Huffman Demands Information About Plans to Divert or Transfer Eel River Water to SoCal
Says SoCal's interest in buying the Potter Valley Project is reminiscent of the Dos Rios Dam project
Rep. Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael, is demanding answers about why Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins is supporting a Southern California water agency’s interest in acquiring the Potter Valley Project — a defunct hydroelectric and water diversion system that serves the small community of Potter Valley and supplies downstream users along the Russian River.
On Tuesday, Huffman sent formal information requests to Rollins, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, and Andrew Morris, president of the Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District.
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“The communities and Tribal Nations I represent would be directly impacted by the proposal Secretary Rollins and the District have described,” Huffman wrote to the secretaries. “Yet your agencies have thus far provided no information to explain why a Southern California water district would seek to acquire water rights and infrastructure on the Eel River, hundreds of miles north of its service area — or why the Departments of Agriculture and Interior would be encouraging, facilitating, funding, or otherwise supporting such a scheme.”
Huffman requested “a clear and complete accounting” of any discussions or plans by May 12.
Huffman represents about 1,147 voters in Potter Valley, as well as many thousands more who rely on water diverted from the Eel River through the project to Lake Mendocino — the primary water source for the Russian River.
Pacific Gas and Electric Co., which owns the Potter Valley Project, is moving to decommission its dams and related infrastructure due to their deteriorating condition and new information about a seismic fault beneath Lake Pillsbury, the reservoir formed by Scott Dam.
Removing Scott Dam and the smaller Cape Horn Dam could help restore a once-abundant salmon fishery and reduce the risk of catastrophic dam failure. But doing so would also raise water costs for local farmers and ranchers and could force the roughly 254 single-family homes in Potter Valley that rely on well water to form a water district.
Rollins entered the process in December 2025, when the U.S. Department of Agriculture asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to reject PG&E’s application to surrender its license for the project.
On April 21, Rollins posted on X that she had heard from “a legitimate buyer.”
“I heard from the Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District,” she wrote. “A legitimate buyer who expressed strong interest in purchasing the project from PG&E. This would allow @POTUS and @SecretaryBurgum to restart or expand reliable hydroelectric generation while keeping both dams in place. I hope @PGE4Me is taking them seriously.”
The Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District serves about 48,500 water customers and 38,500 wastewater customers in southwestern Riverside County. It operates on an annual budget of $227 million and is undertaking more than $500 million in capital improvements — roughly $5,700 per customer.
The district relies heavily on imported water, with about 75% of its supply coming from the Colorado River Aqueduct and the State Water Project.
The Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District currently pays between $1,700 and $1,800 per acre-foot for treated water from the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, according to Darcy Burke, a district vice president — that’s six times more than the $300 per acre-foot that Potter Valley farmers and ranchers say would put them out of business.
“My constituents and I are acutely interested in all of the details surrounding your efforts related to a potential purchase of the Potter Valley Project,” Huffman wrote to Morris. “Even the limited information released to date raises serious environmental, legal, economic, and water supply concerns for vulnerable communities in the Eel and Russian River basins.”
Huffman said the proposal echoes a long and contentious history. In 1967, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the California Department of Water Resources proposed the Dos Rios Dam on the Middle Fork of the Eel River — a project that would have flooded the Round Valley Indian Reservation and the town of Covelo.
Huffman’s request seeks detailed records related to any discussions, proposals, or agreements involving the Potter Valley Project, including ownership structure, financing, operations, and potential impacts on water rights and tribal consultation.
He also requested information on any plans to store, divert, transfer, or sell Eel River water outside the Eel or Russian River watersheds, including whether such proposals revive or incorporate elements of past projects like the Dos Rios Dam or other large-scale water transfer systems.
Our coverage of the Potter Valley Project:
Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District Vice President Explains Interest in Potter Valley Project (April 23, 2026)
Federal Officials Cite Potential Buyer for Potter Valley Project as Local Stakeholders Raise Questions (April 23, 2026)
USDA to PG&E: Mitigation is Required for Potter Valley Decommissioning (December 22, 2025)
USDA Steps Into Potter Valley Decommissioning Fight (December 22, 2025)