Yuba Water Announces Major Milestone for Fish Habitat in the Yuba River Watershed by Yuba Water Agency Feb 20, 2025 Member Submitted News MARYSVILLE – Yuba Water Agency has completed a major step in its collaborative effort to formally launch the Yuba River Resilience Initiative, which includes projects to enhance and restore habitat in the Yuba River watershed for native fish, while safeguarding water supplies for Yuba County farmers. As part of that effort, Yuba Water’s board of directors today approved an environmental analysis that includes one of the initiative’s key restoration projects, the Nature-Like Fishway. The collaborative agreement between Yuba Water, National Marine Fisheries Service and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife was first announced in a press conference with Governor Gavin Newsom in May 2023 and is considered one of the most ambitious watershed recovery efforts in California. “This initiative is another example of our efforts to redefine how local agencies can work together with our state and federal partners,” said Yuba Water General Manager Willie Whittlesey. “We’re proactively engaging with resource agencies, asking what we can and should do to address things like fish habitat and water supply reliability, and we’re finding real solutions by doing things differently, collaboratively.” The planned Nature-Like Fishway will help salmon and other threatened fish reach more than 10 miles of healthy spawning habitat in the lower Yuba River by enabling fish to swim around the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Daguerre Point Dam. It also includes a modernized water diversion at the dam that will protect fish while supplying water to irrigators south of the lower Yuba River. At the meeting, representatives of a local fly-fishing organization spoke, seeking assurance that the partners will meet with them to work out concerns surrounding predatory species also accessing the upper reaches of the lower Yuba River. Whittlesey explained that the state and federal partners are the regulatory and policy making agencies involved, and that all parties are committed to meeting with the sport fishing industry to discuss ways to minimize or mitigate this concern. A second component of the Yuba River Resilience Initiative is a reintroduction program to support recovery efforts of spring-run Chinook salmon in the North Yuba River above New Bullards Bar Dam. That reintroduction program is not covered by this environmental document, because the state is leading that effort. Approximately $45 million for the Nature-Like Fishway will be covered by Yuba Water, which is pursuing grant funds to help cover project costs. The remaining $30 million committed to the project will come from CDFW grant funding for river connectivity and salmon benefits. The next steps to move this initiative forward are to pursue permitting for the Nature-Like Fishway and the modernized water diversion at Daguerre Point Dam. Yuba Water approves three grants to local water districts for canal improvements ahead of spring irrigation season Also at the board meeting today, Yuba Water approved two grants to Cordua Irrigation District and one grant to Browns Valley Irrigation District, all of which are cost-share grants, meaning the agency is matching funding already committed by the districts and others. The $356,594 grant to Cordua will support their efforts to replace critical pipes ahead of the start of the 2025 irrigation season and improve the reliability of the water diversions within the district’s service area. The second $300,000 grant to Cordua, as well as the $129,000 grant to BVID, will help both agencies replace four aging culverts – large pipes that run beneath roadways to move water – at the same time that the county is working on improvements to Loma Rica Road. “This is one of those rare opportunities that we were able to align improvements that we already had planned with road improvements that the county was doing to save everyone some time and money,” explained Charley Mathews Jr., Cordua’s chairman of the board. “Not only does this maximize grant funding and minimize costs, it also reduces traffic impacts for local residents.” Learn more about Yuba Water’s missions and investments at yubawater.org.
