Ruth Lake Contract
By Meghan Blake

Ruth Lake in Trinity County was the first of 32 projects to receive funding for recreational development under the Davis-Grunsky Act of 1960.

The contract, administered by the Department of Water Resources, has provided attractive boating and other recreational facilities at the Humboldt Bay Municipal Water District (HBMWD) reservoir on the Mad River.

It was a Davis-Grunsky Act milestone when the Ruth Lake contract expired on December 31, 2001. This year, DWR presented certificates to the HBMWD and to the Ruth Lake Community Services District, its other partner in the Ruth Lake venture.

“The Davis-Grunsky program, through recreation facility development grants, has resulted in nearly four decades of remarkable recreation benefits for people statewide, opportunities which may never have been created in the absence of this DWR program, “ said Doug Rischbieter, DWR Environmental Scientist. Doug, now with the Environmental Services Office, for 10 years was Northern District’s annual inspector of the Ruth Lake recreation facilities.

The Davis-Grunsky Act was authorized in 1960 as a part of the Burns-Porter Act. It provided grants for recreation and wildlife and fish enhancement. The program also offered loans for construction of local water projects, agricultural water conservation projects, and dam and reservoir rehabilitation. The project offered a total of $130 million to be dispersed to qualified applicants.

The Humboldt Bay Municipal Water District, formed in 1956, originally built Ruth Lake to establish a reliable water supply for the growing cities and industry of Eureka and Arcata and their outlying suburban areas. Ruth, a rural community located on the Mad River in Trinity County, proved to be the best place for the development of a reservoir. HBMWD bought the land where the reservoir was to be located from private landholders and Trinity County.

On September 29, 1960, HBMWD broke ground at the location for Matthews Dam. At that same time HBMWD was busy submitting its recreational development plan and application to the Department of Water Resources to receive a grant under the Davis-Grunsky Act. On February 16, 1962, construction was deemed complete when Ruth Lake crested the 167-foot tall dam and flowed over the spillway for the first time. This new reservoir would provide storage capacity for approximately 50,000 acre-feet of water.

Humboldt Bay Municipal Water District was awarded the first Davis-Grunsky grant on February 7, 1963 in the amount of $300,000 after proving to be a worthy candidate for the money. According to provisions of the Davis-Grunsky Act, the grant was given for the portion of the construction cost of the dam and reservoir properly allocated to recreational purposes of statewide interest that were incidental with the building of the dam. A contract was signed by DWR and HBMWD stating that HBMWD would build, operate, and maintain certain recreational facilities identified in its recreational development plan, subject to inspection at any time during the contract’s term by DWR, in exchange for the grant money.

“The Davis-Grunsky program was a key piece of the initial building of water services for Humboldt Bay Municipal Water District, but it also helped our relations with Trinity County and their recreational needs,” said Carol Rische, General Manager of the Humboldt Bay Municipal Water District.

Today, Ruth Lake is still a gem in Trinity County and just as valuable to HBMWD as it was when it was built. The Ruth Lake facilities have been inspected every year by DWR to make sure they are in accordance with the contract provisions. Coordination of contract issues often becomes difficult due to the chain of entities involved with the recreation facilities at Ruth.

HBMWD leases the land around the lake to Trinity County on a long-term basis for recreational purposes. Trinity County then subleases the land to the Ruth Lake Community Services District, which oversees the recreational areas. This leaves DWR with a very small role in the recreational facilities at Ruth Lake.

“DWR doesn’t have a huge role out here, but because of the contract, we are helping out here to make sure that the facilities are maintained throughout the contract term,” said Doug Rischbieter last summer as he looked over one of the seven designated picnic sites.

During DWR’s final inspection, Doug carefully checked over every item on the DWR inspection list, which he made in 1991 to streamline the inspection process. The list includes items that were designated in the original HBMWD recreational plan submitted to DWR in order to receive a Davis-Grunsky grant.

“HBMWD is ultimately responsible for the contracted recreational facilities that are available at Ruth,” said Rischbieter.

The inspection list includes specific numbers of campsites, picnic sites, boat launches, toilet facilities, and standards for access to drinking water and emergency personnel.

“The contract specifies the types, maintenance standards, and public availability of the recreational facilities at the Ruth Recreation Area,” added Rischbieter.

Along with the inspection of the facilities, an annual written report was submitted to DWR by Ruth Lake Community Services District detailing revenues from and expenditures for recreation, estimates of annual use, and an analysis of the adequacy of the facilities.

“We have between 14,000 and 18,000 people visit Ruth Lake every year. We have a marina and a few day use areas to supplement the four campgrounds,” said Mike Gladding, Manager of the Ruth Lake Community Services District (RLCSD).

The majority of the visitors to the lake come from the Humboldt area, but in the past couple of years there has been an increasing trend in the number of people who come to visit from the Sacramento and San Francisco areas.

“It’s one of our goals to keep this area quiet and not as developed as other vacation spots,” added Gladding.

As the contract quickly closed on the expiration date of December 31, 2001, so did the need for RLCSD to maintain the recreational facilities specified by DWR. But the future of Ruth Lake doesn’t look bleak.

“We don’t see a lot changing in Ruth Lake’s future. We have a great recreational component up there and a reliable water supply,” commented Rische.

However there will be a few things changing, and all for the better.

“Maintaining and upgrading the facilities around the lake is our next goal. We want to upgrade the docks and walkway floats in the next couple of years,” said Brian Newell, Hydroelectric Operator at Ruth Lake for HBMWD, when speaking of the future of Ruth Lake.

Despite DWR’s leaving the recreational side of Ruth Lake, there appears to be no end to visiting anglers, waterskiiers, or personal watercraft users. The cooperative relationship formed via the Davis-Grunsky Act between Humboldt Bay Municipal Water District, Department of Water Resources, and the Ruth Lake Community Services District has been very successful and much appreciated and enjoyed by everyone involved.

Other rural northern California facilities partially funded by the Davis-Grunsky Act include Lake Siskiyou near Mt. Shasta, Ewing Reservoir in Hayfork, and Little Grass Valley Reservoir near La Porte.
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For more information about California Department of Water Resources water activities write or phone the DWR Office of Water Education
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