California Construction News staff writer
Operations have begun on the $58 million Big Notch Project, one of the largest floodplain salmon-rearing habitat projects in California history. The Department of Water Resources held a ribbon-cutting ceremony Monday to mark the start of the project’s first operational season.
The project, built by Goodfellow Bros. LLC, includes three seasonally operated gates at the Fremont Weir, allowing juvenile salmon and sturgeon to access the Yolo Bypass, a critical floodplain that supports threatened and endangered species. Construction involved removing a section of the weir, installing the gates, excavating 180,000 cubic yards of material to create new fish channels, and building a control facility and pedestrian bridge.
“With temperatures warming in California, salmon need rivers that give them more room to rest and feed as they migrate to the ocean,” said DWR Director Karla Nemeth. “This new infrastructure allows us to better manage how and when river water inundates the Yolo Bypass. It helps salmon, protects people from flooding and enables farmers to continue to grow food in the region.”
Funding came through a partnership with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, which provided $41 million for construction, oversight, and environmental monitoring. The project was designed to balance habitat restoration with existing land uses, including agriculture, recreation and flood protection.
When water levels in the Sacramento River are high, the gates will open to divert flows into the Yolo Bypass, creating shallow floodplain habitat for juvenile salmon to feed and grow. Studies show salmon raised in floodplains grow faster and have a better chance of surviving the journey to the Pacific Ocean. Adult salmon and sturgeon will also benefit from improved passage, while sonar cameras installed at the gates monitor fish movement.
Speakers at the ceremony included Nemeth; Adam Nickels, acting regional director of the Bureau of Reclamation; and Katie Talbot, deputy director of public affairs for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. Attendees toured the new control building, pedestrian bridge and watched Gate 1 open as water began flowing into the bypass.
The Big Notch Project fulfills state and federal regulatory requirements for endangered species protection while supporting operations of the State Water Project and the federal Central Valley Project, which provide water to millions of Californians and hundreds of thousands of acres of farmland.
