2-Gates Fish Protection Demonstration Project

Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD) | July 16th, 2009

The 2-Gates Project proposes an alternative management strategy to achieve protection of the delta smelt (Hypomesus transpacificus). The Central Valley Project (CVP) and

The 2-Gates Project proposes an alternative management strategy to achieve protection of the delta smelt (Hypomesus transpacificus). The Central Valley Project (CVP) and State Water Project (SWP) operate under the OCAP and other water rights and water quality requirements (project background provided in Appendix A). These operations comply with the RPAs in the recent BOs for the OCAP from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS 2008) and National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS 2009). The RPAs include actions to limit reverse flows in Old and Middle Rivers to reduce entrainment of fish at the CVP and SWP export facilities. The Project seeks to provide equal or improved protection to delta smelt (reduced entrainment at the export pumps) with higher than the minimum allowed water exports described in the OCAP BORPAs while operating within the other water management requirement (D-1641). In particular, the Project is intended to demonstrate that operable barriers, strategically placed in the central Delta and managed in conjunction with some restrictions on OMR negative flows, can provide equal or greater protection for delta smelt than restrictions on OMR negative flows alone. The proposed 2-Gates Project is designed as a demonstration project to test this premise and to improve understanding of the key physical and biological processes needed to restore a sustainable ecosystem. The 2-Gates Project proposes to install and operate temporary, removable gates in two channels in the central Delta at Old River and Connection Slough (Figure 1). The gates will be used to manipulate flows and key water quality components of delta smelt habitat in order to reduce entrainment of delta smelt at the export facilities.

2014 Clear Creek Technical Team Report for the Coordinated Long-Term Operation Biological Opinions Integrated Annual Review October 3, 2014

Delta Stewardship Council (Delta Council) | October 3rd, 2014

2014 Technical Memorandum Regarding the Accounting of San Joaquin River Spring-run Chinook Salmon at the Central Valley Project and State Water Project Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Fish Collection Facilities

National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) | January 15th, 2014

2015 Technical Memorandum Regarding the Accounting of San Joaquin River Spring-run Chinook Salmon at the Central Valley Project and State Water Project Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Fish Collection Facilities

National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) | January 15th, 2015

2017 Technical Memorandum Regarding the Accounting of San Joaquin River Spring-run Chinook Salmon at the Central Valley Project and State Water Project Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Fish Collection Facilities

National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) | January 15th, 2017

2017/2018 Salmonid and Green Sturgeon Incidental Take and Monitoring Report

California Department of Water Resources (DWR) | October 19th, 2018

2018 Technical Memorandum Regarding the Accounting of San Joaquin River Spring-run Chinook Salmon at the Central Valley Project and State Water Project Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Fish Collection Facilities

National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) | January 15th, 2018

2019 Technical Memorandum Regarding the Accounting of San Joaquin River Spring-run Chinook Salmon at the Central Valley Project and State Water Project Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Fish Collection Facilities

National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) | January 15th, 2019

2022 Annual Review of the Construction and Operation of the State Water Project

California Water Commission (CWC) | January 18th, 2023

A Review of Delta Fish Population Losses from Pumping Operations in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta

Sacramento Regional County Sanitation District (RegionalSan) | January 30th, 2010

To reduce fish loss at the pumps, the state and federal water export facilities operate facilities which are designed to salvage fish from the water and return them to th

To reduce fish loss at the pumps, the state and federal water export facilities operate facilities which are designed to salvage fish from the water and return them to the Delta. Fish facilities include the SWP Skinner Fish Protection Facility and CVP Tracy Fish Collection Facility. The fish facilities utilize two sets of louvers to prevent fish from entering further into water project operations and ultimately the powerful pumps. The louvers concentrate fish so that they can be removed prior to the water diversions. However, these fish salvage operations are inefficient, as high numbers of fish are lost due to predation in the waterways leading to the fish facilities, and the louvers are inefficient.