Lower Sacramento River at Verona below mouth of Feather River<\/h2>\n
The lower Sacramento River 50 miles downstream of Wilkins Slough at Verona, just downstream of the mouth of the Feather River, has near lethal water temperatures, far above the water quality standard (Figure 2).\u00a0 The high temperatures are likely due in part to recent increased releases from Oroville Reservoir to lower water levels for the spillway repair project.<\/p>\n
Lower Sacramento River in Delta<\/h2>\n
The lower Sacramento River at Freeport in the north Delta, 25 miles downstream of Verona, has near lethal water temperatures for Delta smelt (Figure 3).\u00a0\u00a0 The high temperatures are likely due in part to recent increased releases from Oroville Reservoir to lower water levels for the spillway repair project.\u00a0 The north Delta water temperatures are also high in part due to lower than normal net river flow (as measured at Rio Vista 20 miles downstream of Freeport \u2013 Figure 4).\u00a0 The low flows have also led to encroaching salinity at Emmaton several miles downstream of Rio Vista (Figure 5), also in violation of water quality standards.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/calsport.org\/fisheriesblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/image2-1024x610.png\")
Figure 1. Sacramento River at Wilkins Slough flow and water temperature in May-June 2018. The water temperature standard for the lower Sacramento River is 20\u00b0<\/em><\/span>C (68\u00b0<\/em><\/span>F).<\/p><\/div>\n Figure 2. Sacramento River at Verona water temperature 6\/15-6\/26, 2018. The water temperature standard for the lower Sacramento River is 20\u00b0<\/em><\/span>C (68\u00b0<\/em><\/span>F).<\/p><\/div>\n Figure 3. Sacramento River at Freeport water temperature 6\/15-6\/26, 2018. The water temperatures above 72\u00b0<\/em><\/span>F are stressful to Delta smelt.<\/p><\/div>\n Figure 4. Rio Vista daily average historical and 2018 flow May-June.<\/p><\/div>\n Figure 5. Salinity (EC) at Emmaton near Rio Vista. The standard of 450 EC (uS\/cm) was exceeded from 6\/15 to 6\/18, 2018. The standard is necessary to keep the low salinity zone, critical habitat for Delta smelt. west of the Delta.<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Low flows in the lower Sacramento River above the Feather River and warm flows from the Feather River are compromising the summer habitat of smelt and salmon in the lower Sacramento River and the Delta, violating state and federal water … Continue reading ![\"\"](\"http:\/\/calsport.org\/fisheriesblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/image1-1024x550.png\")
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