The case of Putah Creek. . .

As Putah Creek dried out during a recent drought, the people of Davis bought water to save the surviving fish. Conflicting values complicate stream protection

Michael P. Marchetti P Peter B. Moyle Increasing human demands for underscore the need for commu- An average of 60% of California’s water in California have led to a nities and irrigation districts to total available water (34 million acre- decline in the diversity and abun- develop long-term water policies feet delivered yearly) comes from sur- dance of native aquatic organ- that recognize environmental face flow and 40% is taken from isms, including valuable salmon needs in the context of groundwater. In 1985 California allo- and steelhead. Declines worsen California’s frequent droughts. cated 80% of this developed water during drought years, a fact dem- Such problem-solving will depend supply to agriculture, 16% to urban ar- onstrated in 1989 when lower on balancing the conflicting value eas and only 2% to wildlife and recre- Putah Creek dried out in the third systems of different groups of wa- ation, according to the California De- year of the state’s most recent ter users. partment of Water Resources. drought That year, the Putah Because water is a limiting resource in California, it is subject to intense Creek Council (a local environ- ater is California’s most limiting competition among users and all too mental group), UC Davis and the resource: Much of the state is often seems to be in short supply. As City of Davis joined forces to pur- semi-arid and 20% of the land receives early as the 1890s, San Joaquin Valley chase more water from the Solano less than 5 inches of rain per year. farmers wrangled over water, often lrrigation District, thereby saving Paradoxically, the state uses nearly a guarding their ditches from each other the fish that had survived in a few quarter of the water delivered to con- with shotguns. Today, the natural en- isolated pools. Since then, these sumers annually in the United States. vironment receives much less water parties and numerous others have Water is essential to the cities, farms than it did before the agricultural in- filed lawsuits to establish rights to and industries that make California dustry developed. the waters of Putah Creek. While prosperous; to the lakes and streams This fact has contributed to the dra- legal questions about these water that make the natural environment so matic decline of California’s native rights remain to be settled, the attractive to humans; and to the rich fish. Of the 113 native fish taxa - spe- events surrounding Putah Creek variety of endemic aquatic species. cies, subspecies and distinct runs of

CALIFORNIA AGRICULTURE, NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 1995 73 74 CALIFORNIA AGRICULTURE, VOLUME 49, NUMBER 6 anadromous fish - more than 70% are either extinct, listed as endangered or in serious decline (fig. 1).(Some of this decline is also due to introductions of exotic game and nongame fish.) The declining fish include all of the state’s anadromous species (those which mi- grate from the sea to breed in fresh water) such as Chinook salmon, coho salmon and steelhead trout, which are important to fisheries (see sidebar, p. 74). Increasing numbers of Califor- nia’s fishes are being listed or proposed for listing as endangered, intensifying water conflicts and often pitting fisher- men and environmentalists against farmers and urban water developers. These disputes reflect how values shift in society, as communities re- evaluate the priorities they’ve as- Above, as lower Putah Creek dried out, signed to water use. In some cases, so- cultivated or urbanized, the creek it- fish died in large numbers. ciety has favored allocating a greater self has a thin border of cottonwoods, Below, a bullhead struggles to survive in a share of California’s water to environ- sycamores, willows and other riparian diminishing pool of water. mental needs (see sidebar, p. 77). A plants. case in point which has yet to be re- The creek and its riparian vegeta- solved is the dispute over the waters tion are a refuge for wildlife that is of lower Putah Creek, which flows otherwise rare or declining in the re- through the UC Davis campus. gion including the giant garter snake, the valley elderberry longhorn beetle, Putah Creek, a refuge the northwestern pond turtle and Putah Creek originates high in the Swainson’s hawk. During the spring Coast Range near Mt. Cobb in Lake and fall, the bushes along the creek are County and winds its way east into rich with migrating warblers and spar- Berryessa Reservoir. Lower Putah rows. Wood ducks raise their broods Creek (below Berryessa Reservoir) in the large, shaded pools of the creek. flows through approximately 30 miles Putah Creek also contains a large of rich agricultural land in Yolo and number of fish species. While the ma- Solano counties before terminating in jority of these are introduced game Solano County. The project was also the Yolo By-pass, a large flood-control fish, the creek still supports remnants designed to provide a measure of channel that drains into the Sacra- of the once-abundant Central Valley flood control. mento River. While nearly every scrap native fish. Both these stream fish and The Solano Project consists of two of land around lower Putah Creek is the anadromous fish that historically major parts: the main water-storage spawned in the creek were a source of structures are Berryessa Reservoir and food for the Patwin Indians who lived Monticello Dam, and the diversion in the region prior to 1850 where the structures that send water south to UC Davis campus now stands. Fairfield and Vacaville (Solano Diver- Putah Creek changed dramatically sion Dam and the Putah South Canal). in 1948 when the Secretary of the Inte- Today water is collected behind rior authorized plans for the Solano Monticello Dam during the rainy sea- Project. The impetus for the Solano son and is released down a 10-mile Project was that Solano County felt its stretch of stream as needed to the prosperity rested on an adequate and Solano Diversion Dam. Water from the dependable source of water. The diversion dam is both transferred project’s goal was to provide water to southward through the Putah South the newly created Solano Irrigation Canal and released downstream into District (SID), which supplies the rich lower Putah Creek according to a Fig. 1. Status of native fishes of Callfor- agricultural lands, as well as the mili- monthly schedule. The downstream nia. Total number of native species = 113. tary, industrial and urban area of release schedule is exactly the same

