Ryer Island in the California Delta


This website is being provided as a service to the businesses and residents of Ryer Island, located within Solano County, California, in the hub of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta region. In the past several years, there have been conflicts of Island name and mapping among GPS services like Google, MapQuest and even some governmental agencies. Confusions as to Delta island names, locations, waterways and history seem to have started appearing online in 2005 or 2006, when the state of California started associating the Suisun Marsh area with the California Delta area. Last update: 3-5-2010
Very important governmental reports regarding Delta islands, most notably, the Delta Risk Management Strategy, Phase 1 report, or DRMS, currently provides incorrect data regarding Ryer Island flood history, flood risk and seismic risk. We've found at least 17 mistakes in DRMS related to Ryer Island alone! DRMS was published in "final" form by California's Department of Water Resources (DWR) to validate decisions regarding the future of the Delta, but the underlying Ryer Island historical data is wrong (see also DRMSf1_wrong_on_Ryer.pdf) as to inundation history. For that matter, inaccurate records were found for several other islands in the North Delta Region, but we will leave that issue to another day and forum. (You can click on the map to the right to see an enlarged version of the a wrong DRMS-URS map completed for DWR for their risk analysis of Sacramento Delta islands.) By March 2010, after repeated requests for review and correction, DWR representatives did acknowledge the incorrect data use regarding Ryer Island, and agreed to contact their consultants who did the report, to get it corrected. However, on 11-18-09 DWR responded by email, indicating there isn't sufficient funding to correct DRMS Phase 1, so a request was made to remove the entire DRMS Phase 1 report from any new DWR reports, such as the California Water Plan Update 2009. See Request DWR then confirmed again they are having the consultant correct DRMS Phase 1 as to Ryer Island data, and will post the corrections so that other persons or agencies will not continue to utilize incorrect Ryer Island data. See latest email confirmation. Examples of other Delta-related agencies or groups currently utilizing wrong Ryer Island data in Delta presentations or reports include Delta Vision, PPIC, UC Davis professors. The "Ryer Island mistake" is very important to farmers, residents and businesses of Ryer-now and in the future- because DRMS has been used for the decision process leading up to and including the Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP). The BDCP is an important legal document currently being utilized to validate substantial proposed changes to use of Delta islands and flow of Delta fresh water. Take a look at this table comparing the different agencies and organizations who published reports of Delta Island floods over the years. It appears the USACE (to the far right of the table) is closest to correct, based on local historical knowledge. One might assume if DRMS is wrong regarding one large Delta island, that it may also be wrong for other Delta islands. One might also assume responsible scientists and agencies that want to base decisions on facts would FIRST correct the DRMS before moving forward with modification to the Delta.	As of March 2010 DWR representatives have acknowledged the use of incorrect data regarding Ryer Island and have agreed to notify the consultant companies who drafted the report (URS and Benjamin & Associates) of the mistake. See details. Go to incorrect report online: Delta Risk Management Strategy, Phase 1 report Now compare what other government and historical agencies say Ironically, DWR published another map in 2007 with the correct total for Ryer Island, if one insists on counting flood occurrences from BEFORE the current levees were built:
Since underlying data for the maps for several Delta initiatives were produced in 2006 using incorrect island names, the incorrect maps used in 2009 reports may reflect back to the conflicts in island names found on Google in 2005 and 2006.

Two Delta islands named Ryer in Solano County!
Another example: Apparently from 2006 to the beginning of 2008 Google Maps listed Ryer Island as "Tyler" island, and then showed the name Ryer Island where the other Ryer Island (formerly Long Point Island) in the Suisun Marsh area is located. When notified of the incorrect island name labeling, Google "fixed" the problem by recognizing the later Ryer. However, in 2008, if you tried Google map and directions function, it would send you to Grand Island instead, at least for most of 2008 and early 2009. Google said to contact TeleAtlas. Even Solano County mapping/survey office got involved and made a request for the map correction in November 2008, but as of September, 2009, Google or TeleAtlas still hasn't bothered to correctly label the area, even though the online status check from TeleAtlas says "we see the problem" and later "we're working on it". Since so many different governmental agencies appear to use Google for mapping, the incorrect island names (not just Ryer, but other Delta islands also) keep showing up, /fir example, a prominent scientist named Jeffry Mount, who has for years promoting restoration of the Delta, uses in his slide show presentation about the delta a large map for the North Delta area, which lists Ryer Island as "Grand Island". If even a prominent scientist who has spent his career studying the Delta region uses slides showing incorrect island names, clearly the problem of incorrect mapping has become extensive. Why two Ryer Islands in Solano county? For some unknown reason, in 1981 the USGS mapping service officially renamed Long Point Island in Suisun Bay as "Ryer" and that was the beginning of the confusion. They even noted there is another Ryer Island in Solano County, 25 miles to the north! Since 1981, various governmental reports and assessments appear to transpose which Ryer Island they are talking about, and even physical data regarding the Ryer Island on Suisun Bay appears to have been used for Reports regarding Ryer Island by Steamboat Slough! Solano County mapping department has been notified of this conflict of names, and hopefully they will be able to get the online mapping services to make the corrections since citizen requests have not been responded to.
T In addition, Ryer Island by Steamboat and Cache Sloughs has a wonderful and beautiful history as one of the early-established and diverse agricultural and recreation islands of the California Delta Region. From the 1850's, the area we know as Ryer Island has been a great place to live, farm, fish and relax. This website will be posting photos, maps, paintings and sketches from the last 150 years of life on Ryer Island. Please check back! In the meantime, here's a link to the comments of one writer from that time: “Scenes of Wonder and Curiosity in California”. oor http://www.yosemite.ca.us/library/scenes_of_wonder_and_curiosity/alabaster_cave.html Please use the links to the left to go to the historic maps. Or to see "print screens" of the conflicting Delta Island Names, go to the GPS conflicts links .