LOWER FEATHER RIVER waTERSHED Lower Feather River near Verona and confluence with Sacramento River Lower Feather River Meander Lower Feather River north of Marysville Burney Mt. The Watershed at a Glance 299 The Lower Feather River Watershed 89 Fredonyer Pk. begins downstream of Lake Oroville Shasta Lake Latour Bt. and includes that area tributary to the Redding CALIFORNIA Feather River as it flows approximately 60 139 miles north to south before entering the Lassen Pk. NEVADA 44 Sacramento River at Verona. The Lower 44 Yuba and Bear Rivers also join the Lower 5 Feather within this river reach; however, Inskip Hill 36 Turner Mt. Diamond Mt. these two watersheds are discussed in Chester 36 the American River Subregion section Dyer Mt. because of their similarities. The Lower Onion Bt. Red Bluff Feather River Watershed encompasses Humboldt Summit 89 approximately 803 square miles of Sutter, Yuba, and Butte Counties. River 395 flows are regulated for water supply and Mt. Ingalls flood control by the State Water Project Corning Bald Eagle Mt. through releases at Oroville Dam. The 32 river is almost entirely contained within 70 a series of levees as it flows through Mt. Ararat 70 Pilot Pk. the fertile agricultural lands of the Eureka Pk. 70 Sacramento Valley. The watershed is rich in water, farmland, fishery resources, Chico Bloomer Hill 49 99 Saddleback Mt. S and recreation opportunities. Significant a c Sierra Bt.s r a management issues include concerns m Willows e n over growth (farmland conversion to t o Oroville Pike County Pk. 49 urbanization), demands on water supply, 89 Bowman Mt. preservation of water quality and habitat, Oregon Pk. and potential risksfrom fire and floods. Castle Pk. R Gridley i Signal Pk. v 5 e r Mt. Lincoln Sutter Buttes Nevada City Banner Mt. Snow Mt. WATERSHED STATISTICS Colusa Whisky Hill Sutter 20 Grass Valley Watershed Size: 803 square miles Little Bald Mt. (514.000 acres) Williams Yuba City Lake Tahoe Channel Length: ~60 miles 99 80 Annual Average Precipitation: 50 70 inches (eastside foothills) to 20 inches Auburn Lookout Mt. (valley floor) Big Hill Elevation: Placerville 50 Highest–3,700 feet (eastside foothills) Woodland Lowest–20 feet (Sacramento River Esparto 50 confluence) Sacramento Davis Population: ~100,000 Mokelumne Pk. 80 Lower Feather Watershed Counties: Sutter, Yuba, Butte Feather Subregion Dixon 0 20 Miles Vacaville Management Issues: growth (farmland 0 20 Miles conversion to urbanization), water supply, 5 water quality, preservation of habitat, risk from fire and floods Lower Feather River Watershed within the Feather River Subregion PAGE 139 k r r e o r v e Paradise i F h R FEATHER RIVER SUBREGION: Lower Feather River Watershed t a e r e F h t 32 h a e t l e r d Orland F . d o Cr i t h M s N c e n re Chico W 70 F Durham Bloomer Hill 45 70 Lake Sly Creek Oroville e t a Res l S W Oroville Dam and Lake Oroville i llo w C Hydrology Willowsr. Thermalito Oroville The Lower Feather River Watershed begins from the Aftr Bay Pike County Pk. 162 waters behind the Oroville Dam, the tallest dam in New Bullards the United States. The dam creates Lake Oroville, Princeton r e . v r Bar i C 99 R t generates electricity, and provides drinking and u c Oregon Pk. n r o H C Gridley irrigation water for central and southern California. h t r o N r. The dam, lake, and other facilities are owned and e C Merle t t u Collins 49 B operated by DWR and are part of the State Water ub r Y e t Res cu h on th t H r u o Project. There are approximately 190 miles of major a South e S e iv F R creeks and rivers, 695 miles of minor streams, and Englebright 1,266 miles of agricultural water delivery canals in Sutter Buttes Lake Cr. Lake the Lower Feather River Watershed. Hydrology also ine Colusa Wildwood a is influenced by operation of the Sutter Bypass, Cr. ub Y Grass Valley which brings Sacramento River water through Sutter Butte Slough and into the Lower Feather River. This Williams S a 20 c system is designed, in part, to relieve floodflows r a m Yuba City r. C e Sutter in the Sacramento River. The USGS gaging station n y t r 5 o r D e v at Oroville shows daily flows in the Lower Feather i R Camp River (post–Oroville Dam) are held at about 300 cfs. Far West Res 99 R Periodic high flow releases from Lake Oroville are in iver Colusa Bear the 50,000 to 100,000 cfs range with an all-time high 45 Bear of 150,000 cfs in 1986. B y R p a i s v s e There are four major groundwater subbasins within r r. N C n the larger Sacramento Valley Groundwater Basin: o o C r Auburn East Butte, North Yuba, South Yuba, and Sutter e 70 h t Dams over 25’ a e Subbasins. In this area, groundwater is an important C F r . Dra ina component of overall agricultural water supply. 