Category Archives: Rafting

Fish, Rafting, safety, Salmon, Water, Wildlife

American River Water Flows Cut In Half Due To Hatchery Work

Users of the lower American River will notice a significant drop in the water flow over the next few days as workers at the Nimbus Fish Hatchery complete annual work on the fish weir.

At 6:30 a.m. Wednesday, hatchery workers began installing metal pipes that block fish from proceeding any further up river from the hatchery.

The weir is designed to divert fish into the Nimbus Fish Hatchery during the fall run.

To complete the work, crews have to enter the river at the base of the weir.

Water flowing out of the Nimbus Dam was cut overnight from 1,500 cubic feet per second to 800 to make conditions safer for workers.

The Bureau of Reclamation advised anyone using the river to expect water level fluctuations of as much as eight inches along the shore line during the work.

More at KCRA.com >>>

Fish, History, Rafting, safety, Water, Wildlife

American River Metal Debris Study Details Cleanup Costs

Just what to do with hundreds of tons of metal left in the American River after a 1964 bridge washout is still an open question.

But a new report commissioned by the Sierra Nevada Conservancy now has a cleanup plan and an estimated price tag on the work.

The debris from the Highway 49 bridge washout 50 years ago rests downstream from the current Highway 49 bridge – with twisted steel just under the surface of low summer river flows and huge chunks of broken concrete sitting above the shoreline.

Report author David Burns, who is part of a renewed effort to remove dangerous debris from the river, said that while the question of who will pay for the work goes unanswered, the estimated cost to remove all the steel now in the Highway 49 debris field would be about $775,000.

More at AuburnJournal.com >>>

Boating, Fire, Fish, Rafting, Salmon, Water, Wildlife

Drought-Busting El Niño Getting Less Likely

Average sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies (°C) for the week centered on 30 July 2014. Anomalies are computed with respect to the 1981 - 2010 base period weekly means. Photo: NOAA
Average sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies (°C) for the week centered on 30 July 2014. Anomalies are computed with respect to the 1981 – 2010 base period weekly means. Photo: NOAA

The idea of an El Niño rescuing California from its devastating drought appears to be nothing more than wishful fancy.

Not only have climate scientists recently downgraded the strength of a potential El Niño, but a report released Thursday by the U.S. Climate Prediction Center indicates that the odds of an El Niño happening this year at all are down.

An El Niño is the much-watched warming of the Pacific Ocean that tends to influence worldwide weather and has had many in California hoping it will trigger a wet winter for the rain-starved state.

While Thursday’s climate report suggests that an El Niño is still likely, the chances of seeing one this fall or winter dropped from 80 percent – projected in early reports – to 65 percent.

The change, said climate scientist Michelle L’Heureux, comes as the warmer-than-usual surface temperatures observed this spring in the equatorial Pacific have cooled.

The same underwater swell that pushed heat to the surface, known as a Kelvin Wave, is having its normal counter effect, but that effect has been much stronger than usual and has moved more cold water up than expected, L’Heureux explained.

“We’re still banking on seeing a reinvigoration of El Niño,” she noted. “But with that said, we wanted to lower our projections because there are structural weaknesses that have made this El Niño less likely.”

The federal forecast calls for the El Niño to be weak or moderate. The consensus earlier this year was that the event would be at least of moderate strength – and some believed it would be really strong.

In Northern California, strong El Niño’s have correlated with wet winters. San Francisco’s biggest rain year in the last century came during the big 1997-98 El Niño.

Weak and moderate El Niño’s, however, haven’t translated into significant rain years in Northern California. (Southern California has sometimes seen wetter weather during moderate and weak events.)

The absence of a strong El Niño doesn’t sentence Northern California to a dry winter.

More at SFGate.com >>>

Boating, Fish, News from Other Watersheds, Rafting, safety, Water, Wildlife

Questions Surfacing On Lake Clementine Hydro Project

Questions are being raised by several Auburn-area residents about a proposal to build a hydroelectric generation facility at the North Fork Dam at Lake Clementine.

Speakers at a public session Monday on the privately funded project wanted to know about its effect on downstream recreation, potential drops in scenic flows over the dam and other potential impacts.

About 25 people attended the session at theCanyon View Community Center,  and the number of questions spurred the project proponent to schedule a special meeting at 6 p.m. Aug. 26 to provide an overview of the project and address queries.

Monday’s session was a public one but meant to concentrate on comments by government agencies and stakeholder groups about study plans by Los Angeles-based  American Renewables and Kruger Energy of Canada.

Project manager Dan Parker agreed to the question-and-answer session after a request for a separate meeting in the evening to allow Monday’s session with government agencies to move forward on time. The location for the Aug. 26 meeting has yet to be determined.

