Pact Allows More Water at Prado Dam

In an emergency move to keep billions of gallons of valuable storm water from flowing into the ocean, federal and Orange County officials Monday reached an agreement to increase the amount of water stored behind Prado Dam and protect an endangered bird species that nests there.

Federal officials opened the gates of Prado Dam on Thursday and have released about 6 billion gallons of storm runoff into the Santa Ana River, which empties into the ocean at Huntington Beach. The dam is near Corona in Riverside County, just over the Orange County line.

The water was released primarily because federal officials were trying to avoid soaking the nesting grounds of the least Bell’s vireo, a small bird protected by the federal endangered species law.

Late Monday afternoon, the water releases were reduced by about 80% after officials of the Orange County Water District, which is based in Fountain Valley, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Army Corps of Engineers agreed to trap more storm water behind the dam. The water is being held so that it is captured in the county’s reservoirs downstream in Anaheim instead of flowing unused into the ocean.

Orange County officials covet the storm water because it is a cost-free way to supplement the underground water basin, which supplies three-quarters of the water consumed by the 2 million residents of northern Orange County.

Dick Zembal, a federal wildlife biologist, said all sides were happy with the agreement. “You can’t ignore the water needs in Southern California,” Zembal said. “But you also cannot ignore the fact that in making the water available to people, it can also impact habitat and endangered species.”

The least Bell’s vireo nests only in Southern California’s stream-side thickets and willows, which are rapidly disappearing. Only about 400 breeding pairs of the birds are known to exist, and about 40 of those pairs nest behind Prado, which is their largest breeding area north of San Diego County. The small grayish bird arrives from Baja California to nest in March or April and leaves in August or September.

The water district agreed to immediately set aside and enhance 122 nearby acres of willows to serve as a new nesting area for the birds. Also, more acreage will be protected and the water district is arranging with a national environmental group, Nature Conservancy, to manage the area and protect the birds.