Truckee River Operating Agreement 2016 California Annual Guidelines for Truckee River Reservoir Operations STATE OF CALIFORNIA Edmund G. Brown, Jr., Governor CALIFORNIA NATURAL RESOURCES AGENCY John Laird, Secretary for Natural Resources Department of Water Resources Carl Torgersen Mark Cowin Gary B. Bardini Chief Deputy Director Director IWM Deputy Director Division of Integrated Regional Water Management Art Hinojosa, Chief Truckee River Operating Agreement 2016 CALIFORNIA ANNUAL GUIDELINES FOR TRUCKEE RIVER RESERVOIR OPERATIONS This document was prepared for use by the Truckee River Operating Agreement Administrator and all signatory parties to that Agreement pursuant to Public Law 101-618 and the Truckee River Operating Agreement Preparation Team Department of Water Resources North Central Region Office, Regional Planning and Coordination Branch California – Nevada & Watershed Assessment Section Eric Hong, P.E, Office Chief Gary Lippner, P.E., Branch Chief Paul Larson, P.E., Section Chief David Willoughby, Engineer, W.R. Tom Scott, Engineer, W.R. California Department of Fish and Wildlife Laurie Hatton, Senior Environmental Scientist (Supervisory) In coordination with: Truckee River Basin Water Group (TRBWG) Richard Anderson, Chair Truckee River Operating Agreement Table of Contents Table of Contents ................................................................................................................................................................... i Table of Contents (cont.) ..................................................................................................................................................... iii Acronyms and Abbreviations ............................................................................................................................................. iv Foreword ................................................................................................................................................................................ 1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................................................................... 3 Drought Status and Season Determination......................................................................................................................... 5 Floriston Rates .......................................................................................................................................... 5 “Normal” or “Dry” Season Determination ............................................................................................... 5 “Drought Situation” Declaration ............................................................................................................... 6 California Annual Guidelines .............................................................................................................................................. 7 PART 1 ................................................................................................................................................................................... 9 2016 GOALS AND OBJECTIVES FOR TRUCKEE RIVER RESERVOIR OPERATIONS ...................................... 9 Rivers and Streams ............................................................................................................................................................... 9 1.1 Truckee River Instream Flows and Priorities ............................................................................................................ 11 1.2 Rationale for Priority Ranking .................................................................................................................................... 12 Prosser Creek below Prosser Dam .......................................................................................................... 12 Little Truckee River between Stampede Dam and Boca Reservoir ........................................................ 12 Independence Creek between Independence Dam and the Confluence with the Little Truckee River .. 13 Donner Creek between Donner Lake Dam and the Confluence with the Truckee River ....................... 13 Truckee River from Lake Tahoe to the State Line .................................................................................. 13 Little Truckee River from Boca Dam to the Confluence with the Truckee River .................................. 14 1.3 Flow Ramping Rates ..................................................................................................................................................... 14 The following Preferred Flow Ramping Table should be considered when changing flow rates is necessary to avoid adverse impacts to downstream aquatic resources (and fishermen). .................... 15 Rationale for Flow Ramping Rates ..................................................................................................... 16 1.4 Truckee River Watershed Natural Hydrograph ........................................................................................................ 17 1.5 River and Stream Recreation Activities and Targets ................................................................................................ 19 River Rafting ........................................................................................................................................... 19 Stream Fishing ........................................................................................................................................ 20 1.6 River Icing Prevention .................................................................................................................................................. 22 1.7 Water Quality Monitoring Plan ................................................................................................................................... 22 PART 2 ................................................................................................................................................................................. 25 GENERAL GOALS AND OBJECTIVES FOR TRUCKEE RIVER RESERVOIR OPERATIONS ........................ 25 i TROA 2016 Guidelines Lakes / Reservoirs ............................................................................................................................................................... 25 2.1 Reservoir Recreation Activities and Objectives ......................................................................................................... 27 a. Camping, Boating, and Day Use ..................................................................................................... 27 Truckee River ...................................................................................................................................... 27 Stampede Reservoir ............................................................................................................................ 27 Boca Reservoir .................................................................................................................................... 28 Prosser Reservoir ................................................................................................................................ 28 b. Water-Skiing ................................................................................................................................... 28 Boca Reservoir .................................................................................................................................... 28 Stampede Reservoir ............................................................................................................................ 29 Prosser Reservoir ................................................................................................................................ 29 2.2 Special Objectives for Donner Lake / Reservoir ........................................................................................................ 29 2.3 Special Objectives for Independence Lake / Reservoir ............................................................................................. 30 PART 3 ................................................................................................................................................................................. 31 TROA ADMINISTRATION .............................................................................................................................................. 31 3.1 California’s Responsibilities under TROA ................................................................................................................. 33 A) Monitoring of Operations .................................................................................................................. 33 B) RiverWare Operations Model ............................................................................................................ 33 C) Operations Scheduling ....................................................................................................................... 33 D) California Guidelines ......................................................................................................................... 34 E) California Credit Waters .................................................................................................................... 34 F) Financial Obligations ........................................................................................................................