Your input is needed to help shape the future of boating and public safety in the San Joaquin River Gorge. The California State Water Resources Control Board has released a Draft Water Quality Certification for the Kerckhoff Hydroelectric Project on the San Joaquin River. The Draft Certification includes important measures to protect water quality, fisheries, recreation, public safety, and other beneficial uses of the river. This is an important step in the hydropower licensing process, where the State of California proposes requirements for the project to meet state water quality standards on behalf of the public. It is also a significant opportunity for citizens to make their voices heard on how the State should protect and manage the river.
The San Joaquin River below Kerckhoff Dam offers some of California’s premier whitewater boating opportunities, and recreation is a recognized beneficial use that should continue to be protected and enhanced through project operations and implementation of the new license.
American Whitewater has participated in the relicensing process for many years to ensure that whitewater recreation and public safety are adequately protected. We are encouraged that the Draft Water Quality Certification includes important provisions addressing recreation flows, recreation access, coordinated project operations, adaptive management, and river user safety.
In addition to requiring annual whitewater recreation opportunities, one of the most important provisions in the Draft Certification limits river stage increases to one foot per hour for public safety. Rapid increases in river levels can create dangerous conditions for whitewater boaters, anglers, swimmers, hikers, and other visitors recreating in the Gorge.
American Whitewater supports this provision but believes the certification should more clearly state that the one-foot-per-hour ramp-up standard applies whenever project operations have the potential to create rapid downstream stage increases. Public safety risks are the same, regardless of whether flow changes result from spill events, maintenance activities, outages, operational changes, or other project-related circumstances.
The Draft Certification also includes provisions supporting recreation access, adaptive management, and continued public involvement through the Kerckhoff Advisory Team. Together, these measures will help ensure that recreation and other beneficial uses remain protected throughout the term of the new license.
Make Your Voice Heard: File a Comment by July 2, 2026
We encourage American Whitewater members and supporters to submit comments to the California State Water Resources Control Board. Please reference Pacific Gas and Electric Company’s Kerckhoff Hydroelectric Project (FERC Project No. 96) in your comments.
Comments must be received by 5:00 p.m. on July 2, 2026.
Comments may be submitted by email to:
WR401Program@waterboards.ca.gov
You do not need to address every issue—your experience is what matters most. Personal comments are often the most effective.
Consider the following points in drafting your comments:
- Describe your personal experience on the San Joaquin River Gorge. In your own words, explain how you use the river and why safe river conditions, public access, and whitewater recreation are important to you.
- Support the Draft Water Quality Certification. Note your support for the protections it includes for recreation, public safety, fisheries, water quality, and other beneficial uses. You may also note that you are pleased the certification helps ensure the San Joaquin River continues to support whitewater boating and other recreational opportunities while protecting the river’s environmental values.
- Support continued protection and enhancement of whitewater recreation. Whitewater boating is a recognized beneficial use of the San Joaquin River and an important recreational resource. If applicable, describe your own experience on the river. The Certification should preserve opportunities to improve recreational boating through adaptive management, coordinated operations, and future operational improvements that may increase recreation benefits while continuing to protect other beneficial uses.
- Support the one-foot-per-hour ramp-up standard with clear applicability and accountability. It should apply whenever project operations have the potential to create rapid downstream stage increases, regardless of the operational cause (spill events, maintenance, outages, or other operational changes). Sudden increases in river levels can create dangerous conditions for all river users. When exceptions to the standard occur, project operators should document when and why compliance was not possible and identify opportunities to improve future operations and public safety for river users. You may also describe any personal experiences with sudden flow increases due to hydropower operations and why this protection is important.
- Support improved access during all boating opportunities, not just scheduled releases. Access to the San Joaquin River Gorge should not be limited only to scheduled whitewater releases. The certification should ensure that public access is considered and improved during opportunistic boating flows as well—such as spill events, pass-through flows, outages, or other operational conditions that create runnable water. Existing access limitations have historically reduced the public’s ability to take advantage of these flows and the value of this public resource. Improved access planning will help ensure boaters can safely and responsibly reach the river when conditions allow.
- Support adaptive management and continued public involvement through the Kerckhoff Advisory Team. Project operations should be periodically reviewed and refined as new information becomes available to better protect river users and improve whitewater boating and other recreational benefits. The Kerckhoff Advisory Team is critical for providing meaningful opportunities for whitewater boaters and other stakeholders to review project performance, provide input, and help identify opportunities to improve recreation and public safety over time. You may also indicate your support for American Whitewater as the organizational representative of your interests on the Kerckhoff Advisory Team.
American Whitewater will be filing detailed comments addressing recreation, public safety, and other issues related to the Draft Water Quality Certification. Individual comments from river users help demonstrate the importance of protecting recreation and public safety as beneficial uses of the San Joaquin River.