CALIFORNIA AGRICULTURE, NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 1995 75 every year, except in years of low rain- Conflict continues of winter rain is irregular. However, in fall (and low inflow into Berryessa The wrangling over lower Putah a given year the basic seasonal pattern Reservoir) when releases are reduced. Creek’s water continues to this day of flow is fairly predictable: high flows During most years, the amount of wa- and epitomizes the people-versus- occur in the late winter and early ter allocated for the lower creek is only fish water-use conflicts throughout spring, and low flows occur in late about 10% of the water diverted down California. summer and fall. The fish native to the Putah South Canal-although dur- Water disputes like that over Putah Central California evolved under these ing periods of high rainfall-spills Creek and the seemingly intractable demanding hydrologic conditions and over the diversion dam can increase disagreements they pose are often the therefore are uniquely adapted to the downstream flows. result of fundamentally different thrive there. These fish have fairly nar- In addition to having reduced flows worldviews. Historically, many Cali- row spawning windows that are timed as the result of the diversion, the fornians have seen water largely as a to the high flows created by rainfall or amount of water in lower Putah Creek resource to support mining, agricul- snowmelt. They also have fairly long has been reduced by groundwater ture, urban development and other ac- lives so they can survive through dry pumping in the region. The combina- tivities. This view is reflected in the years and spawn again during wet tion disrupted the creek‘s natural hy- names of California’s principal water years. drologic cycle. Historically, during the agencies: the Department of Water Re- When the flow regime is altered, es- hottest summer months the lowest sources and the Water Resources Con- pecially when the spring flows needed reaches of the creek often lost surface trol Board. for spawning are eliminated, the na- flow and isolated pools formed. How- In this view, water is seen as a com- tive fish tend to disappear and be re- ever, groundwater provided these pools modity to be bought and sold, and the placed by fish such as carp and green with substantial cool-water recharge, emphasis is economic. For example, sunfish that were introduced by hu- thereby maintaining the integrity of the agriculture values water mainly for its mans for food or other reasons. entire native stream community. role in producing crops to meet mar- Besides being essential for aquatic Unfortunately, the current hydro- ket demands and industry values wa- organisms, water is necessary for ri- logical regime allows portions of the ter mainly for manufacturing and pro- parian ecosystems. Water helps break creek to dry completely during ducing goods. The view of water as a down dead organic material, mediates drought years that formerly supported commodity is implicit in terms such as the process of nutrient exchange in pools and short stretches of surface “water rights” and “water uses.“ soils and is required for plant and ani- flow. Notably, in the summer of 1989, When water is thought of this way, mal growth. When most of the water is which was the third consecutive year certain conclusions follow: water removed from aquatic and riparian of the latest drought, most of the water should be used to produce the greatest ecosystems, they change dramatically released by the Solano Irrigation Dis- gain for the greatest number of people; and often disastrously. The evidence trict was removed by the pumps of water can be bought, sold, moved and for this includes the dead riparian for- streamside farmers or sank into the partitioned; and water can be used as ests along streams in the Mono Basin streambed, replenishing groundwater. currency. from which the water was diverted, As lower Putah Creek dried out, While this monetary interpretation the sediment and erosion problems in fish died in large numbers. Herons of water is not fundamentally wrong, the Trinity River watershed and the di- and egrets congregated along the a number of alternative viewpoints ex- minished fisheries of the Sacramento- shrinking pools, feasting themselves tend water’s value beyond economic San Joaquin estuary. on stranded fish. Later that summer, considerations. One of these views is most of the creek dried up. Miles of that water has value for maintaining Water: alternative views dry channel were littered with the de- natural ecological processes. To fully Water plays a vital role in caying bodies of fish, crayfish and tad- appreciate this view, it is necessary to California’s environment. Community poles, while hardy catfish struggled to examine the role water plays in natu- actions such as the 1989 purchase of survive as isolated pools became ral ecosystems, especially aquatic and water for drought-stricken Putah smaller and smaller. Eventually only a riparian systems. Fish and other Creek indicate that some Californians few large, deep pools remained. aquatic organisms obviously require now recognize the value of intact eco- The fish in these large pools were water because that is where they live. systems. We rely on functional ecosys- saved when the Putah Creek Council, But the issue is more complex than tems for the continued health of our a local environmental group, joined simply providing aquatic organisms land, air and water, which in turn ben- UC Davis and the City of Davis to pur- with adequate amounts of water. efits human health and well-being. chase more water for the creek from Other aspects of water are also essen- A second alternative to viewing wa- the Solano County water agency. The tial such as the quality of the water ter as a commodity is to value streams water purchased was just enough to and the yearly pattern of flows. and rivers for their educational poten- keep the pools from drying out or For example, the flows of Central tial. For example, lower Putah Creek is stagnating to the point where the fish Valley streams are highly variable an important educational asset to UC would die. from year to year because the amount continued on page 78

