WALNUT GROVE, Calif. - Until further notice, the Bureau of Reclamation plans closing the Delta Cross Channel gates beginning 9 a.m. Wednesday, October 23 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.
Opening or closing gates can be made on short notice and boaters are advised to check the status of the gates, especially around holidays. The process takes about one hour.
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 salmon from straying from their migratory route along the Sacramento River into the interior Delta.
Information on gate operations can be accessed on Reclamation’s Central Valley Operations website at https://www.usbr.gov/mp/cvo/vungvari/dcc_chng.pdf or by calling 916-979-2194 or 916-979-2196 (TTY 800-877-8339).
Source: Bureau of Reclamation
