The way water gets to Santa Cruz’s taps could change soon — and with it, the chances that steelhead trout and coho salmon can survive and thrive in the San Lorenzo River. Changes to the city’s water rules, a culmination of 25 years of work at the city’s water department, aim to provide a stable water supply for Santa Cruz residents and improve habitats for fish.
Coho salmon and steelhead trout once filled the waters of the San Lorenzo. Historically, the river supported the fourth-largest salmon and steelhead fishery in the state. Today, human activities have driven the species to critically low numbers. Salmon are listed as endangered and steelhead are threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act.
Pollution, warming waters and erosion from logging have made the region’s rivers uninhabitable for the fish species and caused their numbers to dwindle. Coho, in particular, are on the verge of extirpation from the Central Coast, meaning a complete disappearance of the species south of the Golden Gate.
Now, new regulations could help migrating fish by limiting the amount of water the city can pull from the San Lorenzo based on the time of year, the amount of water in rivers and the life cycles of fish species swimming in them.
This story was originally reported for Lookout Santa Cruz. Read the original article here.