California Code of Regulations › Title 23 - Waters › Division 3 - State Water Resources Control Board and Regional Water Quality Control Boards › Chapter 2 - Appropriation of Water › Article 22 - Prevention of Waste and Unreasonable Use › Section 862 - Russian River, Special

Current through Register 2024 Notice Reg. No. 28, July 12, 2024
Budding grape vines and certain other crops in the Russian
					 River watershed may be severely damaged by spring frosts. Frost protection of
					 crops is a beneficial use of water under section
					 671 of this chapter. During a
					 frost, however, the high instantaneous demand for water for frost protection by
					 numerous vineyardists and other water users may contribute to a rapid decrease
					 in stream stage that results in the mortality of salmonids due to stranding.
					 Stranding mortality can be avoided by coordinating or otherwise managing
					 diversions to reduce instantaneous demand. Because a reasonable alternative to
					 current practices exists, the Board has determined these diversions must be
					 conducted in accordance with this section.
(a) After March 14, 2012, except for
				  diversion upstream of Warm Springs Dam in Sonoma County or Coyote Dam in
				  Mendocino County, any diversion of water from the Russian River stream system,
				  including the pumping of hydraulically connected groundwater, for purposes of
				  frost protection from March 15 through May 15, shall be diverted in accordance
				  with a board approved water demand management program (WDMP). For purposes of
				  this section, groundwater pumped within the Russian River watershed is
				  considered hydraulically connected to the Russian River stream system if that
				  pumping contributes to a reduction in stream stage to any surface stream in the
				  Russian River watershed during any single frost event.
(b) The purpose of the WDMP is to assess the
				  extent to which diversions for frost protection affect stream stage and manage
				  diversions to prevent cumulative diversions for frost protection from causing a
				  reduction in stream stage that causes stranding mortality. The WDMP, and any
				  revisions thereto, shall be administered by an individual or governing body
				  (governing body) capable of ensuring that the requirements of the program are
				  met. Any WDMP developed pursuant to this section shall be submitted to the
				  board by February 1 prior to the frost season.
(c) At a minimum, the WDMP shall include (1)
				  an inventory of the frost diversion systems within the area subject to the
				  WDMP, (2) a stream stage monitoring program, (3) an assessment of the potential
				  risk of stranding mortality due to frost diversions, (4) the identification and
				  timelines for implementation of any corrective actions necessary to prevent
				  stranding mortality caused by frost diversions, and (5) annual reporting of
				  program data, activities, and results. In addition, the WDMP shall identify the
				  diverters participating in the program and any known diverters within the area
				  subject to the WDMP who declined to participate. The WDMP also shall include a
				  schedule for conducting the frost inventory, developing and implementing the
				  stream stage monitoring program, and conducting the risk assessment.
(1) Inventory of frost diversion systems: The
				  governing body shall establish an inventory of all frost diversions included in
				  the WDMP. The inventory, except for diversion data, shall be completed within
				  three months after board approval of a WDMP. The inventory shall be updated
				  annually with any changes to the inventory and with frost diversion data. The
				  inventory shall include for each frost diversion:
(A) Name of the diverter;
(B) Source of water used and location of
				  diversion;
(C) A description of the
				  diversion system and its capacity;
(D) Acreage frost protected and acres frost
				  protected by means other than water diverted from the Russian River stream
				  system; and
(E) The rate of
				  diversion, hours of operation, and volume of water diverted during each frost
				  event for the year.