The Trinity River at Hoopa. Photo: Wikimedia.

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Good news for fish, concerning news for swimmers on the Trinity: The Bureau of Reclamation announced yesterday that it will be ramping up water releases from Lewiston Dam in order to combat the ich infestation at the mouth of the Klamath, and to help get fish upstream.

The Trinity is a dangerous river when it is flowing strong. People die in it every year. Those looking to get one last river day in before summer fades away: Please take caution.

From the Bureau of Reclamation:

The Bureau of Reclamation will release additional water from Trinity Reservoir for the lower Klamath River to help protect returning adult fall run Chinook salmon from a disease outbreak and mortality. Supplemental flows from Lewiston Dam will commence on August 25 and extend into late September.

On August 2, Reclamation released a Draft Environmental Assessment (EA) for the plan to use water from Trinity Reservoir for the supplemental flows. The Draft EA also analyzed using a potential emergency volume, if needed, to avoid a significant die-off of adult salmon. Real-time monitoring and adaptive management will help guide implementation of supplemental flow releases.

Releases from Lewiston Dam will be adjusted to target 2,800 cubic feet per second (cfs) in the lower Klamath River starting August 25. To meet this target, releases from Lewiston Dam will increase from 450 cfs up to 1,300 cfs before dropping to 450 cfs in late September. Additional information will be provided if higher peak flows are needed in early-to-mid-September as part of the preventive action.

Flows from Lewiston could be raised as high as 3,500 cfs for up to five days if real-time monitoring information suggests a need for additional supplemental flows as an emergency response.

Over the next several weeks, releases could increase as quickly as 250 cfs every two hours, and flow reductions could drop as quickly as 100 cfs every four hours. The public is urged to take all necessary precautions on or near the river while flows are high.

The Final EA and Finding of No Significant Impact are available at http://www.usbr.gov/mp/nepa/nepa_projdetails.cfm?Project_ID=26477. If you encounter problems accessing the documents online, please call 916-978-5100 (TTY 800-877-8339) or email mppublicaffairs@usbr.gov.