F25AS00284 Butte Creek - Sutter Bypass Weir 1 Design and Permit

closed

The Butte Creek Sutter Bypass West Borrow Canal (WBC) Weir #1 is a dilapidated weir and fish ladder structure and is no longer used as a weir for the purposes of diverting or delivering water to the USFWS Sutter National Wildlife Refuge (Sutter NWR). The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, California Department of Water Resources and NOAA Fisheries seek the design and permitting required for the partial removal or the weir and fish ladder structures and construction of a rock ramp that will maintain water surface elevations adequate to provide flows sufficient for adult salmonid upstream passage. The fish passage flows should be consistent with minimum flow agreement requirements (M&T Ranch Agreement Decree Diversion 50) as well as flows through the fish passage at the upstream Giusti Weir approximately 3.75 miles upstream. The flows of Butte Creek are diverted past the natural outlet to the Sacramento River (known as the Butte Slough Outfall Gates or BSOG) under most conditions and are directed downstream through the Butte Slough. The Butte Slough is bifurcated at a point just upstream of the State Route 20 bridge crossing, identified as the East-West Diversion Weir. The East-West Diversion splits the flows of Butte Slough to approximately 60% to the East and 40% to the West side borrow canals. Butte Slough above the East-West Diversion Weir can handle a flow of up to approximately 2,000 cfs within its natural banks (Jones & Stokes 2002).The CVPIA Science Integration Team (SIT) and Core Team recommended improving adult & juvenile passage on Butte Creek and identified it as a high priority for FY2018. Butte Creek is one of the most productive streams in the Sacramento River Valley for federal and state listed spring-run Chinook salmon (SRCS). SRCS migrate through the Sutter Bypass to Butte Creek, navigating past several water control structures on their way to spawning areas in the Upper Butte Creek system. Months later, the juvenile salmon reverse this route on their way to the Pacific Ocean. The migration of anadromous fish, which includes (fall and spring) Chinook salmon and Central Valley steelhead, is impeded by the last remaining historic weir and ladder structure at Weir 1 in the Sutter Bypass. There is also potential for out-migrating juveniles to be impacted by contact and turbulence created by the defunct infrastructure that remains instream.The mission of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is "working with others to conserve, protect, and enhance fish, wildlife, plants, and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people". Fish and Aquatic Conservation is integral program within the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and supports the mission by working with partners to achieve benefits for aquatic species and their habitats. This project helps meet FWS Fish and Aquatic Conservation goals of a program working together to deliver resilient habitats, healthy fish, connected people, and strong partnerships. More information can be found at https://www.fws.gov/program/fish-and-aquatic-conservation.