Faculty and staff contributions played a pivotal role in the accord announced this week to increase the annual flows in Putah Creek, thereby improving one of the best remaining native fish communities in the Central Valley.

The agreement, which resolves a 10-year dispute over Putah Creek water rights, would also protect important water supplies for Solano County and UC Davis.

The new accord resolves a lawsuit and other legal efforts against Solano County water agencies that were begun in 1990 by the environmental group Putah Creek Council and joined in 1993 by UC Davis and the city of Davis.

From the beginning, the university brought "muscle, commitment and unity" to the Yolo County parties involved in the dispute, said Lois Wolk, current chair of the Yolo County Board of Supervisors and from 1990-98 a Davis city councilwoman and council liaison for Putah Creek issues.

"And remember, this was a time when UC Davis was under tremendous financial pressure," Wolk said. "Nevertheless, the university provided incredible leadership through the process."

Negotiating for the campus in the dispute since the early ’90s have been Sid England, campus environmental planner, and Marj Dickinson, director of government and community relations.

"We had a campus group of faculty experts -- a fisheries biologist, a water engineer, and a water and public-trust attorney -- who provided critical advice to the university in the process of resolving this dispute," England said. Added Dickinson: "We would never have gotten involved in an undertaking of this magnitude had there not been very clear academic reasons for doing so. That’s what the combination of Peter Moyle, Vern Scott and Hap Dunning brought to the table."

Under the settlement agreed to this month, creek flows from Lake Berryessa to the Yolo Bypass will increase annually by 50 percent, which will benefit non-migrating native fish like Sacramento suckers and sculpin as well as oceangoing steelhead and salmon.

Targets illegal diversions

The agreement also addresses the water needs of Solano County farmers and cities. It sets forth detailed steps to minimize illegal pumping from the creek and preserve the water for legitimate users. And it specifies measures to be taken during any prolonged droughts to ensure that hardships caused by reduced flows would be shared by all water beneficiaries.

"There’s a whole revolution in California water-rights law," said law professor Dunning. "Traditionally the emphasis was on diverting water for irrigation or municipal supply, but this case is one of several bringing more balance by paying attention to in-stream flow for fish and recreation."

Dunning assisted the university in hiring Alan Lilly, an attorney specializing in water rights, as its counsel. Moyle was the principal expert witness on fish issues, which were key to getting more flows down the creek. Previously, the professor of wildlife, fish and conservation biology helped set up the Putah Creek Riparian Reserve and Stebbins Cold Canyon Reserve as teaching resources, but says his work on the lawsuit yielded other benefits.

Creek a research site

"I became really upset when the creek started to dry up during the drought of the early 1990s. I saw a major teaching resource disappearing before me," he said. "Frankly, I did not have much interest in doing research in the creek until this time. But the need to familiarize myself with more of the creek and its fishes to prepare for the trial revealed that the creek was much more interesting from a fish perspective than I had suspected."

Moyle believes the settlement came as a result of a wider web of collaboration among people affiliated with Putah Creek Council, the city of Davis and the campus. The council is led by Joe Krovoza, a director of development for the campus Institute for Transportation Studies.

"The ability of these three entities to provide expertise on any issue and to maintain enthusiastic support for protecting the creek was the key to our success," Moyle said.

He also had high praise for environmental planner England.

"The university is really lucky to have a crackerjack biologist in their planning office who understands the issues from a biological and political perspective," Moyle said. "Sid exemplifies the attitude of cheerful perseverance that pervaded the leadership at the university, in Putah Creek Council and the city, and made it possible for all three to work together."

Dickinson’s role was also critical to creating the accord, England said, pointing to her experience in dealing with sensitive issues and her ability work well with people to find common ground.

"It’s a skill to move through lengthy, complex negotiations so that everybody feels good at the end, and Marj provided that expertise," England said.

Four decades of participation

Vern Scott, professor emeritus of land, air and water resources, has perhaps the longest institutional relationship with the creek: He was asked in 1957 to provide technical hydrologic assistance to the campus administration about its rights to water from Putah.

Scott and his department chair, Frank Veihmeyer, urged the campus to take an active part in the water distribution negotiations. During the lawsuit some 35 years later, Scott served as a technical consultant to the campus’s legal counsel and as a member of the faculty and staff team involved in the case.

Scott said he views his longtime participation over issues regarding Putah Creek water rights as a great professional experience.

"It brought together a small number of concerned, qualified and interdisciplinary faculty members in a collaborative effort with staff to carry forward a critically important campus project," he said.