Technologies for Passing Fish at Large Dams

California Department of Water Resources (DWR) | June 1st, 2013

Given the possible conditions that may exist in Central Valley streams as the climate warms, many researchers and agencies have recognized the need to evaluate opportunit

Given the possible conditions that may exist in Central Valley streams as the climate warms, many researchers and agencies have recognized the need to evaluate opportunities to provide Central Valley salmonid species access to currently inaccessible habitat (DWR 2008, NMFS 2009, and CA Resources Agency 2009). In addition, Lindley et al. (2007) stated that in order to recover Central Valley salmonids, some populations will need to be established in areas now blocked by dams. “The state should work with dam owners and operators, federal resource management agencies, and other stakeholders to evaluate opportunities to introduce or reintroduce anadromous fish to upper watersheds. Reestablishing anadromous fish, such as salmon, upstream of dams may provide flexibility in providing cold water conditions downstream, and thereby help inform system reoperation.” (CA Resources Agency 2009) The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation dedicates over 1.2 million acre-feet of water, through operation of the Central Valley Project, to fish and wildlife. DWR releases water to meet minimum flow and temperature requirements downstream of Oroville Dam. Climate change may warm rivers and streams, with less water available for ecosystem flow and temperature needs in spring and summer (CA Resources Agency 2009). As temperatures warm, more cold water storage may be needed so that releases can be made to meet temperature requirements downstream. Providing anadromous1 fish passage to areas upstream of reservoirs could eliminate or reduce the need for cold water releases and give water managers additional flexibility in meeting downstream water supply and flood protection needs. In addition, it is prudent to consider fish passage opportunities as part of potential systems reoperations because other agencies are conducting planning efforts for fish passage ...

Temporary Urgency Change Petition for February 1, 2023, through March 31, 2023

California State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) | February 13th, 2023

Ten Rivers in America's Future, No. 2. The Central Valley of California

U.S. Water Resources Policy Commission | July 1st, 1950

Term 91: Stored Water Bypass Requirements

California State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) | April 8th, 2012

Pursuant to numerous Board decisions (D-1485, D-1641, Order 2001-05), the Projects are required to release stored water to meet water quality standards in the Delta (incl

Pursuant to numerous Board decisions (D-1485, D-1641, Order 2001-05), the Projects are required to release stored water to meet water quality standards in the Delta (including flow and salinity standards) where natural flows are insufficient. The obligation was originally placed on the Projects as an interim measure pending future studies of how the obligation to meet water quality standards would be shared with other appropriators. In return for resolving Project protests on subsequent applications to appropriate water, Term 91 was developed and made a condition to permits issued after 1965. Term 91 prohibits diversions by these Permittees when natural and abandoned flows to the Delta are insufficient to meet the water quality standards and the Projects are supplementing such flows with previously stored water to meet the standards. The purpose of this report is to explore the enhanced use and more vigorous enforcement of diversion curtailments as a means to achieve flow standards. This subject matter is relevant to the Delta even through the Projects are under a present and legal obligation to meet existing flows standards.

The Ancient Lakes of Western America, their Deposits and Drainage

Nature Portfolio (Springer Nature) | September 8th, 1870

By continental elevation the whole country west of the Mississippi was raised out of the cretaceous sea, and these estnaries became lakes inclosed by raised dry land. The

By continental elevation the whole country west of the Mississippi was raised out of the cretaceous sea, and these estnaries became lakes inclosed by raised dry land. The knowledge of this country from the Mississippi to the Pacific Ocean has been accumulated by various explorers besides the writer, as Dr. Hayden, Mr. George Gibbs, Professors W. P. Blake and Thomas Antisell, and Prof. J. D. Whitney and the State Geological Survey of California, and Baron Richtofen, the lamented Rémond, Drs. Shiel, Wislizenus, and others. Besides Mr. Clarence King has explored a large tract of this country, but his very important contributions have not, as yet, been made public. The general character of the topography of the region west of the Mississippi has been given by these great lines of elevation traversing the country from north to south. There are the Rocky Mountains, the Sierra Nevada, and the Coast Ranges. The last is the most modern, and is composed, for the most part, of Miocene Tertiary rocks. Parallel with this lies a narrow trough, in California traversed by the Sacramento and San Joachin Rivers, encroached on by the mountains at places, but still in Oregon and Washington, traversed by the Willamette and Cowletz Rivers. These two sections are drained through the Golden Gate and Columbia.

