Salmon won’t be getting help from Delta gates, This year the gates will not be closed.
Water diversion gates in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta near Walnut Grovewill not be closed this month to assist migrating salmon, as they were last year. The Delta Cross Channel Gates, operated by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, were built in 1953. They are typically open in fall to divert fresh water from the Sacramento River to the interior of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. This reduces the salinity of water exported from the Delta for urban and farm use. In recent years, concern has emerged that salmon migrating upstream to spawn in the Mokelumne River are disoriented by flows diverted through the gates and often end up spawning in the wrong stream. So the gates were closed last year for 10 days in October, which may have contributed to a rebound in salmon production at the Mokelumne River Hatchery, operated by the state Department of Fish and Game.
http://www.sacbee.com/2012/10/23/4930924/salmon-wont-be-getting-help-from.html
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