BRT Insights - WW Kayaking & Hiking

Whitewater River Guide & Maps - California.

Recent Flows on Napa River.

Napa River near St. Helena (STH station info) (flow data).
The flow is measured close to put-in at St. Helena.

River Difficulty vs. Flow Rate.

class . . flow (cfs)
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Description - Napa River - St. Helena Run.

This brushy little creek is not recommended for boating. (Napa County, California, USA).

Driving Directions, Distance, Estimated Time & Road Conditions.

Mapquest provides directions, distance & time from your house to the river.
* From Davis, CA to Napa, CA - driving time 50 minutes.

California Road Conditions (Delays or closures due to weather, construction, etc.)
* California Travel Information - highwayconditions.com.
* Road Conditions - California Dept Transportation.

Topographic River Map, Road Map & Local Business Search.

• The map below is interactive - click and drag on the map to adjust the location.
• Point or DoubleClick on the red markers below to see their names.
• Use the tool on the left to zoom and pan.
• Click on the Map button for a road map, Topo button for topgraphic map.
• Click on Google logo for road map & local business search (gas, food, camping).
• Full screen topo map and coordinates of additional landmarks - see below.
• Topographic map user instructions.

Topographic River Map.

Full-Screen Topographic Map - St. Helena Run - Napa River.

River Landmarks - Geographic Coordinates.
Copy/paste the coordinates below into the search box at Google Maps or into the Find box at Acme Mapper.
* N 38.5111 W 122.4547, Stonebridge Park, gauge, put-in (A).
* N 38.41824 W 122.35186, Yountville Cross Rd (Grant Rd) (B).
* N 38.29779 W 122.282, City of Napa, take-out (C).

Local weather in Napa, California.

Plan your trip Local Radar Detailed Forecast

River Guides & River Flow Data for Paddle Boating.

• West Coast River Touring - Rogue River Canyon and South, 1974. (pg. 182-184)
• Ann Dwyer's Easy Waters of California North, 2000. (pg. 40-41)
• Napa River Directory - Canoeing, Kayaking & Rafting. (Display options - alphabetical 100. See section 1.)

Whitewater River Trip Reports NEEDED !!

• I'm happy to post or link to well-written, whitewater boating trip reports from guest authors, especially if boating pictures are included. Please contact me to submit your trip report.
• Napa River Kayaking video - floppysfollies 09mar2009.

River Recreation Links - Napa River.

• Napa River Recreation & Conservation Directory. Website resources for the Napa River watershed. (Display options - alphabetical 100. Section 1=whitewater, 2=rafting, 3=conservation, 4=fishing, 5=camping-hiking, 6=local-info)

More about:
• Use of these white guides to water river kayaking and rafting - BRT Insights.
• Rivers & creeks nearby: (SF Bay Area, Petaluma River, Napa River, Alameda Creek, Coyote Creek, Guadalupe River), Central & South Coast Rivers Region.
• River Guides for California Whitewater.
• California River Maps - Atlas & Gazetteer by Delorme, 2008.

Tags: kayaking, paddle boating, river map, California, river, whitewater.

Labels: guide

River conservation progress, but more water policy issues need to be settled

"Legislation to restore the San Joaquin River cleared the House Natural Resources Committee by a 25-15 vote..." "The measure would send water down about 27 miles of the river, which often dries up downstream of Friant Dam because the water is diverted." "water users in the congressional district of Republican Rep. Devin Nunes of Visalia would take a big hit... "all of the cities and counties in my district are opposed" because of restricted water allocations. "Some districts will lose 90 percent of their water," (Nunez) said." (House panel OKs river restoration - sacbee 16nov2007.)

I am very eager to see river flows and salmon runs restored in the San Joaquin River, but we can't just take the water away from people who presently depend upon it. In order to achieve the desired river restoration we may need to build more water storage on the San Joaquin River. If more water supply was available, then both downstream river flows and urban water users may be able to get the water they need. It is truly a dilemma. Do we need to reconsider Gov. Schwarzenneger's proposal to build a dam on the San Joaquin River at Temperance Flat? Or is there some other water supply policy that can serve all of the needs without requiring that one section of river is destroyed by a new dam to enable another section of river to be restored? ("Beware the new dam initiative...")

For more information:
• San Joaquin River Directory - Restoration and Recreation. River conservation, kayaking, rafting, fishing & hiking (36 sites).
• River Conservation and Water Policy in California - BRT Insights.

Tags: river conservation, river, dam, water, water supply, water policy.

Labels: conservation

Sacramento flood control makes a step forward

Congress has voted to overrride President Bush's veto of the Water Resources Development Act which authorizes many water development projects around the country. Locally it authorizes $106 million for levee maintenance in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and $683 million to add an auxiliary spillway at Folsom Dam for improved flood control in Sacramento California.

Senate hands Bush his first veto override - Los Angeles Times 09nov2007.

Included in bill Folsom spillway - sacbee 07nov2007.

Now that these projects are authorized they get added to a long list of projects that are authorized but not yet funded. Apparently more votes in congress will be needed to provide the funding to finally build these critical flood control projects in the Sacramento and American River floodplains.

I am particularly interested in Sacramento flood prevention issues even though I live nearby in an area that is not very susceptible to flooding. A major flood in Sacramento could devastate the entire economy of California for many years, just as Katrina has devastated the Gulf Coast states. If Sacramento floods before the flood protection upgrades at Folsom Dam and downstream levees are completed I fear that could instantly revive the plans for building more flood control via construction of Auburn Dam. Unfortunately, Auburn Dam also remains on the list of authorized, but not yet funded federal projects. Although there appears no chance for funding the construction of Auburn Dam anytime soon we will need to remain constantly vigilant to prevent it.

More about:
Entirely justifiable' projects - Yahoo! News 07nov2007.
Congress overrides flood-control veto - Sacramento Business Journal 08nov2007.
Flood Control Sacramento CA and California River Conservation.
Sacramento CA Flood Control, Prevention, Protection and Safety Directory.

Tags: river conservation, river, flooding, flood protection, dam, levee, water, floodplain.

Labels: conservation