With the submittal to the state of a Russian River Watershed Resilience Plan (plan), regional policy leaders are now focused on implementation of multiple strategies to help local communities better prepare for and respond to climate change.

The Watershed Network – composed of individuals spanning a wide range of organizations including cities and towns, county agencies, federal and state agencies, groundwater sustainability agencies, Native American Tribes, non-governmental organizations, resource conservation districts, special districts, and watershed associations – has been meeting since 2024 to help guide the development of the climate-resilience management plan.

The plan is one of five in the state developed through California’s Watershed Resilience Program, an initiative led by the Department of Water Resources (DWR).

Submitted to DWR in April 2026, the plan focuses on the Russian River watershed plus the Sonoma Valley, Petaluma Valley and Marin County communities that receive water from the Russian River. The study area supports over 700,000 people, 238 streams, and critical habitats for endangered salmonids and other species.

The plan quantifies the risks to the region from reduced rainfall, drought, floods, wildfires, extreme heat, and sea level rise. The regional climate is projected to become hotter and drier, with fewer but more intense precipitation. These shifts are projected to exacerbate many of the historical hazards that have affected the region over the last century, including droughts, wildfires, and flooding, resulting in more common and more severe occurrences of these events.

Based on this information, the plan identifies vulnerabilities for water supply and quality, flood risk, hydropower, ecosystems, recreation, Tribal resources, socially vulnerable communities and the economy. The plan describes 13 adaptation strategies developed to address these vulnerabilities; identifies an implementation pathway; and makes nine recommendations for moving forward.

The Board of Directors of Sonoma Water (the recipient of the DWR grant and budget funding) dedicated $350,000 to ensure initial plan implementation while the Network pursues long-term funding for project development. The Network will meet quarterly in FY 2026-2027 to provide feedback and guidance to the project team which includes Sonoma Water’s water resources planning group and the engineering consulting firm Jacobs.

The team’s first task is to build a robust project database based on strategies identified in the Plan, including project description, location, champions, partners, and costs. Project development is the focus of the November 10, 2026, Network meeting.