Overview

Before permanent European settlement, the Central Valley of California supported large expanses of riparian vegetation along most of its watercourses. Riparian forests developed along streams such as Putah Creek where natural levees were formed by the gradual deposit of alluvial sediments. During pre-development conditions, lower Putah Creek was flanked by a continuous broad corridor of riparian forest from the Coast Range to the Yolo Basin where the creek emptied into an extensive marsh dominated by tules. The riparian forests were diverse in terms of flora and structure. They normally consisted of several layers of dense undergrowth topped by a varied canopy. Typical understory species included box elder, Oregon ash, white alder, Goodding and red willow, button willow, mulefat, California nettle, wild grape and California blackberry.

Typical canopy species included Fremont cottonwood, valley oak, and California sycamore. Uplands, irregularly flooded, supported valley oak savannahs. It is believed that early Native Americans probably ate native fish like thicktail chub and Sacramento perch, harvested from pools in the lower creek.

It is known that the Central Valley was home to one of the largest concentrations of non-agricultural Native American societies and large numbers of these people inhabited areas in the vicinity of Putah Creek.

Putah Creek is probably named for the Pooewin village, Puta-to, located in what is now downtown Davis.

19th Century

Beginning in the middle part of the 19th century, the first Spanish land grants were awarded in the region. Mass settlement of the region began in 1867 when Jerome Davis sold a portion of his land to the California Pacific Railroad. By 1868 a railroad was in place and the town of Davisville was founded. The railroad, in combination with the Gold Rush, brought many permanent settlers to the area.  The South fork dredging to make it the primary fork of Putah Creek was completed in the 1940s. The south fork branches from the old creek about 4,000 feet upstream of the Interstate 80 bridge and follows a relatively straight course to the Yolo Bypass.

Many other creek alterations followed and much of the riparian vegetation was removed to accommodate agriculture. Additionally, intensified agriculture placed great demands on the creek and groundwater aquifers, thereby lowering creek flows.

In 1938, the Yolo County Public Works Administration constructed a small dam near Winters to increase groundwater recharge by percolation. During World War II, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began the Putah Creek Project that contributed further to the permanent alteration of the creek. The Corps constructed a dam that sealed off the entrance of the north fork and placed another dam at its eastern terminus. Thus, the north fork became the landlocked body of water it is today on the UC Davis campus. The south fork was permanently established as the only functioning channel.

The Corps also altered the creek to contain a 100-year flood event by bulldozing vegetation on the banks and constructing levees downstream on both sides of the bank from the junction of the north and south forks to the Yolo Bypass. The earth used for the levee construction came from the creekbed.

Construction of the levees, excavation of the south fork and downcutting have prevented the creek from meandering naturally and rejuvenating riparian vegetation.

Gravel mining also took place at several locations on lower Putah Creek and this activity, which in at least one case lasted until the late 1970s, also devastated the immediate riparian vegetation.

During the 1940s, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation began planning for the Solano Project, which consisted of three main facilities: the Monticello Dam and Lake Berryessa, the Solano Diversion Dam and the Putah South Canal, which originates at the diversion dam and coveys water south to Solano County. These projects were finished in 1957.

The creation of the Monticello Dam (1953-57) meant the loss of the town of Monticello and the flooding of the Berryessa Valley, once a rich agricultural region supported by an upper stretch of Putah Creek. Lake Berryessa gradually filled over the years and reached full storage capacity in 1963.

Today, as a result of regulated flows from the Solano Project, Putah Creek is dramatically different from the dynamic stream that, in the days of pre-agricultural development, flowed out of the Vaca Hills, experienced torrential winter and spring streamflows, and commonly overtopped its banks.

PCC is founded

The founding meeting of Putah Creek Council took place on Feb. 3, 1988, with the idea of bringing together people who would protect the creek's remaining riparian habitat and the water level in Putah Creek.

During the summers of 1989 and 1990 the lower creek -- a roughly 23-mile stretch from the Solano Diversion Dam to the Putah Creek Sinks in the bypass -- experienced lengthy periods of drying that resulted in substantial fish deaths and a general depression of the overall fish population and consternation on the part of creekside landowners, conservationists, birders, nature lovers and environmentalists.

Putah Creek Council was forced to sue Solano water interests to keep downstream fisheries in good condition, but the lawsuit bogged down for six years in the complexities of water law adjudication. Increased flows were negotiated on an emergency basis and the City of Davis and UC Davis joined the legal efforts.

In the spring of 1996 Judge Richard Park ruled that lower Putah Creek should have 50 percent more water. However, the Solano parties appealed and the Council filed a cross-appeal. And while the legal process grinds on, mediation sessions are under way and ongoing. Over the past 10 years, Putah Creek has gone from being virtually ignored to being widely acknowledged as a significant natural resource by the people and communities of Yolo and Solano counties. In April of 1997, Putah Creek Council received the City of Davis 1997 Environmental Recognition Award for its Putah Creek stewardship.