Araujo Dam Restoration
Shasta Valley Resource Conservation District Shasta River Watershed, Siskiyou County
before after Project Abstract:
The Araujo Dam Restoration consists of the design and installation of a replacement diversion facility for Araujo water users that will provide continued agricultural water supply, reduce water quality impairment and eliminate barriers to fish passage in the Shasta River watershed. Activities include the replacement of the existing leaking earthen ditches with pipelines, replacement of the dam with pumps, new fish screens that meet current criteria, and initiation of needed on-farm improvements to maximize water use efficiency and minimize the tailwater returns that diminish water quality. In addition, this project will reduce conflicts through reduced water demand and improved conditions for aquatic species.
Project Goals:
- Protect and enhance the salmonid fishery of the Shasta and Klamath Rivers.
- Maintain the viability of agriculture in the Shasta Valley.
- Improve water quality of the Shasta and Klamath Rivers.
- Improve water use efficiency of Araujo Dam users.
- Implement TMDLs actions on the Shasta River that clearly identify this impoundment as a main contributor of increased temperature and decreased dissolved oxygen in the Shasta River.
- Improve upstream and downstream fish passage in the Shasta River so spawning salmon can gain access to the critical upstream spawning areas near Big Springs, and migrating juvenile fish can either move downstream to the ocean, or upstream to cold water refugia areas for summer rearing.
Budget:
IRWMP Proposition 50: $ 769,904 (project constructed under budget - original budget $878,274)
Funding Match: $ 902,546
Total Project Cost: $1,672,450
Other Project Information:
On-line Project Management Tool Additional Project Photos Monitoring Plan "Shasta River Dam Removal Benefits All", Shasta Valley RCD
