By Ashlee Casey
With the Water Forum 2050 Agreement now in place, the focus turns to how the region will work together to meet the challenges ahead.
The American River Climate Adaptation Program, or ARCAP, is a key component of Water Forum 2050. ARCAP offers a refined approach to managing water in the Sacramento region—one that voluntarily links agencies, infrastructure, and policies into a truly regional system, helping improve water availability when and where it is needed while supporting the health of the lower American River.
Through the technical work needed to develop ARCAP, we will strive to identify, store, and manage regionally developed water for use during critically dry periods to reduce river temperatures, support fish populations, and help communities avoid water shortages. Even modest shifts in how water is managed, such as increasing the use of stored groundwater in dry years, can meaningfully improve river conditions for fish.
We will integrate water conservation, groundwater recharge, upstream reservoir operations, and shifts in supply sources into a coordinated strategy that supports the two coequal objectives and enables us to respond effectively to climate change. At the center of this effort is the concept of “ARCAP water”—measurable quantities of water developed through these actions, tracked and managed for use when conditions are most challenging.
At the center of this effort is the concept of ‘ARCAP water’—measurable quantities of water developed through these actions, tracked and managed for use when conditions are most challenging.
The Water Forum created ARCAP because climate change is the greatest threat to both the reliability of water supply and the health of the lower American River. In the future, we expect to see more frequent and severe droughts and floods, reduced snowpack and reservoir storage, decreased river flows, and rising river temperatures. These changes threaten fish populations, particularly salmon and steelhead, which rely on cold water for their survival. They also make “dead pool” conditions at Folsom Reservoir—when water levels drop too low to meet supply needs—more likely.
ARCAP is designed to respond to these changing conditions by improving how water is stored, moved, and used across the region. Examples of ARCAP-related efforts could include regional projects already underway or in development, such as the Freeport Diversion and Vineyard Surface Water Treatment Plant and the RiverArc Project, which increase flexibility by allowing water providers to shift some diversions to the Sacramento River under appropriate conditions, thereby reducing pressure on the lower American River. The Sacramento Regional Water Bank will likely further support this approach by storing additional water underground in wetter periods for use when conditions are dry. Conservation will also play an important role by reducing demand and making more water available for both communities and the river.
There are also coordinated operational actions that agencies can take to support the lower American River—for example, working with upstream reservoir operators and partners to improve flows and water temperatures for fish downstream.
ARCAP is not just about the actions we are already taking; it’s about analysis: looking for new opportunities and adaptively managing our actions to deliver greater regional benefit.
ARCAP is not just about the actions we are already taking; it’s about analysis: looking for new opportunities and adaptively managing our actions to deliver greater regional benefit.
As an important first step, we’ve formed an ARCAP Working Group that draws from all four caucuses of our Water Forum membership. Over the next year, this group will develop pilot projects, focusing on near-term opportunities that can be implemented, adjusted, or expanded to create benefits for river health, such as enhancing flows or lowering temperatures. Much like the multi-caucus groups we convened for the Flow Management Standard and our habitat enhancement projects, the ARCAP Working Group will help keep our membership engaged and informed.
The future is uncertain, and we can’t predict the magnitude or timing of future droughts, the degree of warming, or the intensity of future flooding. Working together to develop ARCAP helps ensure an effective response to these challenges and supports both a healthy lower American River and reliable water supplies for a thriving Sacramento region.
Ashlee Casey is Executive Director of the Water Forum.