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Posted 07.19.06
Draining rivers to flush toilets (and water pot plants)
The Anderson Valley Advertiser

By Freda Moon

Last winter, record rainfall swelled Mendocino County's rivers and creeks. In waterlogged soil, trees succumbed to wind and embankments turned to landslides. Along the churning Navarro River, Highway 101 was closed to traffic. On New Years, the river rose 17 feet above its flood stage and homes were evacuated. It was one of the five wettest winters on record.

But some local river watchers-with Fish and Game biologists among them-are concerned that even last winter's ceaseless rain was not enough to keep the rivers flowing during this summer's dry months. They argue that it is people-and the water we use for flushing toilets, washing dishes and watering gardens-that puts pressure on summer flows in local streams. And it's not just the wineries and the fruit farmers sapping the rivers. It's also homes, families and "small scale agricultural use." In Mendocino County, this means pot-as well as tomatoes, apples and summer squash.
In California, anyone with property bordering a stream has a right to its water. These "riparian" rights allow for virtually unlimited domestic and agricultural water use-as long as the water is not stored for more than 30 days or transported outside of the watershed. But with more people using more water in Mendocino County, local rivers are being drained. Some streams-like Outlet Creek, the Eel River tributary that drains the Willits Valley-are especially abused.

During August and September, portions of the creek are being pumped "completely dry," according to Cynthia LeDoux, a biologist who recently completed a Fish and Game study on Outlet Creek. These low and nonexistent summer flows are hurting fish populations-including struggling species, such as the Coho, Chinook and Steelhead, which spawn in the stream.

Because nobody knows how many pot farmers there actually are in Mendocino County, it's impossible to know how much water they're using. It's clear, however, that cultivation-medicinal and otherwise-is on the rise.

Pebbles Trippet, co-founder of the Mendocino Medical Marijuana Patients Union (and occasional contributor to this newspaper), estimates that the number of marijuana growers in the county is ten times the number of registered, medical users. The Medical Marijuana Identification Card Program had about 1,400 registered cardholders on its roll, according to Trippet, while it was being administered by the County Sheriff's office. (It was taken over last year by the State Office of Public Health, and there are only about 500 people on the new roll so far-though the old cards remain valid until December, 2006.) That's about 14,000 growers in a county with a population of a bit more than 85,000 people. Even if Trippet's estimate is high, as she acknowledges it may be, few would deny marijuana's place in the local economy as a-if not the-major agricultural crop.

"Growing marijuana is increasingly common," said Trippet, "from day to day, month to month, year to year. It's just growing."

For those concerned with local rivers, this unregulated industry is cause for concern. Nobody claims pot gardens are the only-or even the largest-drain on Mendocino County streams (the City of Willits draws large amounts of water from Outlet Creek, for example), but the increasing number of growers may be the proverbial straw that breaks the camel's back. Based on "snorkel surveys" of the Creek and on conversations with area residents, LeDoux calls pot irrigation a "major limiting factor" on the river water of Outlet Creek. She's seen similar issues, though to a lesser degree, on Noyo River in Fort Bragg.

But LeDoux is an odd breed of state bureaucrat; she's a scientist who spends her days collecting data and piecing together ecological puzzles. She's not interested in cracking down on local dope growers. "We have no issue with the pot growers," said LeDoux. "We really don't. But we do have an issue with them draining the rivers to do it."

LeDoux's boss at Fish and Game, Scott Downie, is based three hours north in Fortuna, but has seen similar problems on the Mattole River. Downie, who heads the North Coast Watershed Assessment Program, completed a study of the Mattole in 2002 that found that water diversion was at least partly responsible for the low flows on the Mattole (he emphasized that other factors, such as an extended drought, contributed to Mattole's woes). People draw water from the river, according to Downie, "for their domestic purposes-whether it was illegal pot, washing their clothes or whatever.

"There was enough of it [being taken] that year," said Downie, "that the river was so low, it ran out of water."

Downie recommended that the local community find a way to take pressure off of water extraction during the low flow period, which is from August through November 15 on the Mattole. Sanctuary Forest, a "community-based land trust" that works to restore the Mattole River watershed, responded with a yearlong study of water inflows and outflows along the Mattole. The study found that human use accounted for about 20 percent of the flow, according to Eric Goldsmith, Sanctuary Forest's Director.

Now Mendocino County's Department of Fish and Game is looking north for a possible solution to a shared problem. In southern Humboldt County, a coalition of environmentalists and Fish and Game scientists is reducing the amount of water taken from the Mattole during the dry summer months. Their strategy allows rural residences to continue using river water for their domestic needs, without taking water during the driest months.

The idea came from Downie, who had spent time in Australia and remembered the large water storage tanks used on that dry continent. The tanks collect roof runoff during the wettest months of the year, allowing it to be used later, when the land is parched and the water is most needed. Those same tanks, he thought, might be useful in the Mattole Watershed.

The Mattole plan, however, puts the tanks to use in a different way. Sanctuary Forest has developed a program that provides 50,000 gallon tanks free to landowners who sign a 15-year contract agreeing not to take water during the low flow months. Under the contract, the owner can fill their tanks during the rest of the year and rely on their stored water during the dry months. (Landowners in the program can get permits from the State Water Resource Control Board to store the river water for longer than 30 days.)

The tanks, which are made of an aluminum framework with a galvanized cover and an internal, polypropylene bladder, hold enough water to meet the needs of a family of four for 100 days, according to Goldsmith. People can buy the tanks on their own, without entering into the Sanctuary Forest contract, but the tanks are pricey-each costs $16,000 plus an additional $2,000 to $5,000 for installation.

The folks at Mendocino County Fish and Game think the Mattole plan, which takes the financial burden of watershed restoration off of the landowner, could work along Outlet Creek.

"I don't think marijuana growers necessarily want to damage fish habitat," said LeDoux. She points to water tanks as a way for riparian users-whether they are marijuana growers, apple farmers, or families with daily piles of dirty dishes-to lessen their impact. "It's a very short time that it heavily impacts," said LeDoux. "Unfortunately it coincides with the last few months before the harvest."