
Nutrient Management: Small, pasture-based dairy farms along the north coast of California face a unique set of management challenges both economically and environmentally. In recent years, stricter water quality standards, rising energy and feed costs, and a shift to organic dairy farming have all converged to increase demand for more intensive management of silage fields and pastures. Nutrient Management Planning is a tool that can help ensure that you are getting optimal forage production from your pastures and silage fields. The goal of nutrient management planning is to apply the right amount of each nutrient required for plant growth at the proper time, based on crop/forage requirements and soil nutrient availability—this is what is meant by agronomic rate.
Project examples:
RCD Project Tracker | Laguna de Santa Rosa Dairy Enhancement Project | Fact Sheet (rcdprojects.org)
Resources:
Rainwater Catchment and Water Security
Our Rainwater Catchment and Water Security programs support in fostering community water conservation, security, and awareness to promote household-level water storage through rainwater catchment.
Many county residents are currently facing significant water insecurity, whether through diminishing supplies from urban or community distribution systems, decreased streamflow, or compromised groundwater aquifers. Many rural residents with dry wells are currently forced to have water trucked to meet basic needs. This program is meant to not only provide residents technical and financial assistance to construct onsite winter water storage for dry season use, thereby protecting water sources, but is also meant to empower citizens to take action towards self-sufficiency and emergency preparedness while normalizing such efforts at the household level.
Rainwater catchment is a critical piece to achieving water resilience and conserving water within the watershed for wildlife. California experiences seasonal drought during the summer, but receives ample rain in the winter. Catching and storing rain on hard surfaces such as roofs is a clean and effective way of sourcing quality and abundant non-potable water. This water can be stored and used in the summer dry season, reducing the impact that summer diversions have on wildlife, like salmon, that rely on the already scant water in the stream for survival. It also is a way to protect water and soil resources in the watershed: modern infrastructure is designed to send water off and away from the landscape to assure good drainage and dry feet on all of our buildings, but this quickly removed water enters our streams too fast, eroding hillsides and sending sediment into the water, flooding roads and blowing out fish in high velocity flows.
Because one of the main purposes of our rainwater catchment programs is to increase streamflow in our local creeks and watersheds to reduce negative outcomes for special status species such as coho salmon and steelhead trout, rainwater catchment is directly related to Instream Flow Enhancement and Monitoring. For more information on our Instream Flow Enhancement and Monitoring Programs, go here.
Gold Ridge RCD offers site evaluations, recommendations, professional referrals, and design assistance for any landowner interested in developing rainwater catchment.
Project examples:
RCD Project Tracker | Redwood Hill Farm Rainwater Catchment Project | Fact Sheet (rcdprojects.org)
Resources:
Watershed Management Planning
Gold Ridge RCD works with local, regional and state partners to improve the quality of our watersheds. The RCD helps landowners to manage their sediment and nutrient contributions to waterways, improve flow within our streams by developing alternatives to groundwater and surface water diversions, enhance the wildlife habitat within and near waterways, and more. Below are descriptions of our work in improving overall watershed health, the quality of water in our district, and the opportunities landowners and residents have to conserve water.
The RCD holds in mind the concept that Upgraded culvert “We are all downstream” when designing plans for watershed health. The RCD pays attention to upstream sources of negative impacts on watershed health such as rural stormwater management, upland habitat quality, and accumulated sedimentation. These upstream impacts affect multiple water quality factors throughout the watershed: water temperature, turbidity, nutrient-load, velocity, quantity and timing. All of these factors impact the wild and human residents that depend on water resources. The RCD works with the community to manage our local watersheds’ health holistically.
District watersheds:
- District Watershed Map
- Coastal tributaries
- Dutch Bill Creek
- Estero Americano
- Green Valley Creek
- Laguna de Santa Rosa
- Lower Russian River
- Salmon Creek
- Willow Creek
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Stormwater Management
Stormwater runoff occurs when precipitation flows over the land surface into waterways. Impervious surfaces, including pavement, rooftops, or even compacted soil prevents water from soaking into the ground, and increases the runoff volume and velocity created during storms. This in turn causes flooding, exacerbates erosion, threatens aquatic life such as juvenile salmonids, and exacerbates stream channel incision. By keeping water from absorbing into the ground, these impervious surfaces also hinder groundwater recharge.
While stormwater management efforts, and the funding sources that support them, have traditionally focused on urban areas due to their high percentage of impervious surface, some agricultural practices can also promote stormwater runoff, such as severe soil compaction or the construction of tile drainage systems in vineyards and orchards. With flooded roadways plaguing many areas of west Sonoma County, and landowners concerned about groundwater security, the Gold Ridge RCD is currently working to establish a program to begin identifying and implementing projects to attenuate stormwater and enhance groundwater recharge on a large scale.
Project examples:
We intend to do projects like this in the future. If you are interested, please reach out.
Resources: Click here to find resources on Rainwater Catchment and Water Security
