‘The plan isn’t just short-sighted. It’s dangerous.’
A packed veterans hall in the northern Sonoma County city of Cloverdale became the latest battleground in Northern California’s escalating water war.
On March 20, Cloverdale Mayor Todd Lands hosted a town hall that brought together community members from across the region to discuss the future of the Potter Valley Project.
For over a century, this water diversion system — including multiple dams and Lake Pillsbury — has channeled water from the Eel River into the Russian River, maintaining its year-round flow. That steady water supply has fueled the growth of agricultural communities in Mendocino and Sonoma counties, as well as the region’s thriving wine, tourism and recreation industries.
Now, with PG&E moving forward with decommissioning plans, fear is mounting that the region faces a future of corporate-driven water scarcity.
Although PG&E announced its plan to give up control of the diversion system a decade ago, the March 20 gathering was the first town hall-style public meeting that invited Russian River officials and residents to question the plan’s impact, voice concerns and demand answers about the path forward. The meeting, which SFGATE attended, drew a strong turnout from Russian River residents critical of the decommissioning plans, reflecting deep community frustration about how PG&E’s plans could fundamentally change water availability throughout the region.
PG&E’s draft application to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to dismantle the project went public in January, sparking a regional sense of urgency among ranchers and property owners, even as some conservationists celebrate the idea of restoring the Eel and Russian rivers to their natural flows. As the March 20 meeting was the first public meeting on the topic, attendees traveled from as far as Trinity County in the north and Richmond in the south to hear Russian River leaders discuss the decommissioning.
Cloverdale Mayor Todd Lands’ opening remarks drew widespread applause: “I, as the mayor of Cloverdale, our entire city council, city manager, and the fire chief all have the same concerns as a community and are extremely worried we will not have a guaranteed, safe and reliable water supply for the future,” Lands began. Removal of the Potter Valley Project would mean the community would “go backwards and destroy the quality of life or even just the basic existence of dozens of plants and animal species,” he added.
Sonoma County Supervisor James Gore was next to take the mic, representing northern Russian River communities. As he downplayed the urgency Lands had expressed about the decommissioning, his remarks were met with a quiet room.
Gore reminded the audience that PG&E’s decommissioning plans stem from the company offloading liability for aging infrastructure and that they are not a deliberate effort to cut off the region’s water supply. “We’re here because PG&E 10 years ago decided that this project was not economical,” he said.
Gore noted that PG&E had attempted to find a buyer but that “nobody stepped up to purchase that liability and the other assets.” This inaction, Gore explained, was the catalyst for him and other leaders to spearhead an alternative Eel-Russian diversion effort, referred to as the New Eel-Russian Diversion Facility, which would allow seasonal water flows but eliminate Lake Pillsbury and Scott Dam.
“That’s the reality of it,” Gore told the crowd. “My goal has always been with our colleagues … to fight to get the best solution that we can on the table.”
Next to speak was David Manning, the general manager of Sonoma Water’s environmental resources division, whose tone indicated he would be grounding the evening’s conversation in facts. His presentation focused on the New Eel-Russian Diversion Facility, which he said aims to balance “two co-equal goals”: improving fish migration on the Eel River while ensuring continued water diversions into the Russian River.
As Manning clicked through a PowerPoint presentation, the room fell silent. River flow charts flashed on the screen, illustrating how the new facility would differ from the current Potter Valley Project by operating only when the Eel River has sufficient water. This seasonal approach would limit Russian River diversions while maintaining fish migration routes and supporting downstream water users, Manning said.
Like Gore, Manning avoided commentary on PG&E’s plans to remove the Potter Valley Project. His only acknowledgment of the potential upheaval for the Russian River watershed was a measured remark: The future holds “a very different paradigm,” he said. The crowd mostly murmured in response.
‘The plan isn’t just short-sighted. It’s dangerous.’
Gore and Manning were the first two speakers — and the only ones who didn’t voice strong opposition to PG&E’s plan to decommission the Potter Valley Project. After them came Chris Coulombe, a former Republican candidate for Congress who lost in a landslide to Democratic Rep. Jared Huffman last November. Coulombe had made preserving the Potter Valley Project a central issue in his campaign. He immediately tried to tap into the crowd’s emotions.
“There is nothing else more important than the water. Everything else emanates from that,” he declared, striking a reverent tone. He dismissed Manning’s presentation as overly technical, quipping, “A lot of graphs, a lot of slides, a lot of big words.”
Coulombe urged Russian River residents to take action to oppose the decommissioning, despite the fact that PG&E has already finalized its plan. “Our community is the one that is responsible for ensuring that this resource is protected and does exist,” he said. Frustrated by what he saw as widespread inaction, he added, “Seventy percent of us have no idea what’s going on.”
The crowd erupted in applause.
The next panelist was Frost Pauli, a fifth-generation Potter Valley resident and volunteer fire captain, who warned of the economic fallout if the project is scrapped. “Our property values are going to decrease. Our property taxes are going to decrease,” he claimed. That, in turn, would shrink county revenue, hurting schools and local services, he said.
He argued that water storage must be prioritized alongside diversions. “We need additional water storage. We can have a diversion, but if we don’t have a way to store it in the wintertime to use it later in summer, having the diversion is useless.” Conversely, he pointed out, “If we don’t have a diversion, having all the storage in the world doesn’t do us any good if there is no water to store.”
