Last month, the Department of Water Resources and the Bureau of Reclamation announced the final state and federal approval of the environmental impact report for the Yolo Bypass Salmonid Habitat Restoration and Fish Passage Project.
The project will construct a 100 foot long, two-way fish passage facility on Fremont Weir and a 1.8 mile concrete flood protection wall. This project will allow juvenile salmon to move from the Sacramento River out on to the floodplain in the Yolo Bypass to feed and rest, and then back into the Sacramento River to continue migrating to the Pacific Ocean. The press release for the project approval, which contains additional information, is available here.
The project, which is funded by the State Water Contractors through the State Water Project and the Bureau of Reclamation, is expected to begin construction in 2021, after the completion of final design and permitting.
The Yolo Bypass project is one component of a more comprehensive implementation plan to reactivate floodplains in the Sacramento Valley. For an informative summary on floodplain reactivation, a video of the recent presentation on floodplains convened by Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot is available here.
