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Fish Passage Improvement Program (FPIP)

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Yuba River - Daguerre Point Dam

photo of dam




Background

The 24-foot-high Daguerre Point Dam, owned by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), was built on the Yuba River in Yuba County in 1906 to prevent hydraulic mining debris from washing into the Feather and Sacramento Rivers. The dam was equipped with two fish ladders in 1937 that Chinook salmon and steelhead have difficulty, under certain flow conditions, locating and navigating. The dam was rebuilt in 1964 following damage from floods. The dam currently provides hydraulic head for upstream diversions.

Project

The Daguerre Point Dam Fish Passage Improvement Project aims to improve upstream and downstream passage for all life stages of native anadromous fish, while keeping water interests whole and with no increase in downstream flood risks. The Lower Yuba River Technical Working Group, including the USACE, Yuba County Water Agency, Department of Fish and Game, Department of Water Resources, NOAA Fisheries, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, South Yuba River Citizens League, Friends of the River, and other parties, was convened in 1998 and oversees the project. Historically, DWR has had a cost sharing agreement with the USACE on any fish passage improvement or studies regarding Daguerre Point Dam. Stakeholders and partner agencies are developing a restoration prioritization plan, and implementing other actions to improve habitat conditions in the lower Yuba, including separate actions implemented through the Yuba River Accord. In October 2008, NOAA Fisheries awarded a contract to evaluate options for fish passage in the Yuba River. Providing improved fish passage at Daguerre Point Dam will assist Bay-Delta agencies in meeting Milestones 57 and 71.

Several documents related to the Daguerre Point Dam Fish Passage Improvement Project have been completed or are in the process of completion. There is a draft of the Daguerre Point Dam Fish Passage Improvement Project Alternative Concepts Evaluation (19.5 MB) that was released on September 2003. There is also a stakeholder review draft of the Analysis of Potential Benefits to Salmon and Steelhead from Improved Fish Passage at Daguerre Point Dam (8.5 MB). In June 2003, ENTRIX, Inc. released a Fish Passage Improvement Project 2002 Water Resources Study (4.1 MB) for DWR and the USACE.

All files are in PDF format. If your computer is currently unable to download PDF files, please visit the Adobe Systems, Inc. website to download free reading software. If you have trouble converting a PDF file to speech by an assistive device, please contact Megan Sheely at msheely@water.ca.gov for an accessible version of the document. If you use Internet Explorer and have trouble downloading a PDF file, right click on the file and choose "save target as."