• Joel Monschke, Stillwater Sciences

Mattole River Headwaters Drought Relief & Flow Enhancement Project

Presenter: Joel Monschke, Stillwater Sciences

Sneak Peek: This project involves the construction and operations of two lined off-channel ponds with a combined storage capacity of 7.8 million gallons. The ponds are filled entirely during the wet season via direct precipitation and hillslope sheet-flow capture. Approximately 30 gpm of water will be released from the ponds via shallow groundwater flow during the dry season (typically July-October) to augment low summer stream flows that limit native Coho salmon and steelhead trout survival in Vanauken Creek, tributary to the Mattole River. The project was constructed in 2025 by Sanctuary Forest (project proponent) with funding provided by the CA Department of Water Resources.

Lunch-MAR | May 6, 2026

• Hydrology Observation and Prediction
• Infrastructure Conveyance and Hydraulics
• Land Use Planning and Management
• People and Water
• Reservoir Operations
• Soils, Geology, and Aquifer Characterization
• Water Quality