Answering a question Monday from Helga White of Auburn, Parker said that esthetic flows over and environmental flows to aid wildlife and plant life downstream would take precedent over power-generation flows. The picturesque dam was built in 1939 to hold back mining debris but allow river flows downstream.

The proposed 15-megawatt power-generation facility – designed to produce electricity to serve 3,000 households – is to be operated on a “run-of-the-river” basis. It would take advantage of higher flows in the rainy season and go offline in late July, August and September, when flows along the North Fork American River are low.

“We don’t get our water first,” Parker said. “We get our water last.”

Michael Garabedian of the Friends of the North Fork asked whether a survey was being planned – “not just conversations” – on canyon users’ reaction to the project. He was told a survey was planned on recreational use.

The original survey, conducted in 2006 by State Parks in the Auburn State Recreation Area, “didn’t show interest in this type of development or development of any kind, as I recall,” Garabedian said.

More at AunurnJournal.com >>>

Rafting, safety, Water

Drought No Hindrance To Raft Tours

The rafting industry in Placer County isn’t suffering, despite low snow melt and ongoing drought conditions throughout the state.

According to local rafting companies, the only problem the drought is causing is in the public perception that rafting on area waterways is less fun because of the drought.

For H2O Adventures, a rafting tour company located in Lotus, business has been booming in spite of drought because of scheduled dam releases on the popular forks of the American River.

Daniel Soule, co-owner of H2O Adventures, said dam controls on the river have helped to offer the best possible rafting experiences for tours during the drought.

“We’re busy, but we could be busier,” Soule said. “In reality, we have the capacity to do groups up to 50 or 60 people.”

Dam releases on the south and middle forks of the American River have helped to provide, what raft guides refer to as, “floatable levels.” Companies are able to plan tours based on a schedule and ongoing agreement with water agencies.

So far, the south fork of the river only sees two days of impassably low water levels, while the middle fork is open all week long.

More at AuburnJornal.com >>>

Bike Trail, Rafting, Water

Cooling Breezes Take The Sizzle Out Of Sacramento

After three days of 100-plus weather, the Delta breeze came rushing in overnight to lower temperatures in the Sacramento region.

High temperatures in the mid-80s are expected to reign through Friday as the cooling trend provides welcome relief to Sacramento Valley residents. Temperatures throughout the valley were cooler early Wednesday morning, while the foothills and the mountains are about the same as on Tuesday.

The high pressure ridge is shifting farther east and the marine layer along the Pacific coast is gradually deepening, according to the National Weather Service. Gusty westerly winds are likely through the Carquinez Strait and into the valley over the next 24 hours.

The detailed, 7-day forecast for the Sacramento region from the NWS:

Wednesday: Sunny, with a high near 86. South southwest wind 9 to 11 mph.

Tonight: Clear, with a low around 56. South wind 10 to 13 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.

Thursday: Sunny, with a high near 84. South southwest wind around 10 mph.

Thursday night: Clear, with a low around 55. South wind 10 to 13 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.

Friday: Sunny, with a high near 86. Southwest wind 6 to 9 mph.

More at ModBee.com >>>

Bike Trail, Rafting, safety, Water

Too Toasty: Sacramentans Take To The River

The calendar says it’s still spring, but Sacramento’s summer furnace flipped on this week.

Monday’s high temperature of 106 in downtown Sacramento broke the previous record of 103 degrees for June 9, which was set in 1883. Sunday’s 104-degree heat was followed by a stifling night in which the region’s famed Delta breeze failed to arrive, leaving the nighttime low at a relatively high 69 degrees.

The heat is expected to ease starting today. “Certainly this is the hottest period we’ve had this year, but we are going to be trending downwards,” said National Weather Service meteorologist Eric Kurth. “We’re going to be closer to that normal level by Thursday, and then by the weekend we’ll be back above normal.”

People who were not ensconced in offices and classrooms Monday were looking to cool off. The American River, Sacramento’s aquatic playground, was as usual a favored spot. They found a river with a surprising amount of cool water despite the lack of rain and skimpy snowpack.

That’s because the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation is letting water flow out of Folsom Dam this month about twice as fast as it is flowing in from the American River watershed upstream. The agency isn’t doing this to benefit swimmers or boaters, or the communities that depend on the river for their water supply. The higher flows are designed to satisfy state rules about how salty the water can be downstream in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.

The water level in Folsom Lake is dropping about four inches a day as a result. Reclamation spokeswoman Janet Sierzputowski said she expects the higher water releases to continue until the end of June. About that same time, the water in Folsom Lake will become too shallow to launch boats, a month earlier than it did last year.

So enjoy it while you can, Sacramento.

‘Turn that sun down’

A sparse crowd spread along the American River at Discovery Park Monday around noon. Some people were taking advantage of a day off. Nicole Corona of Sacramento brought her whole family, including her father’s Chihuahua, Harley. “We don’t have a pool, so this was our last attempt to escape the heat,” she said.

