Russian River mouth: Sonoma Water asks to renew its water quality permit for 9 years, comments due November 15

By The Downspout · Posted Oct 28, 2026 · 3 min read

Sonoma Water has asked the state's North Coast water board to renew, for 9 years, the water quality certification for digging open the sandbar at the Russian River mouth. The board has not decided. You can send comments from October 26 to November 15, 2026.

Where it is and what it does

The Russian River meets the ocean near Jenner, in Sonoma County. The last stretch of river before the ocean is called the estuary. See it on a map: Goat Rock State Beach, Jenner.

A sandbar can close the river mouth at any time of year. It usually does from spring through fall, when river flows are low. When it closes, water backs up behind it and the estuary rises.

Sonoma Water, also called the Sonoma County Water Agency, digs open the sandbar. It says the purpose is to reduce flood risk to low-lying properties along the estuary. It has been responsible for this work since 1994. It holds permits for the work from several agencies, including the state's North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board.

That board is the state agency responsible for water quality certification in this region. In this post it is called the board. It issues a water quality certification, also called a 401 certification, for projects that need a federal permit and might affect water quality.

What happened

The board posted a public notice. Sonoma Water asks for a 9-year renewal of its water quality certification for the Russian River Estuary Management Project.

The project has two parts. One is digging a channel across the sandbar when it closes, to reconnect the river and the ocean. The other is managing estuary water levels to help steelhead, a kind of trout, and other salmon and trout.

Sonoma Water has done this work under an earlier certification since 2014. In 2025 it changed its project description after the 2025 Russian River Biological Opinion, a document that sets requirements for Sonoma Water's river work. The notice says the digging itself has not changed. What changed is the goal. The plan now aims to help salmon and trout at every life stage, not only young fish.

The notice says digging would happen from time to time after natural closures, through the year. How often, and how much area, varies.

The notice puts the temporary disturbance at about 1.73 acres over the 9 years. That is an estimate based on 12 years of information.

Physical, water quality and biological monitoring would follow the requirements in an addendum to the study of the project's effects and in the biological opinion. The notice says a plan for monitoring and adjusting the work, which it calls a monitoring and adaptive management plan, will be prepared.

What it means for you

If you own property near the estuary, this certification is one of the permits behind the sandbar digging. You can tell the board how the digging affects you.

If you care about the river, fish or the beach, you can send the board your comments too. Our leaning is toward healthy creeks and habitat. The notice says the new plan aims to help salmon and trout at every life stage.

To weigh in, email kaete.king@waterboards.ca.gov or call 707-576-2848 by November 15, 2026. Name the project in your comment: Sonoma Water Russian River Estuary Management Project.

Seals also rest on the beach at the river mouth. For a separate comment request about them, see our post on the seal permit comments. For how the river is managed overall, see how the Russian River works.

What happens next

The comment period runs October 26 to November 15, 2026. No decision date is given in the notice. The notice lists only the email and phone contact above, so call or email to ask how else to send comments.

Where this came from

The North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board's public notice for the Sonoma Water Russian River Estuary Management Project, Water Board ID 1B26155WNSO, on its water quality certification notices page. Background on the sandbar, the permits and Sonoma Water's role comes from Sonoma Water's Russian River Estuary Management Project page.

Sources

Checked 2026-10-28. Rules and programs change. If something here is out of date, the source above wins. Spot an error? See our corrections policy.