76 CALIFORNIA AGRICULTURE, VOLUME 49, NUMBER 6 CALIFORNIA AGRICULTURE, NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 1995 77 as a living stream guages. It is often as difficult for water was so important resource advocates to be sympathetic to the Putah Creek to environmental concerns as it is for Council, the City of environmental advocates to appreciate Davis and the Uni- the resource values of water. The dia- versity that they logue breaks down and lawsuits re- were willing to pay sult. For example, the fate of Putah for the additional Creek has been entangled in the legal water to keep the system for close to 5 years. There is creek and its in- still no answer to the main question of habitants alive, how much water is needed down- even though this stream. water would not Resolving water conflicts like the directly generate Putah Creek dispute seems destined to income. be a protracted legal process. What- A fourth view- ever the specific outcome, if we as a point is to value society acknowledge the value of pre- streams and rivers serving natural environments, then we for aesthetic rea- must develop better long-term policies sons. People can for water allocation that take into ac- value a stream and count California’s frequent droughts, its surroundings which occur an average of 3 years in simply for its every 10. beauty and charm. Competition among water users In a 1993 survey by will increase as population grows. The Times-Mirror question of whether or not Putah Magazines, two- Creek will survive and thrive as a liv- thirds of Ameri- ing representative of our natural wa- cans indicated that ters will have to be balanced with in- environmental pro- creasing public demands for more tection is more im- food, goods and space. In the end the portant than eco- solutions will come down to a ques- nomic develop- tion of balancing conflicting values. ment. Aesthetic values of the envi- M.P. Marchetti is Graduate Student, Streams and their surroundings are increasingly valued simply for their ronment are in- Ecology Graduate Group, UC Davis; aesthetic qualities. creasingly of fundamental importance P.B. Moyle is Professor, Department of in the personal philosophies of many Wildlife, Fish and Conservation Biology, people. UC Davis. continued from page 76 Aesthetic values can include valu- Davis. Each year hundreds of students ing qualities inherent to organisms For further reading visit the creek on class field trips and and ecosystems as advocated by wild- Daly, H.E., and K.E Townsend, eds.1993. to conduct research projects. UC Davis life biologist Aldo Leopold. Some Valuing the earth: Economics, ecology, ethics. students from urban settings often re- people express a profound respect for MIT Press. Jensen, D.B. et a1.1993. In our own hands: A ceive their first introduction to wildlife other creatures and intact watersheds, strategy for conserving California’s biological di- along the banks of Putah Creek. and they value encounters with native versity. University of California Press, Berkeley. A third viewpoint is to value species and functioning ecosystems Leopold, A. 1966. A Sand County Almanac. Oxford University Press. streams and rivers for their noncon- such as living creeks. They often want 1994. Life on the edge: A resource guide to sumptive recreation such as boating, to have this experience available not California’s endangered plants and wildlife. swimming and wildlife viewing. Such only for themselves but for their chil- BioSysterns Books. activities are becoming increasingly dren and grandchildren. Moyle, P.B. 1993. Fish: An Enthusiast’s Guide. University of California Press, Berkeley. popular. Recent U.S. Fish and Wildlife Contrasts in worldviews and con- Norton, B.G. 1987. Why Save Natural Vari- Service surveys have shown that adult flicting values can block communica- ety? Princeton University Press. Americans engage in nonconsumptive tion between parties involved in water Soule, M.E., and G. Lease, eds. 1995. Rein- wildlife-related recreation twice as disputes. At times, it appears that en- venting nature? Responses to postmodern deconstruction. Island Press. much as they participate in fishing vironmentalists and water resource Wilson, E.O. ed. 1988. Biodiversity. National and hunting. Maintaining Putah Creek advocates are speaking different lan- Academy Press.

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