In 2007 the North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board (NCRWQCB)  added the Scott River to its list of impaired watersheds under its Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL)  regulatory process.  The TMDLs set pollutant limits for bodies of water listed as “impaired” under the Clean Water Act. The Scott River is currently listed as impaired due to what the NCRWQCB says is excessive sediment loads and excessive water temperature.

“As part of the Scott TMDL, the county was encouraged to develop a Groundwater Study Plan,” Siskiyou County Natural Resource Policy Specialist Ric Costales said.   “The county worked with the Siskiyou RCD, UC Davis and local residents to craft a plan to study the groundwater.  Implementation of the study itself has been conceptually supported by the county.”  

Meanwhile, the Karuk Tribe has engaged in its own study to model the Scott River groundwater system.

On Wednesday the Tribe’s Klamath Coordinator Craig Tucker took a flight over the Scott Valley as part of that additional study.

Some residents have voiced questions about the need to fly over the valley as part of a study of underground water.  

Tucker said the flight provided perspective on the distribution of surface water. This perspective, he said,  can lead to a fuller knowledge of how to focus efforts to understand the connection between groundwater and surface water and how water moves through the valley.

“There is actually a lot of water out there this year,” Tucker said.  “We had a great snowpack this year, and it’s made a big difference.”

In spite of the good water year, Tucker said, he believes there are still a few reaches of the mainstem Scott River where the surface flow is disconnected as well as several tributaries where surface flows have become disconnected from the river.

Some parties involved in the study being sponsored by the NCRWQCB are not happy about the Karuk study now in progress.

“If you want to perpetuate controversy, dueling studies is a perfect way to do it,” Costales said.

Costales feels that the Karuk Tribe should be making an effort to cooperate with and support the NCRWQCB study rather than funding a competing, parallel study and model of its own.

In January, the Siskiyou County Board of Supervisors voted to create the Scott River basin groundwater advisory committee. Committee Chairman Preston Harris agrees with Costales’ opinion of the Karuk study.

“The committee does not approve of the Karuk Tribe developing its own model,” Harris said. “We feel it’s in place to undermine the current study and will ultimately be used in a lawsuit against the county.”  

Harris also believes that the NCRWQCB study will disprove much of what environmental groups and government agencies are saying about this watershed.  

Tucker maintains that the Karuk model is prudent and necessary.

“Bottom line, the county model is the minimal effort required to comply with TMDLs,” Tucker said.  “We basically need a tool to help us all better understand what restoration options give us the most fish for our dollar. For instance, would flood irrigation help maintain stream flow into the summer? Would several hundred acres of beaver ponds help? What about off-channel storage?”

Tucker added that the tribe would be willing to share its findings with the county.

“To the extent that any of our model refinements would benefit the NCRWQCB study, and given that it will likely have a similar list of areas where we could benefit from its work, we would be happy to exchange intermediate work products and leverage the resources invested in both,” Tucker said, addressing concerns about redundancy.

The modeling phase of the Karuk study is due to be finished in April of 2012.  According to Costales, the NCRWQCB study is an extensive, long-term process that will require millions of dollars of state-funded investment and is likely to take many years to complete. The modeling phase is currently the highest priority in the NCRWQCB’s study process, he said.

“The theory is that knowledge is necessary and valuable, but success depends on the integrity of both parties and the commitment to rigorous standards and reasonable expectations for implementation,” Costales said. “Needless to say, everyone is nervous about the outcome.”