Eel River Dams | California Trout

Eel River Dams

THE DAMS

Two dams on the Eel River make up the Potter Valley Project. The Project, owned by PG&E, consists of Scott and Cape Horn dams, two reservoirs, a diversion tunnel that sends water through a mountain to the Russian River watershed, and a hydroelectric powerhouse located in Potter Valley. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) license for the Project expires on April 14, 2022, and will not be renewed. Project owner PG&E will thus likely be directed by FERC to prepare a Surrender and Decommissioning Plan for the Project.

Owner:

Pacific Gas & Electric (Current license expires April 2022)

Location:

Upper Mainstem Eel River

Completion Date:

Cape Horn Dam in 1907, Scott Dam in 1921

Size:

Cape Horn Dam Height: 63ft, Length: 515ft; Scott Dam Height: 138ft, Length: 850ft

Stakeholders:

PG&E, Sonoma Water, Mendocino County Inland Water and Power Commission, Round Valley Indian Tribes, Humboldt County, Wiyot Tribe, Friends of the Eel River, Trout Unlimited, The Nature Conservancy, Russian Riverkeeper, and California Hydropower Reform Coalition.

Land Acknowledgment

The Eel River Dams are located on the ancestral lands of the Round Valley Indian Tribes and the Wiyot Tribe.

The Problem

Fish populations in the Eel River are severely depressed. Although the Eel River once boasted some of the largest salmon runs in California, the river’s salmon and steelhead populations are all listed as threatened under the Federal Endangered Species Act. Water quality throughout the Eel River is listed as impaired under the Clean Water Act for excessive sedimentation and high temperatures. The river’s mainstem and estuary are also negatively affected by habitat loss from agricultural land conversions, the introduction of non-native pikeminnow, and poor water quality. The 96 ft tall Cape Horn Dam has a poorly functioning fish ladder; 12 miles upstream from Cape Horn, 130 ft Scott Dam, which creates Lake Pillsbury, has no fish passage and blocks 288 miles of potential salmon and steelhead rearing habitat. Scott Dam is the largest barrier to native salmon habitat on the north coast and blocks access to high elevation, climate change resilient habitat in Mendocino National Forest and Snow Mountain Wilderness.

Current Situation

The Eel represents perhaps the greatest opportunity in California to restore an entire watershed and abundant populations of wild salmon and steelhead. PG&E’s decision not to relicense the project means a FERC mandated decommissioning process is all but guaranteed once the license expires this April. CalTrout recognizes a unique opportunity to steer the future of the Eel River toward robust fisheries and a healthy watershed by removing both Eel River dams. We also recognize the opportunity to reverse the long-lasting impacts to Native American Tribes from a century and a half of habitat degradation and other impacts. Over the past two years CalTrout, water users including Sonoma Water and Mendocino County Inland Water and Power Commission, Round Valley Indian Tribes, and Humboldt County have worked within the FERC relicensing process to find a proactive, science-driven approach to resolving the fate of this outdated water infrastructure. The Two-Basin Solution Partners worked toward a project developed, in part, by Congressman Jared Huffman’s Ad Hoc Committee – one that would maintain a winter diversion of Eel River water to the Russian River while restoring migratory access to habitat above the dams. However, the Partners were unable to raise the substantial funds needed to begin work on the project and PG&E was unsupportive. It is clear now that the only path forward for a two-basin solution is via the license surrender and decommissioning process where FERC will order PG&E to submit a plan to decommission the project. PG&E will remain liable for the project and all associated costs until FERC says decommissioning is complete. CalTrout along with Eel River conservation, tribal, and other NGO stakeholders will continue work to ensure that a free flowing Eel River is the ultimate outcome of the decommissioning process and that dam removal happens expeditiously.

Potential for Removal

CalTrout believes that our recently completed Feasibility Study and Phase 2 studies (www.pottervalleyproject.org) demonstrate that dam removal coupled with a run-of-the-river winter diversion can meet the needs of water users and conservation interests, while enhancing the ecological resilience of the Eel River. From analyzing water supply needs to evaluating multiple fish passage technologies, these Studies have provided foundational information for a negotiated settlement among all the interested parties and PG&E. Resolving the fate of PG&E’s Potter Valley Project in a timely manner will benefit the environment and also improve the long-term water security for Russian River water interests.

Voice of Eel River Dams

Redgie Collins California Trout, Legal & Policy Director

Get Involved, Take Action!

Help Reconnect Salmon and Steelhead: Visit pottervalleyproject.org for more information and to learn more about removing the Eel River Dams. Subscribe to CalTrout's newsletter to stay abreast of Potter Valley Project developments. Support CalTrout's Reconnect Habitat Initiative.

Help Us

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Fish Affected:

California Coast Chinook Salmon

Southern Oregon/Northern California Coast Coho Salmon

Northern California Summer Steelhead

Northern California Winter Steelhead

Learn More

Learn more about the Eel River Dams by checking out our Dams Out StoryMap.

View StoryMap

Reconnect Habitat

Support our Dams Out campaign by donating to our Reconnect Habitat Initiative today.

Support Dams Out

About the Authors

MEET THE AUTHORS

Peter Moyle is the Distinguished Professor Emeritus in the Department of Wildlife, Fish and Conservation Biology and Associate Director of the Center for Watershed Sciences, at UC Davis. He is author or co-author of more than 240 publications, including the definitive Inland Fishes of California (2002). He is co-author of the 2017 book, Floodplains: Processes and Management for Ecosystem Services. His research interests include conservation of aquatic species, habitats, and ecosystems, including salmon; ecology of fishes of the San Francisco Estuary; ecology of California stream fishes; impact of introduced aquatic organisms; and use of floodplains by fish.

Robert Lusardi is the California Trout/UC Davis Wild and Coldwater Fish Researcher focused on establishing the basis for long-term science specific to California Trout’s wild and coldwater fish initiatives. His work bridges the widening gap between academic science and applied conservation policy, ensuring that rapidly developing science informs conservation projects throughout California. Dr. Lusardi resides at the UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences and works closely with Dr. Peter Moyle on numerous projects to help inform California Trout conservation policy. His recent research interests include Coho salmon on the Shasta River, the ecology of volcanic spring-fed rivers, inland trout conservation and management, and policy implications of trap and haul programs for anadromous fishes in California.

Patrick Samuel is the Conservation Program Coordinator for California Trout, a position he has held for almost two years, where he coordinates special research projects for California Trout, including the State of the Salmonids report. Prior to joining CalTrout, he worked with the Fisheries Leadership & Sustainability Forum, a non-profit that supports the eight federal regional fishery management councils around the country. Patrick got his start in fisheries as an undergraduate intern with NOAA Fisheries Protected Resources Division in Sacramento, and in his first field job as a crew member of the California Department of Fish & Wildlife’s Wild and Heritage Trout Program.