Common use of Lower American River Clause in Contracts

Lower American River. The American River provides important fish and wildlife habitat, a high-quality water source, a critical floodway, and a spectacular regional recreational parkway. The Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) operates Folsom and Nimbus Dams to provide flood control and water for irrigation, municipal and industrial uses, hydroelectric power, recreation, water quality, and the protection of aquatic resources. In April of 2000, a diverse group of over 40 local business and agricultural leaders, citizen groups, environmentalists, water managers and local governments ended decades of conflict concerning the American River by signing the Water Forum Agreement (WFA). The foundational elements of the WFA are two coequal objectives: to provide a reliable safe water supply for the region and to preserve fishery, wildlife, recreational, and aesthetic values of the lower American River. Working in cooperation with Reclamation, California Department of Fish and Game, National Marine Fisheries Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Water Forum developed the Flow Management Standard (FMS) as an alternative to the standards set by the State Water Resources Control Board in 1958’s Decision 893 (the current instream flow requirements on the lower American River). The FMS is intended to improve the condition of aquatic resources in the lower American River, particularly fall-run Chinook salmon and steelhead by improving flow-related habitat and water temperature. In addition, the FMS benefits other fish species, the aquatic environment and the riparian ecosystem of the lower American River Corridor. Designed to achieve these benefits over a wide range of hydrologic conditions, the FMS provides a forum through which biologic and ecologic factors are considered in the river management process, and provides for the analysis of hydrologic and biologic information collected though the monitoring and evaluation component. The lower American River FMS is designed to allocate flow releases from Folsom and Nimbus Dams in consideration of variable hydrology and cold water pool availability in Folsom Reservoir. The FMS includes: (1) minimum flow requirements; (2) water temperature objectives; (3) implementation criteria; (4) an agency group to address river management and operational actions (the American River Group); and (5) a monitoring and evaluation component.