Oppose Nicasio Reservoir Expansion

Nicasio Reservoir Expansion: Will the Town of Nicasio and Coho Salmon Be Shafted by MMWD Again?

By Todd Steiner, Founder and Special Projects Director and Ken Bouley, Executive Director

Get more info on this topic at: https://www.nicasio.net/flood

On June 26^th, Marin Water attended a public hearing at Nicasio School to discuss the Nicasio Reservoir Expansion, a plan to increase the capacity by 3,700 acre feet by installing a 280-foot-long, 4.4-foot-high inflatable rubber gate spanning the spillway crest.

Board members Khush and Samson were confronted by an alarmed community, worried that the proposal would exacerbate flooding in their town, including the school, where the meeting was held, and require the taking of property by eminent domain.

We found the mistrust well-founded, a feeling reinforced by inadequate responses on whether the project would inundate the school’s septic system, playground, and the building itself, while impacting private lands and other community infrastructure.

Nor was there an explanation of why the water district, decades ago, discontinued maintenance of Nicasio and Halleck Creeks, which feed the reservoir and once supported large runs of endangered coho. These creeks are now choked with sediment caused by the dam.

When SPAWN staff asked Marin Water to agree to restore these creeks, as a demonstration of community good will, Director Khush failed to do so, excusing MMWDs malfeasance by blaming the need for yet more studies and regulatory red tape for his inability to take responsibility. While it is true permits are required, permitting for restoration activities (as opposed to permits to destroy habitat) is not a real hurdle. His response was met by community derision.

In addition to harvesting local water by raising the dam height, Marin Water failed to address the issue that it plans to use Sonoma County water from the Russian River to fill the Nicasio Reservoir during drought years, through a separate proposed pumping plant and a 36-inch-wide pipeline running 13.2 miles from the North Marin Aqueduct.

MMWD describes this $1.25 million funded plan as “the District’s largest water supply resiliency project in 40 years,” including more than doubling its current proposed size, stating, “Potential future phases of this project could increase replenishment of stored water to up to 8,100 acre-feet.” Is the future plan to completely inundate Nicasio with this more than doubling water storage?

The nearby Lagunitas watershed is critical to restoration of the coho salmon throughout Central California, providing more than 20% of the current population, and providing a source of restoration broodstock. That is why tens of millions of tax-payer dollars have already been invested in Lagunitas coho recovery, and even larger expenditures in the Russian River watershed. Further damage to the population caused by Nicasio reservoir expansion and taking more water from coho salmon in the Russian River watershed will certainly thwart coho recovery.

What was not stressed at the meeting was conservation. According to the New York Times, Los Angeles’ population has increased 15% from 3.4 million to 3.9 million people since 1990, yet its total water use has decreased by 33%.

Marin Water should follow suit by spending out tax-payer dollars studying what LA has accomplished and invest heavily on conservation efforts. It should also commit to creating a fish bypass around Nicasio Reservoir to restore endangered coho salmon in Nicasio and Halleck Creek habitat. The federal Coho Recovery plan calls for them to “evaluate alternatives/feasibility to provide passage over Seeger Dam (Nicasio Reservoir)”. As far as we know, this has never happened.

The demise of Lagunitas run of coho salmon is a direct result of Marin Water’s prior actions. Seeger Dam, which created Nicasio Reservoir, eliminated nearly 16 miles of coho habitat, and a similar impact was brought by the construction of Peters Dam to create Kent Lake. We are in an extinction crisis. Marin Water has a moral and legal obligation to restore this habitat.

We call on MMWD to:

Commit to nixing the Nicasio Reservoir expansion and causing distress and harm to Nicasio residents.
Secure water resiliency for Marin while making conservation the priority.
Commit to creating a fish bypass around Nicasio Reservoir to restore endangered coho salmon and Nicaiso and Halleck Creek habitat.