On March 20, Cloverdale became ground zero for a fiery debate about Northern California’s water future. The town’s veterans hall was packed with folks from all over the region, hashing out the fate of the Potter Valley Project, a century-old water diversion system that channels water from the Eel River to the Russian River. For generations, this system has fueled agriculture and tourism in Mendocino and Sonoma counties. But with PG&E moving full steam ahead with plans to decommission it, many are fearing a water crisis driven by corporate interests. This town hall was the first real chance for residents to ask the tough questions and get some answers about their water supply’s future.
As SFGATE’s North Coast Contributing Editor, I have a front-row seat to the showdown unfolding between the Eel and Russian Rivers. Both are within my coverage area, and the decision to tear down the Potter Valley Project could make one river thrive while the other struggles to stay afloat. Eel River advocates say the project’s diversion has hurt their river for over a century and needs fixing—but let’s not forget that the Russian River’s steady flow has kept homes and businesses going for just as long. The real challenge here is finding a way to balance both rivers’ needs.
The age-old rivalry between these two watersheds is reaching a boiling point. And now, with their futures on the line, this is more than just a water fight—it’s about livelihoods, ecosystems, and the economic lifeblood of the region. The decisions made in the coming months will ripple through communities from the headwaters to the sea.
Read my coverage of the Cloverdale Town Hall in SFGATE here.
Glad to see you report on this Matt. Thank you for that. I think this is the biggest bunch of shit being run down on the populations of Lake and Mendocino counties. THIS PROJECT HAS TO BE STOPPED! This is just pure insanity to get rid of Lake Pillsbury which is so important to fire fighters to obtain water for the area. What about all the people of Lake County that have homes on it? I guess when you are a poor small county anyone can come in and do changes that benefit them and not it residents that have been living there for years.
Matt, you need to work to actually quantify the benefit of the diversion to the Russian River rather than just listening to those fomenting dam removal controversy for political gain, to save their vacation houses, and prop up corporate wineries in the Russian. While historically it was a lot in volume, much of that water is just passed through to the ocean on the Russian side since Lake Mendo lacks storage capacity. Lake Pillsbury is not very big, especially now with the seismic safety reservoir reduction. The Russian needs more storage, FIRO in Lake Sonoma, raising Lake Mendo and recycled water like Ukiah and SR are doing are much more cost effective and reliable, especially if the proposal to build a new diversion works out.
No one can decide. Except nature. Nature had it a certain way. We can’t figure out why we have messed up water cycles? Maybe cause we reversed the watershed?
When the Dam comes down this will all be over.
No it won’t be over. The disastrous effects will be felt for generations if Lake Pillsbury is removed. Nobody understands because nobody has been there all these leftists and environmentlists. They don’t camp or hunt or fish there. They don’t understand it’s an entirely functional ecosystem as it exists now. They don’t spend months there out of the year. It’s just another cause for the left to get behind. And it’s one they don’t know anything about because they’ve never been to Lake Pillsbury most of them.
I was a child of Pillsbury too, but it was a manufactured playground. I still have nostalgia, but I grew up. I imagine there were people who were upset when the dams were made, people who watched a valley drown. There are dead trees poking out of Pillsbury cause it used to be a forest. You’re nostalgic for your own childhood, not the lake itself. When are the hicks and hippies gonna get together and point our collective fingers at the vineyards?
Your nostalgia doesn’t pay the bills and neither does the vineyards to keep this reservoir intact. Wine sales are down and its time to move on to a new economic system that doesn’t depend on subsidies from outside Mendo.
Kenny Foster of Potter Valley said it right: “Keep the damn dam we got”. It’s not our fault PG&E didn’t maintain the dam. It should be maintained. They have made huge profits on the hardworking backs of Californian’s, always requesting more rate hikes and the CPUC gifting it to them. They’ve been derelict in their duty to maintain this important infrastructure, they can kick down the money to fix it!
The removal of the dam would be a disaster for everyone and the ecosystem that depends on that water. PG&E has been derelict in their maintenance of the dam. They have requested rate hikes and the CPUC has gifted them every time. Their profits are on the hard working backs of Californians. Save the dams.
It would be devastating to the AG industry no doubt. I’m doubtful about the impact to the urban areas which already restrict their water usage and meter their water use. This dam costs more than it’s worth to PG&e which spent billions to rebuild large swaths of the North Bay and cut back the vegetation around many miles of power lines post 2017 fires. The North Bay economy should consider moving away from a subsidy dependent agriculture community.
I for one love subsidy dependent agriculture, just not sure where it is. F the salmon free water for all subsidy dependent Ag!!
This dam for starters is a subsidy…The vineyards don’t pay for this dam but everyone else does even though they don’t benefit from the water storage. There are numerous grants run through the USDA that essentially pay for equipment for the vineyards which is tax payer funded. There are also tax deductions that are specialized to the agriculture business and there is this thing called the Williams act which is just a giant tax discount that ag parcels receive from the county. Ag communities cost more to keep up than they produce as an output.
And it’s mostly for alcohol grapes, maybe some weed….
Correct. In addition, wine consumption (along with other alcohol products) are in decline and people are drinking less alcohol. Let the Dam go and move on…