Currently, a feasibility study aims to explore the possibility of raising Coyote Valley Dam, which holds back Lake Mendocino, to allow Russian River water users to store more of the limited water diverted from the Eel post-decommisioning
That is a separate proposal from the New Eel-Russian Diversion Facility plan, however. Most panelists had issues with that, too.
Lands, the Cloverdale mayor, pulled no punches in his criticism of the New Eel-Russian Diversion Facility plans, referencing Sonoma Water’s own engineering report released last May to paint a dire picture. “Under the current solution, [we] will be in drought conditions and curtailments at least five out of every 10 years,” he said, adding that the Russian River will dry up for 56 out of every 111 years, leaving the region with almost no water during critical summer months.
Lake County Supervisors Eddie Crandell and Bruno Sabatier voiced their constituents’ concerns about the potential draining of Lake Pillsbury, a man-made reservoir created by Scott Dam in Lake County. If the dam is decommissioned, the reservoir is expected to be nearly emptied. The Lake County Board of Supervisors recently appealed to the Trump administration to intervene in the decommissioning, citing an executive order focused on maximizing California’s water storage.
Crandell, who represents the district including Lake Pillsbury and who is a member of the Robinson Rancheria Band of Pomo Indians, called out what he saw as a misleading narrative around tribal collaboration. While the Round Valley Indian Tribes have signed onto the New Eel-Russian Diversion Facility, Crandell argued that other tribes along the Russian River are being ignored. “They’re only talking about the Round Valley Indian Tribes who are on the Eel side,” he said, adding that numerous other regional tribal interests have been “marginalized.”
Sabatier took the microphone and directly criticized PG&E, calling the utility the “culprit of this whole thing.” He highlighted the contradictions in PG&E’s actions, noting that while the company receives public funding to build infrastructure and was recently approved by the California Public Utilities Commission to raise rates, it simultaneously claims it lacks the money to restore a thriving environment around Lake Pillsbury. “I think that PG&E is trying to cut as many corners as possible,” Sabatier said.
The last two topics to be discussed were impacts on public safety and tourism revenue. Cloverdale Fire Chief Jason Jenkins condemned the proposed water plan as a serious threat to public safety, recalling his deployment to help fight Los Angeles’ devastating Palisades Fire. “Water was the issue,” he said, emphasizing that the lack of available water for responders had allowed the fire to keep burning. He warned that a depleted Russian River could create similar conditions and did not mince words: “Every fire chief in California will be saying the same thing. This is not a plan that protects our community,” adding that it isn’t “just short-sighted. It’s dangerous.”
Meanwhile, Dayna Ghirardelli, the executive director of the Sonoma County Farm Bureau, brought a printed copy of a recent economic impact study that detailed the potentially severe financial consequences of reducing water diversion from the Eel River. She highlighted key findings by reading select passages aloud that concluded even a modest 10% reduction in water supply would result in a roughly $65 million income loss, along with nearly 300 lost jobs and a total drop in tax revenue of well over $2 million.
“If tourism suffers, our economy suffers,” she said.
She also discussed the strain on year-round residents. With rising water costs and limited supply, she questioned, “Why would folks want to come here? Why would they want to live here?”
Lands spoke again at the end to wrap up the panel portion, emphasizing the essential role the river plays in the area, particularly as a venue for recreation in the warmer months. “People can’t afford to get in the car or even just the gas … to drive to the ocean. People can’t afford to have or run the air condition,” he said.
‘Just keep the damn dam we got’
Matt LaFever/SFGATE)
After the panelists had spoken, the public was invited to share their concerns. Over the next hour, more than 25 community members stepped up to the lectern.
A fisherman who spoke out against the plan hit hard, claiming, “None of the people here that are trying to take the dams out are from here. None of them.” He went on to argue that the battle was far from over, declaring, “These people that are in charge will take these dams out, no matter what we say. We have to fight.” Reflecting on his decades of experience on the river, he put the blame squarely on water mismanagement, not the water itself: “The problem isn’t the water, the problem is managing. They’ve mismanaged our water terribly.”
Bronte Edwards, a first-generation sheep rancher from Sonoma County, joined the chorus of criticism, calling the New Eel-Russian Diversion Facility project a setup for failure. “This project in the way that y’all have pitched — this is setting us up for failure,” she said, adding her concern over the lack of true Indigenous consultation. “My Indigenous brothers and sisters … are not on board with this. Y’all are tokenizing them in the name of environmentalism.”
Ken Foster, a sixth-generation resident of Potter Valley, took a different approach. “The most logical thing… instead of building more lakes and more dams and raising the dams, it’s just keep the damn dam we got.”
Matt LaFever/SFGATE)
Donna Gregory, who was born in Fort Bragg and grew up in Cloverdale, shared her lifelong connection to the Russian River. “The Russian River gave me some of my best memories of my whole life. I hate to see anything happen to [it],” she said, expressing her deep concern. “Fix what you guys have. Don’t tear it down.”
Finally, Guinness McFadden, who said he owns the first property on the Russian River in Potter Valley, voiced his frustration over the lack of action on the issue. “I’ve been concerned about this issue for years,” he said. “It thrills me to see that finally, it seems to be getting downriver a little bit and people are becoming concerned.” His message was clear: “Let’s get to our elected officials and get them to slow this headlong rush to take everything down before we have an idea of what’s going to work in the future.”