Her father, Fred Williams, and Harley were looking to cool off after driving from their home in Arizona to visit the family. “After driving 1,000 miles, I want to see some water,” Williams said.

Even with the extra releases from Folsom Dam, Evan Caldwell, 17, complained that the low water level was making it harder for him to catch fish. “I honestly haven’t seen a single striper,” said Caldwell, who arrived in the early morning. “You usually see large schools of them around here.”

Still, Caldwell, who just graduated from Sacramento’s School of Engineering & Sciences, plans to return three to four times a week. “It’s nice that there’s a beach,” Caldwell said. “It makes it a great place to swim and fish.”

Discovery Park is also a destination for families with antsy children now that school’s out. Joseph Bettencourt of West Sacramento brought his two children Monday for the first time. “They don’t want to leave now,” he said.

Bettencourt likes that the water at Discovery Park is shallow and open. Boat riders also seem to have respect for swimmers, he said.

Some people just came to sit. Steve Larsen, who works downtown, eats his lunch in the shade three to four times a week.

“I like the scenery,” he said Monday. “I like the quiet and the fresh air. It’s a great place to get away from work.”

Across the American River in West Sacramento, Al Goodman had a request. “Do me favor,” said Goodman, who was docked on his friend’s boat at the Broderick launching ramp. “Reach up and turn that sun down.”

Secluded beach

Pushed to the water by the heat, persistent families wound their way to Paradise Beach on the American River through a maze of sandy pathways and shrubbery.

The beach is about a 10-minute walk from Glenn Hall Park in the River Park neighborhood, but the winding sand pathways obscure it from people who don’t know it’s there.

Kandice Davis, who moved to Sacramento in January, had never been to Paradise Beach but read about it on a website and decided to bring her niece and nephew-in-law, who were visiting from Georgia. “The site didn’t mention how far the walk was, we were like ‘Oh God, it doesn’t exist,’ ” Davis said. “We’re still afraid we’re never going to find the car again.”

On Monday afternoon, the group had the secluded beach almost to themselves. Canada geese were the sole inhabitants when they arrived, and only one other family came to share the gravelly strip along the water.

Jesse Beltran, 45, of Elk Grove took his family to spend the afternoon cooling off. “It’s a traditional spot, back from high school and my childhood days,” Beltran said.

His daughter, Kira, 13, said the chance to swim in the river was worth the trek across the sandy hills.

“I thought we were there after the first hill, and then the second one,” Kira said. She and her siblings complained about the walk as they carried chairs and towels to the water, but Kira said she hopes to come back often now that it is summer break.

More at ModBee.com >>>

 

Rafting, safety, Water

Low River Levels Create New Challenges For Water Rescues

We hear it every year about this time: be careful around local waterways. This year firefighters are urging extra caution. That’s because low river levels present new challenges for firefighters when it comes to rescues.

Narrow choke points along the American River are good examples of how maneuverability becomes limited as river levels drop, and firefighters say the problem will only get worse as the summer continues.

The water may look calm now, but just a few weeks ago parts of the American River were half as deep. The drought continues to shift water levels. That can also mean shifting debris – known as strainers – that threaten to snag rafters. Firefighters use boats to get to people in danger, but when river depths can drop to six inches or less, there are some places that fire boats can’t reach, so they’ll have to use different access points that can slow a rescue attempt. That’s why firefighters warn rivergoers against thinking that shallow water is safer water this summer.

More at News10.net >>>

Rafting, safety

Rancho Cordova Family Rescued After American River Rafting Accident

A Rancho Cordova family of four and their dog had to be rescued by helicopter from Gilligan’s Island in the American River on Saturday after their raft ran into a submerged obstacle.

“It sounds like they were pretty lucky,” John Havicon, chief ranger with Sacramento County Park rangers, said of the family – Richard and Jennifer Rice, both 34, and their two sons, Seth, 16, and Nathaniel, 13. “They all had life jackets on, so they were pretty smart. Things worked out well for them.”

Richard Rice said Monday that Nathaniel remained at UC Davis Medical Center, where he was taken Saturday with mild hypothermia and to be treated for an underlying illness.

“It was definitely scary,” Rice said of the ordeal. “But everyone was great along the whole process.”

For the past five years, the family celebrated Memorial Day weekend by rafting on the American River. This year they brought along their 3-month-old Great Dane puppy, Marmaduke.

“This was the first time we had our own raft, instead of renting one,” said Rice, an information security consultant.

At 2 p.m. Saturday, they got their Party Island raft into the river just below the Sunrise Boulevard bridge, planning to get to William B. Pond Recreation Area, just shy of Watt Avenue. They towed a smaller raft containing an ice chest, car keys and cellphones. Rice had picked up four life jackets from a fire station earlier.

