The mission of the Southern Sierra Regional Water Management Group is to provide a forum to discuss, plan and implement creative, collaborative, regional, integrated water/natural resource/watershed management actions that enhance the natural resources and human communities of the Southern Sierra Region. The Southern Sierra Integrated Regional Water Management Planning (SSIRWMP) effort was initiated through the actions of the Sequoia Riverlands Trust (SRT), the Sierra Nevada Alliance (SNA) and the Sierra Nevada Conservancy (SNC). The SSIRWMP effort is in the first phase of the regional planning process, which includes identifying and convening water resource stakeholders across the region; identifying and finalizing geographic boundaries for the SSIRWMP area; drafting and finalizing a memorandum of understanding for the Regional Water Management Group; and submitting a Round 2 Planning Grant Proposal to the Department of Water Resources.
To find out more about the Southern Sierra Regional Water Management Group, please visit the IRWM section of the Sequoia Riverlands Trust website here.
The boundary of the Southern Sierra RWMG has a common northern border with the Madera RWMG, with a small overlap, a common southern border with the Kern County RWMG, boundaries at the crest of the Sierra with the Inyo-Mono RWMG, and western borders based largely on the boundaries of special districts and conforms to land use differences. The Southern Sierra RWMG boundaries, and boundaries of the eight watersheds in the Region, are explained in detail on the IRWMP. The Region is considered appropriate as an RWMG since it has a strong hydrologic basis based largely on watershed boundaries and the Sierra Nevada crest. The Region represents foothill and mountain communities with similar interests, issues and cultures. The Region also has similar groundwater conditions throughout most of its area. The area is significantly different than downstream Valley areas that have a higher population, greater groundwater supplies and abundant agriculture. The Region was accepted through the Region Acceptance Process and it has functioned well so far through RWMG sponsored efforts.
The Southern Sierra Region of California is the fourth largest Integrated Regional Water Management (IRWM) Region in the state, covering approximately 6,195 square miles (3,964,800 acres) and includes the foothills and mountain headwater regions of the Kern, Poso, White River, Tule, Kaweah, Kings, and San Joaquin River (SJR) watersheds. These watersheds cover the Sierra Nevada portion of Fresno and Tulare counties, and a portion of the Sierra Nevada in Madera County. This Region is of great importance to the overall well-being of the state, not only for its rich ecosystems, natural resources and abundant recreational opportunities, but also as a main source of water for California’s thriving agriculture, energy production, wildlife species, habitats and corridors, and domestic water needs. The headwaters and midelevation watersheds of this Region are relatively intact as they are managed almost entirely for public benefits by federal agencies including the U.S. Forest Service, the National Park Service, the United States Army Corps of Engineers and others. Significant and increasing challenges include changing land uses, rapid climate change, habitat fragmentation, severe air pollution, altered fire regimes, and invasive species represent stresses on the landscape. In addition, changing population demographics, wildland/urban interface development, and other land use and natural resource demands already threaten the traditional working landscapes of the foothills to the upper reaches of the watersheds.
The Region includes significant man-made water resource facilities that export water to other (downstream) areas for consumption, recreation and wildlife habitat. The San Joaquin River at Friant Dam is diverted for irrigation via the Friant-Kern Canal south as far as Kern County and a lesser amount is diverted by Madera Irrigation District and Chowchilla Water District through the Madera Canal. Southern California Edison operates Edison, Florence, Huntington, Shaver and Redinger Lakes, and Mammoth Pool Reservoir in the San Joaquin River watershed. PG&E also operates two large, high elevation reservoirs in the Kings River Drainage: Courtwright and Wishon. The US Army Corps of Engineers operates the Pine Flat Dam in the foothills of Fresno County. The Army Corps of Engineers also operates dams on the Kaweah and Tule Rivers in the Southern Sierra Region. Refer to Appendix C for a detailed list of these and other dams, reservoirs and their hydroelectric capacity.
