DWR will boost Feather River flows to help salmon

From the Department of Water Resources:

The Department of Water Resources (DWR) will increase flows in the Low Flow Channel (LFC) of the Feather River June 15 to help Chinook salmon. DWR is hopeful that the action will help attract more spring-run Chinook to the Feather River Fish Hatchery near Oroville.

The increased “pulse” flow will start just after midnight June 15, and continue until noon. The pulse flow will peak at 1500 to 1700 cubic feet per second (cfs) before returning to a more regular flow of about 600 cfs.

The affected eight-mile channel runs through downtown Oroville, but few will notice the event. The river will rise by not more than 12 inches, much less than during typical winter flood releases. The water will be released from Oroville Dam, which DWR operates.

At the bottom of the LFC, the Thermalito Afterbay releases additional water that combines with the LFC water to form the total release to the Feather River. The Feather River then flows another 60 miles to its confluence with the Sacramento River. Release of water from Thermalito Afterbay will be reduced commensurate with the increase to the LFC so that this activity will not result in any change to total river releases to the lower Feather River.

The Feather River Fish Hatchery is located at the upstream end of the LFC and is operated by the Department of Fish and Game (DFG). DFG asked DWR to release additional water down the LFC to help attract more salmon to the hatchery for tagging.

These fish won’t be ready to spawn until September. However, tags enable the hatchery staff to easily identify the spring-run Chinook salmon so they can be spawned separately as a discreet group of fish.

DWR biologists will study the response of the salmon to this flow pulse.

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