Butte County Groundwater Modeling

Butte Creek is one of the most productive spring run salmon streams in the Sacramento Valley. The creek has rebounded from extremely low returns in the 1980’s to record numbers of spawning fish (15,000 to 20,000) in recent years. The goal of this project is to reduce the erosion and sedimentation in order to enhance and protect the water quality and spawning beds for the recovering native anadromous fish populations.  

Throughout the upper watershed is an extensive road network both on public and private land.  These roads were located and constructed during a time when emphasis on aquatic systems was secondary to commodities production (e.g. timber/mining/grazing).  The roads in the upper Butte Creek Watershed are vulnerable to chronic and episodic erosion and sedimentation. Another risk factor responsible for large inputs of sediment during storm cycles is the elevation where a majority of these roads are located.  They largely occupy an elevation noted as the transitional snow zone, which makes roads vulnerable to relatively frequent rain-on-snow events.  Recent inventories have concluded that roads are the major source responsible for elevated sedimentation levels.  This can have profound impacts on the species at risk that utilize all parts of these watersheds to sustain the various stages of their cycles. 

The BCWC will be partnering with the BC-RCD, NRCS, USFS and the BLM to complete the education and outreach portion of the grant.