WALNUT GROVE, Calif. - The Bureau of Reclamation will close its Delta Cross Channel gates this Friday at 10 a.m., to help reduce winter-run Chinook salmon straying from the Sacramento River. National Marine Fisheries Service biologists have been monitoring fish migration in the river this fall. They notified Reclamation Tuesday that fish were entering the area in numbers that required the gates to be closed.
The decision to open or close the gates may be made on short notice based on regulatory requirements; the process takes about one hour. Reclamation recommends that boaters check the status of the gates often. The gates are likely to be closed for an extended period starting Dec. 1.
The Delta Cross Channel gates control the diversion channel near Walnut Grove, about 30 miles south of Sacramento. When the gates are open, fresh water is drawn from the Sacramento River into the interior of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta through Snodgrass Slough and the Mokelumne River. The open gates also allow boat traffic to pass. When closed, the gates prevent salmonids from being diverted from their migratory route along the Sacramento River into the interior Delta.
Current information on gate operations is available on Reclamation’s Central Valley Operations website at https://www.usbr.gov/mp/cvo/vungvari/dcc_chng.pdf or by calling 916-979-2194 (TTY 800-877-8339).
Source: Bureau of Reclamation
