Today I took an extended tour of the Red Bluff Fish Passage Improvement Project, a nearly $200 million replacement to the old diversion dam which was put out of service when its gates were raised for the last time in September. This project -- a fish screen and pumping station along the Sacramento River that provides water for nearly 150,000 acres of Sacramento Valley farmland -- is already pumping water but is set to be more or less fully operational by next Tuesday.
In the photos, from the top, Jeff Sutton of the Tehama Colusa Canal Authority expresses excitement at the project's being nearly completed as he watches water being sent through the pumping canal; Jerry Grover, one of the construction managers, uses a left-over fish screen to show how small the individual holes are; workers make sure each of the motors that run individual pumps in the pump house are functioning correctly; construction crews put in a dredge line; and Sutton and Grover discuss the project.
The fish screens and pumping station will keep water flowing to farms and other water users after a Fresno judge several years ago ordered the dam raised to enable endangered fish to reach spawning grounds. For my full story on the fish passage project's completion, check CapitalPress.com soon.
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