With aging equipment no longer meeting its original objectives the risk of failure continues to rise.īut what would happen if we took a step back and let our watersheds return to their natural state? Years ago, the Sacramento River and its tributaries meandered towards San Francisco Bay on their own, absent of dams, canals, and any man-made manipulations. And none of this infrastructure is getting any younger. Drought forces us to transfer water between systems that previously self-sustained. Deluges of rain put pressure on systems not accustomed to high flows. Fires make it hard to access and operate equipment. As climate changes intensifies our weather patterns, floods, fires, and drought heighten the pressure on our ability to operate infrastructure safely. Across the state, fish, wildlife, and people are dependent on this infrastructure for habitat, drinking water, and electricity – but at times, as witnessed on August 10, infrastructure fails.Įven with proper infrastructure maintenance and management, risks exist. When functioning properly, this inter-basin transfer provides cold-water to Butte Creek and actually improves conditions for fish, like spring-run Chinook salmon, that rely on good water quality throughout the summer.
In some cases, basins like Butte Creek are managed by water-moving infrastructure, guiding flows from the nearby Feather River watershed to Butte Creek. Native fish across California are consistently vulnerable to safe and responsible operation of hydroelectric infrastructure such as dams and canals. Salmon are a keystone species, and their health is intricately connected with the rest of the ecosystem. The culprit: a failed PG&E canal that caused orange sediment to flood the creek potentially creating deadly conditions for native fish currently inhabiting the watershed including threatened spring-run Chinook salmon. On Thursday, August 10, Butte Creek turned orange. Integrate Wild Fish and Working Landscapes.
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