Everything was going fine until about 7:30 p.m., when the raft approached the Arden rapids near River Bend Park. “As we were making the decision to go right or left, the river made the decision for us,” said Rice. The current took the family to the left, where, Rice said, an empty raft was caught in the middle of the river on something, which he thinks was a log.

“We did everything was could to avoid that part, but ended up hitting it square on,” he said. “The raft was not maneuverable at all.”

The collision caused Nathaniel to fall backward into the water. “I fell right out afterwards, chasing him down, and Marmaduke came after us,” recalled Rice. “I was able to catch up with Nate, about 300-400 feet past where the boat was, and get over to the side of the river.”

The trio made it to Gilligan’s Island, while the raft with Jennifer and Seth was filling with water, said Rice. They were able to get out of the raft, grab the smaller raft and get to land, but on the other side of the river. About 15 minutes later, they reached Gilligan’s Island by using the smaller raft, Rice said.

In the meantime, Nathaniel began experiencing health problems, his father said.

Rice resisted calling 911 right away, he said, because he hoped to get off the island and get to a second car they’d parked at William B. Pond Recreation Area.

But he was unable to get across the river. “I’m a decent swimmer, but I had a hard time,” he said. “It was impossible to swim upriver.”

Havicon said the American River was flowing at 1,750 cubic feet per second this weekend, and that the current was probably faster where the family was, as the river narrows at that point.

About 8 p.m., Jennifer Rice called 911 since Nathaniel’s condition started to worsen. “We got patched to the rescue team, and they realized we were at a point which was not accessible by land, so they had a helicopter come get us,” said Richard Rice.

At that time, Falcon 30, a helicopter with Placer County sheriff’s office, was in the area. Rice said he used the family cellphones’ flashlight function to guide the pilot.

About 9 p.m., Nathaniel and Jennifer were picked by the helicopter and taken to a waiting Sacramento Metro Fire ambulance near Rod Beaudry Drive. Richard, Seth and Marmaduke joined them about a half-hour later, and Nathaniel was taken to the hospital.

The family’s rescue was one of three made on the American River this Memorial Day weekend.

A man had jumped off a raft to get a paddle at the San Juan rapids about noon Saturday, but didn’t know how to swim. “They got to him just in time,” said Havicon, the chief ranger. Sunday, a woman fell off a raft and was staying afloat but started to panic, so rangers plucked her to safety.

“It’s pretty mild for Memorial Day weekend,” he said. “We have a lot of people out here, so it’s a busy weekend for us compared to the past.”

Three park rangers patrolled a 23-mile stretch of the American River, from Hazel Avenue to Discovery Park, by boat.

This season, there have been at least 10 rescues or calls for assistance on the American River, but no deaths. “We average six drownings a year, but we have not had any this year,” said Havicon.

More at SacBee.com >>>

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2014/05/26/6434276/rancho-cordova-family-rescued.html#storylin

 

Fish, Rafting, safety, Salmon, Water, Wildlife

On Northern California Rivers, Good Forecast For Summer Rafting

The story of this summer’s prospects for rivers, rafting and trout fishing might sound like a yarn right out of the “Outdoors Department of Yer Eyes Ain’t Foolin’ Ya.”

For the American and Tuolumne rivers, NorCal’s top rafting rivers, the forecasts look great.

What? Aren’t we in the worst drought in a gazillion years? Isn’t the snowpack (and the melt-off to come) about 30 percent of normal in the high country? And won’t the rivers be rendered into trickles by July?

Well, in many cases, nope.

In a reversal of what is logical thought for many, conditions and flows on several rivers will be spectacular into summer for rafting, fishing and camping. And no, yer eyes ain’t foolin’ ya.

It’s a surprise twist to the way things work in California, even in a drought.

It rained enough in February and March to replenish, in part, several watersheds and reload many of the smaller, high-country reservoirs. Enough, that is, for water managers to release water from them and make their deliveries this summer.

The timing of the flows has been worked out to benefit recreation. So when those water deliveries are made, rafters will have a chance to float on them.

One of the best examples is the San Francisco Water Department, which met with outfitters last week to work out flow regimes out of Hetch Hetchy and Cherry reservoirs for the Tuolumne River.

Everybody wins.

“Despite a historic drought in California, we’re fortunate to have a number of rivers that get water from upstream reservoirs,” said Nate Rangel of California Outdoors, a trade association that represents California’s river outfitters. “That means we’re going to have great water all summer long.”

“On the Lower American River (below Folsom Lake and Lake Natomas), the Bureau of Reclamation is tied into the federal water project and they have to deliver water,” said Randy Calvin of River Rat Rafting in Fair Oaks. “It will run right past where we rent rafts and give people a chance to float down the river on it.”

More at SFGate.com >>>