By:Genie Azad, CFMCarson Water Subconservancy DistrictWatershed Program Manager

Watershed Management Through Cooperative Action

Very Glad to Be Here!

Great Basin Watershed

• Watersheds include:• Lake Tahoe and Truckee

River Watersheds• Carson & Walker River

Watershed• No rivers drain to ocean• Where I Live!

International Conference on Watershed Management

• Connect RBOs, local round tables & MRC

• Need consistent & diverse sources of funding

• Regional collaboration critical

• Need for trust between people from all walks of life

• Need both top-down & top-up approaches to ensure linkages

• Local & basin level approaches

• Sound science & good data is key for decision making– Lack of good data– Need to share data

Conflict on the Carson

Mark Twain said:

“Whiskey is for Drinking,Water is for Fighting”

Carson River Watershed• Encompasses apx. 3,966

square miles (6,382 kilometers)

• Carson River 184 miles long (296 km)

• Current population estimation125,000– Range from 200 people in

Markleeville to 50,000 in Carson City

• Was predicted to reach over 457,000 by 2050

Structure of CWSDStructure of CWSD• 14 Board Members representing 6

counties and 2 states• Funding

– Property Tax ($0.3/$100)– Grants (State, Fed., & others)

• Staffing– 2 Full Time, 3 Part Time

• Staff includes specialists in areas of:– Water quantity,quality & conservation– Aquatic ecology– Floodplain management– Stakeholder facilitation– Public outreach and communication– Budget & grant administrationNo Regulatory Authority

Regional Cooperation

Fun Board!

Conservation DistrictsCarson ValleyDayton ValleyLahontanAlpine

Western NV RC&D

Carson River Coalition

Alpine Watershed Group

Clear Creek Watershed Council

Private Citizens

HDR

Landowners

Carson River Watershed

Douglas County, NV

Carson Canyon- Carson City/Lyon County

Lyon County

Alpine County, CA

Carson City

Churchill County

Storey County, NV

Lahontan Dam and Reservoir

Newlands Irrigation Project

• Dam - 120 feet high by 1,300 feet wide• Reservoir 23 miles long, covers 100,000 acres• Provides water for farming in Churchill and Lyon

Counties• Largest structure of the Newlands Project

– First Bureau of Reclamation project began in 1903, completed in 1914

Current Water Situation

• River is fully appropriated– 95 %+ of the river water is used for Ag

• Groundwater basins over appropriated• Balancing water needs between Ag,

environmental & domestic use• No large upstream storage• Water quality problems• Growth

We’ve come a long way!

Federal Clean Water Act Responsibilities

• 303(d) Impaired Waters List• Total Maximum Daily Loads (pollution loads)

– California• Indian Creek Reservoir – Total Phosporus

– Nevada• Bryant Creek (associated with Leviathan Mine)• Carson River East & West Forks –

– Total Phosphorus – Total Suspended Solids & Turbidity

– 208 Planning –• Wastewater reuse

Acid Main Drainage

• Historic mining impacts• Superfund Sites

– Leviathan Mine• 22 million tons overburden with sulfide

to region

– Carson River Mercury Site• Comstock Mining Era• 186 mills, 16 on river• 14 million lbs mercury• 40 yrs wood drives

• Channelization & levees– 70 miles of river channelized in 1960’s

• Diversion structures

Leviation Mine Superfund Site

Learning from the Past

Flooding - Nothing New!!Flooding - Nothing New!!(Not a question of(Not a question of if if but but whenwhen))

1876 – Dayton Valley 1907 – Carson City

1955 – Carson Valley1937 – Carson Valley

Major Flooding:

1852

1862

1867

1874

1886

1889

1907

1937

1943

1950

1955

1963

1983

1986

1995

1997

2005

Drought

• Defined as 70% or less of average annual precipitation

• Affects water quality and habitat• Multi-year droughts occur about every 10-15 years

in the Carson River Watershed• Drought occurred in the years of 1981, 1987, 1988,

1990, 1991, 1992, 1994 and 2001

Ranches to Subdivisions

Photo L. Crane

Flood of 1997 – Many Lessons Learned

Need for Integrated Watershed Management

Balancing the NeedsBalancing the Needs

DomesticAgricultural

Environmental

U.S. EPA Watershed Framework• Hydrologically defined• Involves all stakeholders

– Includes public and private sector– Community based– Includes coordinating framework

• Strategically addresses priority water resource goals (e.g. water quality, habitat, industrial & municipal)– Integrates multiple programs (regulatory & voluntary)– Based on sound science– Aided by strategic watershed plans– Uses adaptive management

EPA Seven-Step Process• Build partnerships• Characterize the

Watershed• Set goals and identify

solutions• Design an implementation

program

• Develop Watershed Plan

• Implement the Watershed Plan

• Measure Progress and Make Adjustments

Benefits of Integrated Watershed Management

Approach

• Shared vision & goals• Connects groups• Support and direction for on-the-ground projects• Consistency throughout watershed - planning & projects• Additional resources for everyone• Leverage funding• Increase in overall stewardship of resources

To view both documents go to:www.cwsd.org

Meets EPA 319 criteria for watershed plans

Formally adopted in 2008 by all 5 counties along the Carson River

Regional Programs

Living River Approach Alternative Futures for Carson River

Carson River through lands owned by the Washoe Tribe of Nevada

Concrete flood channel, LA River

--John Warpeha

--Western Water

Adaptive Stewardship Plan

• Comprehensive, Living Resource

• Commons Goals and Objectives

• Overview of challenges• Discuss long & short term

strategies • Link Guiding Principles to

strategies• Tracking mechanism for

past, current & future project & programs

• Address Federal & State Mandates

Currently in process of updating

Management Measures in PlanRiver RehabilitationFloodplain ConservationWater Quantity & QualityOutreach and EducationInvasive Species AbatementRecreational Use

Photo: Truckee Canal

River RehabilitationBio-Engineering techniques to reduce erosion

Native plant materials, very little rock, natural recruitment

Use willow bundles, erosion control mattresses etc., to stabilize banks.

Incised banks are laid back and re-connected to floodplain

Regional Floodplain Management Plan • Suggested Actions Categories

– Protect Floodplain Natural Functions & Values– Higher Regulatory Standards– Flood Data Information and Management – Channel Migration and Bank Erosion Monitoring– Floodplain & Flood Hazard Outreach and Education– Reduce Infrastructure Impacts

Photo by Wolf

Carson Valley Floodplains Agricultural lands provide flood storage, wildlife habitat, recharge of groundwater, riparian habitat and many other ecosystem services.

Comparable Programs

Boston – Charles River• ACOE project to control

flooding• $10 million in land and

easements to accomplish storage goals

• 8,000 acres in 17 existing wetlands areas

• Alternative costs for same storage amount– Dam - $100 million

upfront– City saves $17 million a

year in flood damage avoidance

– 1.5% added value to homes in the area

Levy Failure

Hurricane Katrina

Mississippi River Commission

Numerous Watershed Management Organizations, NGO’s, Agencies,

Chesapeake Bay Watershed

• Watershed Management Program– Protect and restore

fisheries– Control sediment and

other non-point source pollution

– Outreach and Education

What Have We Learned?• Watershed approach works-involve community

members, reduce conflict• The river is the resource• Use non-structural approach• Need consistent source of funding• Regional cooperation is critical

Thank You!!!

East Fork Carson River in California

Wild & Scenic River Designation