Sediment pours into Butte Creek, salmon at risk of death
Brown and orange colored sediment polluted salmon-bearing and crop-irrigating waters of Butte Creek beginning [last] Thursday morning, caused by a breach along the Butte Canal near Lovelock. … Allen Harthorn, executive director of Friends of Butte Creek, said breaches along the canal aren’t uncommon, and estimates the canal has failed about every two to three years in his experience. … An estimated 500 or more salmon are in danger of dying in the next few days because of the sediment pollution in Butte Creek, according to Harthorn. Salmon restoration experts are particularly worried because the creek, on a typical year, sees 5,000-10,000 salmon during spawning season, and the population of an already-small run may dwindle further.
Related article:
- KRCR – Redding: PG&E canal breach creates orange debris flow through Butte Creek