In the 1850s, immigrants seeking gold in California’s Sierra Nevada mountains created a connected network of open channels, wooden flumes, and pipes to direct water to their operations and the rapidly-growing foothill towns of Sonora, Columbia, and Jamestown.
170 years later, this historic system is an integral part of the water infrastructure that supports residential, agricultural, hydroelectric, ecosystem, and recreational purposes, providing nearly all of the drinking water to the west slope communities of Tuolumne County. Tuolumne Utilities District (TUD), the agency responsible for managing the 70-plus miles of raw water ditches and potable water infrastructure, is contending with a modern-day concern: the threat of severe wildfire.
Conservation Biology Institute and EN2 Resources, Inc. (en2resources.com/) partnered to develop the TUD Wildfire Defense Plan, which was adopted by Tuolumne Utilities District (TUD) in April of 2025.
This comprehensive strategy to protect Tuolumne County’s water resources and increase the community’s resilience to wildfire aligns with and implements the Tuolumne County Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP). This plan also follows state and federal government directives relating to wildfire resilience for California’s communities and forests, including the California Wildfire and Forest Resilience Task Force’s Wildfire and Forest Resilience Action Plan and the U.S. Forest Service’s Wildfire Crisis Strategy Implementation Plan.
The TUD Wildfire Defense Plan contains two components:
TUD Wildfire Risk Mitigation Plan, prepared by CBI in consultation with TUD, presents prioritized locations for mitigating wildfire risks to TUD infrastructure and supports the effective planning and implementation of the prioritized projects while providing co-benefits to the community and natural resources.
The TUD Fire Water Draft Points Plan, prepared by EN2 Resources in consultation with TUD, identifies 49 strategic raw water draft points across the district to increase water availability for fire suppression, reduce demands on potable water systems, and enhance emergency response capabilities.Together these plans will help TUD manage the system as “green infrastructure”, a vision that addresses the integrated needs of people, the communities, and biodiversity under climate change. TUD, together with Pacific Gas & Electric, the US Forest Service, CAL FIRE, Tuolumne County, Tuolumne Fire Safe Council and the Tuolumne Band of Me-Wuk Indians are already working intensively to reduce fuels in the region, and this Plan will assist the agency in obtaining the funding needed to continue this important work.
The TUD Wildfire Defense Plan was developed with funding from the USDA Forest Service Community Wildfire Defense Grant. For more information about the TUD Wildfire Defense Plan, please visit https://tudwater.com/wildfire-defense-plan/.
Project Details
Partners
Location
Date
Services Provided
Conservation Planning & Management
Data Basin
Spatial Analysis & Mapping