The Southern Sierra boundary include the foothills and mountain headwater regions of the Kern River, Poso Creek, Deer Creek, White River, Tule River, Kaweah River, Kings River, and about half of the San Joaquin River watersheds. These watersheds, shown in Figure 3-1, cover the Sierra Nevada portion of Fresno and Tulare counties, and a portion of Madera County. Within the Region, water generally flows from the crest of the Sierra Nevada mountain range in the east towards the Tulare Basin in the west. The streams flow from high mountain lakes, meadows, snowfields and a few glaciers, out of deeply incised watersheds with extensive coniferous forests in the mountains, through foothill regions with brush and annual grasslands. In the foothills lay the majority of the large dams. As previously discussed, there are few population centers in the Southern Sierra; however, most of the population in Madera, Fresno, and Tulare counties is centered in the Valley portions of the counties outside of the Region. All of these watersheds could benefit from projects designed to achieve multiple objectives such as: implementing strategic plans for local water agencies, meadow restorations, fuel breaks and fuel treatments, improved fire management, comprehensive water studies, ecosystem restoration and invasive species removal. Below are general descriptions of the watersheds in the Southern Sierra Region and their water management portfolios.
The San Joaquin River (SJR) watershed covers an extensive portion of the southern Sierra Nevada. The total watershed area is 1,700 square miles with about 1,130 in the RWMG area. The average annual inflow to the reservoir is about 1.8 million acre-feet. The lower part of the watershed includes the areas near Millerton Lake at 340 feet median sea level (msl). The eastern boundary follows the Sierra crest at elevations around 14,000 feet. Outside of the Southern Sierra Region, the San Joaquin River flows east and north to the Delta. Over 20 towns, villages and communities lie within the SJR watershed, many of which provide some level of water or sanitary service.
The Kings River watershed is located just south of the San Joaquin River watershed, and north of the Kaweah River and Kern River watersheds. The watershed covers an area of about 1,850 square miles. The difference in elevation within the RWMG area is about 600 feet in the foothills up to 14,200 feet at the crest of the Sierras. The upper reaches include Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. The average annual inflow to Pine Flat Reservoir is about 1.7 million acre-feet/year.
Sixty-five miles of the Kings River was classified as a Wild and Scenic River by a Congressional Act in 1987. Mill Creek, an important tributary to the Kings River, is located approximately 35 air miles southeast of Fresno, California. This watershed contains the Mill Flat Critical Aquatic Refuge (CAR) which supports the Western Pond Turtle and native fisheries. It provides water for municipal, agricultural, contact and noncontact recreation, and both warm and cold water fisheries. Communities reliant on Kings River water are customers of the Fresno Metropolitan Flood Control District (FMFCD) and the communities of Sanger, Reedley, Selma, Parlier and Kingsburg. A main concern in this watershed is sediment contributions from roads to streams. Watershed inventory work has been completed and shows a significant amount of sediment delivery from the road system that lies within this watershed. Specific road maintenance activities such as, road drainage reconstruction (culvert replacement, over-side drainage repair, etc.), and road decommissioning work was identified in the USFS watershed prioritization process and is needed within this watershed both for watershed restoration and for the beneficial downstream impacts to municipal watersheds, agriculture, recreation and fisheries.
The Kaweah River watershed is located just south of the Kings River watershed, and is in the geographic center of the Southern Sierra Region. The majority of the upper watershed is included in the Southern Sierra Region (917 out of 938 square miles). The difference in elevation within the IRWM area is about 600 feet in the foothills up to 12,400 feet at the eastern end. The upper reaches include Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks.
The Tule River watershed is located just south of the Kaweah River watershed and north of the Deer Creek watershed. The watershed covers an area of about 400 square miles. A significant portion of the southern end of the watershed is governed by the Tule River Indian Reservation. The watershed does not reach the crest of the Sierras. The difference in elevation within the RWMG area is 500 feet in the foothills up to 10,200 feet in the eastern end.
The Deer Creek watershed is located just south of the Tule River watershed and north of the White River watershed. The watershed is fairly small and covers only 125 square miles. The watershed elevation ranges from 560 feet to 8,300 feet msl.
The White River watershed is located just south of the Deer Creek watershed and just north of the Poso Creek watershed. The watershed is fairly small and covers only 135 square miles, with 118 square miles included in the Southern Sierra Region. The watershed elevation ranges from 580 feet to 8,300 feet msl.
The Poso Creek watershed is located at the southwestern corner of the Southern Sierra RWMG area. Only a small portion of the watershed is in the RWMG area. The total watershed area is 268 square miles with only 20 square miles in the RWMG area. The water flows south into the Kern County IRWMP area.
The Southern Sierra Region includes the upper portion of the Kern River Watershed, with the lower portion falling under the Kern County IRWMP. The watershed is located at the southeastern corner of the Southern Sierra RWMG area. The total watershed area is 2,074 square miles with the upper 1,553 square miles in the RWMG area. The elevations within the RWMG area range from 2,800 feet on the west up to 14,500 feet on the east; the crest of the Sierra.