End of story posted yesterday on river and watershed somewhat similar to the American.
An Eel River Run - The importance of the Eel
By BEN BROWN The Daily Journal
Ukiah Daily Journal
Article Last Updated:05/04/2007 08:30:55 AM PDT
Editor's note: This is the second of two stories by Ben Brown on his two-day tour of the Eel River with the Mendocino County Farm Bureau.
According to reports from the California Department of Water Resources, one-third of the rain in California falls in the north coast, which is defined as the area between Sonoma County and the Oregon border.
The various forks of the Eel River run through a good portion of that and, on average rain year, carry and distribute much of that water in Mendocino, Humboldt and Trinity counties.
"It supplies a tremendous amount of water from Potter Valley south," said Janet Pauli, Chairwoman of the Mendocino County Inland Valley Water Commission.
Water from the main branch of the Eel River is diverted through a tunnel, through the Potter Valley Project and into the East Fork of the Russian River. From there it flows into Lake Mendocino and then downstream all the way to Sonoma County.
Along the way a number of communities, including Ukiah, draw water for drinking and agriculture from streams that originated in the Eel.
"We are dependent on it," Pauli said. "Everything north of the confluence of Dry Creek is dependent on it."
