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Fish Facilities Salvage Data, San Francisco, California, 1993-2024

The Bureau of Reclamation’s (Reclamation) Central Valley Project (CVP) and the California Department of Water Resource’s (DWR) State Water Project (SWP) deliver millions of acre-feet of water annually for agricultural, municipal, industrial, and environmental needs in California from the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta (Delta) through the C.W. “Bill” Jones Pumping Plant (JPP) and Banks Pumping Plant. Since 1957, a Reclamation operated fish salvage facility, the Tracy Fish Collection Facility (TFCF), is located upstream of the JPP and functions to salvage fish entrained in exported water (Bates and Vinsonhaler 1957). Additionally, the John E. Skinner Delta Fish Protective Facility (SDFPF) was added by the California Department of Water Resources in 1968 to salvage fishes diverted by the SWP. The salvage process involves fish collection, counting, handling and transportation back to the Delta. To prevent fish loss, CVP and SWP fish facilities were constructed at Old river, where fish are diverted to the fish facilities for counting and reporting. After counting, the fish are collected in storage tanks and taken to several release locations in the Delta via fish-haul tank trucks. Millions of fishes from 69 species are salvaged through this process by the two fish facilities. Data collected includes species collected, fish lengths, water flow, export amounts, and water quality. Fishes listed (Endangered Species Act (ESA) or California Endangered Species Act (CESA)) were Chinook Salmon, Delta Smelt, steelhead trout, Longfin Smelt, and Green Sturgeon. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife monitors fish salvage and manages the data collected from the fish facilities in addition to data collected and managed by DWR and Reclamation.