News Release Archive

Red Bluff Diversion Dam Gates to be Raised to Aid Salmon Migration

Media Contact: Jeffrey S. McCracken, 916-978-5106, jmccracken@mp.usbr.gov

For Release: September 14, 2005

For the 20th consecutive year, the Bureau of Reclamation will raise the gates at Red Bluff Diversion Dam to help improve passage for the endangered winter-run Chinook salmon in the Sacramento River. The gates will be raised beginning September 15, dropping the river back to its normal level by September 18, 2005. The gates will remain open until May 15, 2006, when they will be lowered in time for the spring/summer irrigation and recreation seasons at Lake Red Bluff.

Cited as an important means of improving migration of this protected species, the operation is required under the Endangered Species Act as part of the Biological Opinion on Central Valley Project operations. Temporary pumps will continue to deliver irrigation water to the canal systems until the end of the irrigation season. Fish screens have been installed on these pumps.

For additional information, please call Reclamation's Red Bluff Field Office at 530-529-3890.

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The Bureau of Reclamation is a federal agency under the U.S. Department of the Interior and is the nation's largest wholesale water supplier and second largest producer of hydroelectric power. Our facilities also provide substantial flood control, recreation opportunities, and environmental benefits. Visit our website at https://www.usbr.gov and follow us on Twitter @USBR; Facebook @bureau.of.reclamation; LinkedIn @Bureau of Reclamation; Instagram @bureau_of_reclamation; and YouTube @reclamation.