Russian River Telemetry Study

The Russian River Telemetry Study is a three-year initiative led by the State Water Resources Control Board's Division of Water Rights to modernize water measurement and reporting processes. The project focuses on evaluating the utility of telemetry to address reporting delays, lack of data controls, and unstandardized measurement files. The scope of work involves installing up to 125 telemetered gage stations and telemetry gateways at instream, storage, diversion, and well sites across Sonoma and Mendocino Counties. Key objectives include assessing the cost-effectiveness of transmission equipment, integrating diverse data streams into a single management platform, and providing strategic recommendations to the Water Board regarding regulation updates and data governance. All monitoring data must adhere to FAIR data principles to ensure information is findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable. The study is non-regulatory and non-enforcement in nature, requiring access agreements with public and private landowners for site reconnaissance, installation, and eventual decommissioning. Compliance requirements include adhering to CEQA environmental review standards and obtaining necessary permits, such as Lake or Streambed Alteration Agreements with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife or take authorizations from USFWS and NOAA Fisheries when applicable. The primary point of contact for the project is Water Resource Control Engineer Christian Fehrenbacher.