0 10 Miles ge Pleasa nt Gr ove Cr. Water Quality 80 Water quality in the Lower Feather River Watershed Hydrology in the Lower Feather River Watershed is heavily influenced by agricultural and municipal land and water use in the watershed. The Lower Feather River is listed on the Clean Water Act unknown toxicity. Constituents of concern for groundwater are total dissolved solids, nitrate, and several Section 303(d) list of impaired water bodies for other individual chemical constituents. Surface and groundwater quality is a concern for both fisheries and temperature, chlorpyrifos, diazinon, mercury, and agricultural supply use. In October 2003, the Central Valley RWQCB established TMDL regulations for diazinon in the Lower Feather River. That document recommended three strategies for reducing diazinon loading: (1) reducing diazinon use, (2) reducing surface water runoff from sprayed orchards, and (3) delaying and/or filtering orchard runoff containing diazinon. Recent monitoring (2006 and 2007) indicated diazinon loading to the Lower Feather has been reduced significantly. Lake Oroville — 68% full (July 2010)1 Lower Feather River at confluence with Yuba River near Marysville Irrigated orchard Lower Feather River at confluence with Sacramento River near Verona2 Sutter Buttes and wetland PAGE 140 FEATHER RIVER SUBREGION: Lower Feather River Watershed k r r e o r v e Paradise i F h R t a e r L e F h t h a e V t l e Orland r d F . d o Cr i t h M s N c e n re Chico W 70 F Durham Bloomer Hill Annual Grass Lake Barren Oroville Sly Creek Lower Feather River landscape e t a Res l S W Blue Oak Woodland il lo w 99 Vegetation Mixed Chaparral The watershed supports several primary terrestrial Cr. Mixed Conifer communities interspersed with wetland habitat Thermalito Oroville Montane Hardwood Afterbay Pike County Pk. types. The foothills in the north and east portions of the watershed generally consist of blue oak Urban-Agriculture New Bullards Princeton r woodlands with scattered chaparral and other e . v r Bar i C R 0 10 Miles t u shrub-dominated communities. The Central Valley c Oregon Pk. n r o H C Gridley h portions of the watershed are mostly in irrigated t r o N e . Merle agriculture, including orchards, vineyards, and row t r t C u 49 B Collins crops. Annual grasslands dominate areas where ub r t cu Y e Res on h H th t h ut r ou land is not being farmed. Valuable riparian, vernal a So e S e iv F R pool, and wetland habitat is located along river corridors and in annual grassland depressions. Englebright Lake Cr. Sutter Buttes Lake Wildwood ne Wildfire is a natural part of conifer, chaparral, and Colusa Grass Valley a oak woodland ecosystems and is now a major Cr. Yub 20 management concern, partly because of expanding Sutter residential land use and the many years of fire Williams S 20 a c suppression policies. r a m Yuba City r. C e Sutter n y t r 5 o r D e v i R Camp Far West 99 Res R iver Bear Bear B y R p a i s v s e r r. N C 70 n o o C r Auburn e h t a e C F r . Vegetation in the Lower Feather River Watershed Pleasa nt Gr ove Cr. 80 Fish and Wildlife The watershed supports a variety of native and nonnative fish species, including some federally and state- listed species of concern. Common fish species include sturgeon, salmon and steelhead, Sacramento pikeminnow, catfish, carp, and six species of bass. Special-status fish include Central Valley Chinook salmon, Central Valley steelhead, green sturgeon, hardhead, and Sacramento splittail. The Central Valley Chinook salmon’s commercial, recreational, and cultural value has made it one of the most important watershed resources. Recent data estimate that the number of adult Chinook salmon returning to spawn in the Lower Table Mountain near Oroville Feather fell below 20,000 in 2008, down from 60,000 in 1998 and almost 200,000 in 2001. (don’t have 09 data, just go with the #s you have – in most waters, 09 was similar to 08) The Feather River Fish Hatchery located below the Oroville Dam was built in 1967 in an effort to mitigate for loss of salmon and steelhead habitat eliminated by the construction of Oroville Reservoir.