April 14, 2016 Washington, D.C.- American Rivers has named the San Joaquin River among America’s Most Endangered Rivers® of 2016, shining a national spotlight on the impacts of outdated water management and excessive diversions. The river is so over-tapped that it runs completely dry in stretches. Low flows, degraded habitat, and outdated levees harm water quality, endanger fish and wildlife, create uncertainty for farmers and leave communities vulnerable to both floods and drought.
American Rivers and its partners are calling on the California State Water Resources Control Board to develop a long overdue water quality control plan to protect fish, recreational opportunities and water quality for downstream farmers on the San Joaquin and its tributaries including the Stanislaus, Tuolumne and Merced rivers.
“America’s Most Endangered Rivers is a call to action to save rivers that are at a tipping point,” said John Cain of American Rivers. “This is an opportunity for farmers and conservationists to work together to restore the river, reduce flood risk and secure a sustainable economic future.”
The Water Board’s plan must be based on scientifically sound objectives and should facilitate collaborative solutions crafted by stakeholders including conservation groups, farmers and fish and wildlife agencies. The plan should include enforceable commitments to improve flows – through solutions including conservation and efficiency, and integration of surface and groundwater management – and implement actions such as stream and floodplain habitat restoration.
Years of managing the San Joaquin and tributaries primarily for agriculture, hydropower and flood control have taken their toll on the river. Dams, levees and excessive water diversions have hurt river habitat and opportunities for recreation and community access. Over one hundred miles of the mainstem river have been dry for over fifty years, and water diversions along the tributaries take more than 70 percent of the natural flow. The river’s salmon and steelhead populations are on the brink of extinction. Excessive diversions, groundwater overdraft, and poorly designed levees have left the river and surrounding communities vulnerable to increasingly frequent and severe droughts and floods.
“Healthy rivers are the lifeblood of our country. When you dry up the rivers, you’re in deep trouble. You can’t live without water. The San Joaquin was one of the most beautiful rivers in the world, and now it’s bone dry,” said Walt Shubin, a farmer who has been fighting to restore the health of the San Joaquin River for decades.
“This river is going to die if we don’t give it more water and reduce diversions in the future,” said Michael Martin, a fisheries biologist and Director of the Merced River Conservation Committee, regarding the Merced River, a tributary to the San Joaquin River. “In the fifth year of drought, California Department of Fish and Wildlife had to rescue steelhead in the Merced River, just to preserve the genetic integrity of the declining population. Maintenance of the ecological integrity of the Merced River is a primary responsibility of our natural resource agency custodians. The fact that the salmon populations of the Merced and San Joaquin River watersheds are declining and headed toward risk of extinction is testimony to the agencies’ lack of protection for those fisheries.”
"The river has become a polluted backwater, but we know what it will take to fix it so that people can once again enjoy this storied river with their families and friends," said Patrick Koepele, Executive Director of the Tuolumne River Trust.
“The San Joaquin River is severely degraded and we need to take action now before any remaining salmon and steelhead become extinct. It is essential to work together to balance water use to restore the fishery and recover the health of the overall watershed. Otherwise, this once great river will further decline into a truly lifeless state,” said Cindy Charles with Golden West Women Flyfishers.
The benefits of improving water management on the San Joaquin River extend beyond endangered fish and wildlife. Water quality will improve for farms and cities. Farmers will gain greater certainty over available water, local communities will enjoy better river access and recreation opportunities, and people and businesses will be better protected from harmful flooding. The same threats and opportunities spurred American Rivers to name the San Joaquin River the #1 America’s Most Endangered River in 2014.
Approximately four million people live in the San Joaquin watershed. The river and its tributaries support some of the most productive and profitable agriculture in the world, irrigating more than two million acres of arid land. The rivers also generate over 3,000 megawatts of hydropower, provide drinking water to over 4.5 million people including the City of San Francisco, and support numerous endangered or declining species.
The annual America’s Most Endangered Rivers® report is a list of rivers at a crossroads, where key decisions in the coming months will determine the rivers’ fates. Rivers are chosen for the list based on the following criteria: 1) The magnitude of the threat, 2) A critical decision-point in the coming year and 3) The significance of the river to people and nature.
Over the years, the report has helped spur many successes including the removal of outdated dams, the protection of rivers with Wild and Scenic designations and the prevention of harmful development and pollution.
www.AmericanRivers.org/SanJoaquin
www.AmericanRivers.org/MostEndangeredRivers
America’s Most Endangered Rivers® of 2016:
#1: Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin
(Alabama, Florida, Georgia)
Threat: Outdated water management
#2: San Joaquin River
(California)
Threat: Outdated water management
#3: Susquehanna River
(Pennsylvania, Maryland)
Threat: Harmful dam operations
#4: Smith River
(Montana)
Threat: Mining
#5: Green-Duwamish River
(Washington)
Threat: Outdated water management
#6: Pee Dee River
(North Carolina)
Threat: Harmful dam operations
#7: Russell Fork River
(Virginia, Kentucky)
Threat: Mountaintop removal mining
#8: Merrimack River
(New Hampshire, Massachusetts)
Threat: Polluted runoff
#9: St. Lawrence River
(New York)
Threat: Harmful dam operations
#10: Pascagoula River
(Mississippi, Alabama)
Threat: New dams
About American Rivers
American Rivers protects wild rivers, restores damaged rivers, and conserves clean water for people and nature. Since 1973, American Rivers has protected and restored more than 150,000 miles of rivers through advocacy efforts, on-the-ground projects, and an annual America’s Most Endangered Rivers® campaign. Headquartered in Washington, DC, American Rivers has offices across the country and more than 200,000 members, supporters, and volunteers.Rivers connect us to each other, nature, and future generations. Find your connections at AmericanRivers.org,Facebook.com/AmericanRivers, and Twitter.com/AmericanRivers.
Source: American Rivers