The Petaluma River has been given tremendous credit for making possible the relatively quick agriculturally based development of many parts of Sonoma County. For the past 150 years or more, the river has made for easy and direct shipping of materials, building supplies, feed, food, and everything one can think of that we use in our daily lives.

Goods shipped from around the world would arrive in San Francisco Bay and be transferred to shallow-water boats that could travel up and down the river despite changing tide levels.

In more recent years the number of companies that still rely on using the river for shipping has dwindled to just two. Can you name them?

If you think this article is about commerce on the Petaluma River, well, you’re half right. This article is about the important role the Petaluma River continues to play in Sonoma County despite the minimal amount of shipping that remains.

If you were born here, you know that the upper reaches of the Petaluma River, also known as the Denman Flat area, is susceptible to flooding, particularly when the timing of heavy rains collide with high tide levels. Extensive work has been done in the Payran Street bridge area in an effort to minimize flooding upstream. If you weren’t born here, you need not live here long to understand that flooding is a fairly regular event.

The river’s role is to provide a channel by which winter storms can drain, effectively minimizing or avoiding area flooding and property damage. To achieve this the river channel must remain clean, clear of debris, and be dredged of sediment. Drainage is a natural process that needs help.

Ongoing river commerce is what makes continued dredging possible.

Why? The United States Government is obligated through the Army Corp of Engineers to dredge the Petaluma River, which is recognized as navigable waters.

If or when shipping ends on the river, so does the dredging. Federal funding will disappear. The burden, in terms of the cost of dredging, will shift to the public here in Sonoma County.

How do we avoid this additional expense? We must see to it that existing and new businesses continue to use the river. Is it difficult to find businesses that have a legitimate use for shipping on the river? The answer is yes.

Has any business representative shown recent interest in developing a new location on the banks of the River? Yes—the Dutra family has publicly expressed an interest in developing an asphalt plant just south of Petaluma in the old Haystack Landing area. They own and operate a quarry in San Rafael that would rely on shipping aggregate, used in formulating hot asphalt, up the river to Petaluma. Plans were submitted and an application was filed with the County but public opposition encouraged the County Supervisors to vote NO and they did. The list of concerns is primarily environmentally oriented. Will this issue come back to the County for reconsideration? It’s likely.

Because opportunities to conduct business on the Petaluma River are rare, we need to look for businesses that would be well suited for this arrangement to make continued federal funding for dredging possible. Shifting more tax burdens to a local level is something that should be avoided now more than ever. We cannot afford to lose more river commerce.

Signed,

John E. King