Are Claws Back in the South Fork American River?

El Dorado County is one more place where it can truthfully be said that “a river runs through it.” Yes, that’s the South Fork American River, a river that the County shares with the world. 

But like any place in the golden state, there are always some that envy a river’s waters, and the South Fork is no different. Here both the El Dorado Irrigation District (EID) and El Dorado County Water Agency (EDCWA) expect sometime in July to finalize their draft environmental impact reports (EIRs) for water rights to gain more access to the South Fork. 

EID Tries to Divert Upstream

The Ghost of the Past — or isn’t a deal a deal? More than thirty years ago, in response to protests from South Fork American River environmental/recreation interests, EID dropped upstream points of diversion (Kyburz) from their application for what became Water Right Permit #21112. Dropping the Kyburz diversion partially resolved protests (including Friends of the River’s) to EID’s petition for 17,000 acre-feet of water, awarded in 1996 with a few later revisions. 

In the subsequent years, EID built greater capabilities to physically move upstream diversions from the South Fork watershed into Jenkinson “Lake” (“Sly Park” — yes, in the Cosumnes River watershed but linked into EID’s delivery system serving both watersheds) and ultimately into orchards, vineyard, and municipal uses in mostly rural El Dorado County. EID’s proposed water rights change will facilitate American River-to-Sly Park diversions further. The changes may also facilitate greater ability to sell EID’s pre-1914 water to downstream buyers.

Permit #21112: EID is seeking to modify their existing Folsom Reservoir diversion right (water rights permit #21112 secured in 1996) so they can also divert upstream at Kyburz, bypassing important reaches of the South Fork American River. In August of last year, Friends of the River, California Sportfishing Protection Alliance, American Whitewater, California Outdoors, American River Outfitters Association, and American River Recreation Association, among others, offered comments on EID’s draft EIR, and many more had offered comments on EID’s EIR “Notice of Preparation” back in 2020. 

A major concern has been loss of recreational river flows that now journey from the Slab Creek Dam to Folsom Reservoir. EID’s analysis suggests this should not be a major concern and has met with concerned citizens on this matter. 

EDCWA moves to tie up 40,000 acre feet of South Fork water

EDCWA will be finalizing their 2024 EIR to acquire rights to some of the Sacramento Municipal Utility District’s (SMUD) Upper American River Project (UARP) water supply. After leaving the UARP, this water now traverses unhindered down the South Fork from the UARP’s last dam, Chile Bar Dam, to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation’s Folsom Reservoir. 

At the time of the UARP relicensing negotiations some twenty years ago, EDCWA cut a quietly negotiated side deal with SMUD to use the SMUD UARP White Rock Powerhouse turnout — subject to EDCWA gaining water rights from the State Water Resources Control Board to do so.  

California water law discourages boxing up into “cold storage” water rights for later use. Such rights, once awarded, become subject to revocation if not put to use. That could happen here. However, filings by the state (“state filings”) are not subject to revocation. Awardees of water rights may also have these rights conditioned to allow for future awards to “counties of origin.” El Dorado County is, and thus, rather remarkably, already has access to “cold storage.”

Why the need for water rights? SMUD only has power rights. The rights to use the water for irrigation and municipal purposes had long before been transferred to the City of Sacramento. 

But those were the rights EDCWA wants, someday to be used by an unknown water retailer (or even EDCWA) to irrigate currently unserved areas slated for water use in the County’s general plan. EDCWA intends to put the water rights into “cold storage” until such time as it becomes possible to serve these areas. After all, EDCWA has no practical way to serve the areas it intends to serve with UARP water. 

Under EDCWA’s likely water rights proposal, this water would be “senior” to City of Sacramento and Reclamation’s water rights on the American’s south fork. While not necessarily diminishing water available for use by the City and Reclamation in most years, if successful, EDCWA could reduce flows in the lower American River in all years, and in drier years reduce water available to Reclamation for temperature management and end of year storage. 

Just the most recent past or déjà vous all over again: In 2009, Friends of the River, Save the American River Association, Sierra Club, American Whitewater, the Environmental Council of Sacramento, and California Outdoors filed protests to the El Dorado Water & Power Agency’s (EDWPA) nearly identical petition with the Water Board. No protests were resolved. The Agency’s petition never went to hearing, and the Agency subsequently dissolved itself, leaving the Water Agency as its official successor to take up the matter again. It has.

EDWA’s contemporary proposal has not been popular. The draft EIR drew negative comments from FOR, Mother Lode Chapter Sierra Club, EID, the City of Sacramento, San Juan, and SARA. https://www.friendsoftheriver.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/250115-FOR-et-al-comments-EDCWA-Reliabilityv2.pdf