The Bay Delta Conveyance Facility: Affordability and Financing Considerations

California Debt and Investment Advisory Commission (CDIAC) | November 1st, 2014

The Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP) is a collaborative effort involving numerous state and federal agencies with the goal of restoring and protecting the environmental

The Bay Delta Conservation Plan (BDCP) is a collaborative effort involving numerous state and federal agencies with the goal of restoring and protecting the environmental health of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta while also improving the reliability of an important source of California’s water supply. Currently, the Delta provides vital water supplies to municipal, industrial and agricultural water users in the Central Valley and coastal and Southern California. These water deliveries are crucial to the state’s economy and represent a critical source of water for more than 25 million California residents. According to the BDCP documents, in the absence of the various conservation measures proposed in the plan, Delta water supplies are expected to become increasingly unreliable, water quality in the Delta would be vulnerable due to sea level rise and associated saltwater intrusion, and the state would be exposed to potentially severe public health consequences resulting from a major seismic event that could damage Delta facilities and temporarily halt water exports. This report provides a preliminary assessment of the affordability and financing considerations of the Delta conveyance facility. The report does not address the merits of the BDCP per se or the question of whether the state and other parties involved in the project should proceed with this project.

The California Peripheral Canal: Who Backed It, Who Fought It

California Agriculture (UCANR) | January 3rd, 1983

The Central Valley Project - Federal or State?

University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley) | June 1st, 1955

The Collapse of Pelagic Fishes in the Upper San Francisco Estuary: El Colapso de los Peces Pelagicos en La Cabecera Del Estuario San Francisco

American Fisheries Society (AFS) | January 9th, 2007

Although the pelagic fish community of the upper San Francisco Estuary historically has shown substantial variability, a recent collapse has captured the attention of res

Although the pelagic fish community of the upper San Francisco Estuary historically has shown substantial variability, a recent collapse has captured the attention of resource managers, scientists, legislators, and the general public. The ecological and management consequences of the decline are most serious for delta smelt (Hypomesus transpacificus), a threatened species whose narrow range overlaps with large water diversions that supply water to over 25 million people. The decline occurred despite recent moderate hydrology, which typically results in at least modest recruitment, and investments of hundreds of millions of dollars in habitat restoration and environmental water allocations to support native fishes. In response to the pelagic fish collapse, an ambitious multi-agency research team has been working since 2005 to evaluate the causes of the decline, which likely include a combination of factors: stock-recruitment effects, a decline in habitat quality, increased mortality rates, and reduced food availability due to invasive species.

The Decline of Striped Bass in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Estuary, California

American Fisheries Society (AFS) | July 1st, 1985

The abundance of young striped bass Morone saxatilis in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Estuary has suffered an unsteady but persistent decline from population levels that wer

The abundance of young striped bass Morone saxatilis in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Estuary has suffered an unsteady but persistent decline from population levels that were high in the middle 1960s. The decline was particularly severe in 1977 and abundance of young striped bass has been low every subsequent year. The adult striped bass population also has fallen during the past 20 years, but the exact period over which the decline occurred and the rate of decline are not clear. The adult population is now about one-quarter of its former size and there is little sign of recovery. We believe the Sacramento-San Joaquin striped bass population and the fishery that it supports are in serious danger. The cause is most likely one or more of four factors. (1) The adult population is now so low that egg production may be inadequate. (2) The plankton food supply of young striped bass in the western Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and Suisun Bay has been greatly reduced each spring. Diversion of water from the delta for agricultural purposes is a prime suspect for the decrease in food production. (3) Large numbers of young fish are lost by entrainment in water diversions. (4) The population is stressed by toxic substances such as petrochemicals and pesticides. Additional studies are underway to help determine the principal cause(s) of the striped bass decline.