The Storage Response Group (SRG)

In November of 2015, Friends of the River convened the first SRG with a meeting of 11 organizations. Today, the SRG has expanded to involve more than 20 entities—with over 200 participants—leveraging the combined strength of environmental organizations, tribes, fishing groups, businesses and effected landowners.

The Focus of Our Work

The collaborative has been working together to usher in a new era of water management in California, which focuses on sustainable water solutions to protect the San Francisco Bay-Delta and upstream tributaries from new dams and diversions. SRG has been protecting rivers from large new dams proposed throughout California including:

    • Centennial Dam on the Bear River
    • Exchequer expansion on the Merced River
    • Shasta Dam raise on the Sacramento River
    • Sites Reservoir:  Sacramento River Watersheds
    • Temperance Flat Dam on the San Joaquin River

We Focus Our Work in Four Areas:

    • Following the money. After voters passed proposition 1 at the height of the drought in 2014, the California Water Commission was tasked with allocating nearly $2.6 billion to new storage. This group engaged in that public proceeding and significantly reduced funding allocations to new mega dams. Unfortunately the work to stop more fundraising for new storage continues today
    • Coordinating our engagement in project planning and environmental review proceedings for these storage projects, and potential litigation.
    • Communicating to the public. SRG has developed shared fact sheets, joint press releases, and online content for the media, our supporters and the general public.
    • Engaging decision makers by organizing California Rivers Day—an event that involves about 20 river groups—at the State Capitol every May, we reach every legislative office and several agency staff, at least once a year to educate elected officials and agency staff about our work, and give rivers a stronger voice in state government.

Our Results

In July 2018, the California Water Commission finalized their funding allocations. With significant engagement from our collaborative:

    • Shasta Dam raise was deemed to be ineligible for funding
    • Centennial proponents pulled their application
    • Temperance Flat Dam received less than 7% of the total cost of construction
    • Sites received less than 16% of the required funding

Half of the funded projects proved to be more sustainable and cost-effective groundwater storage and recycling projects that received nearly 50% of the total funding needed for construction. However, nearly 75% of this funding (nearly $2.6 billion), still went to surface storage despite the significant funding gaps these projects still face.

With more capacity and coordination, the SRG has greatly increased the collective impact of our work to protect several rivers from new dams in California.

Want To Do More?

If you are interested in joining the Storage Response Group, please contact either Keiko Mertz, Policy Director at keiko@friendsoftheriver.org or Ron Stork at RStork@friendsoftheriver.org today. FOR needs your help to stop deadbeat dams!