Dead salmon raise ire along upper Butte Creek
Chico Enterprise Record - 8/14/03
By Heather Hacking, staff writer

Dead spring run Chinook salmon are again floating in upper Butte Creek, stirring anger from residents and environmental groups who think PG&E is to blame.

Under agreements with wildlife agencies, PG&E must keep a minimum flow of 40 cubic feet per second in the stretch of the creek above the DeSabla Powerhouse near Helltown. Critics say this isn't enough water for this year's salmon run, which is estimated at about 10,000-15,000 strong.

Canyon residents and environmental groups pressed the issue Monday at a public hearing for PG&E's required federal relicensing to operate hydroelectric plants along the waterway. The license is due for renewal in 2009.

Spring run Chinook salmon are listed as threatened on both the federal and state endangered species acts. The fish migrate from the ocean, rest in deep pools, then spawn in gravel banks in the creeks. After spawning in late September, the adult fish die.

Allen Hawthorn of Friends of Butte Creek said the fish kills this year are not naturally occurring. The water in the "low flow" part of the creek is too hot, he said, and promotes the gill disease columnaris. That's the same disease that killed thousands of fish last year on the Klamath River after water was diverted to farmers, he said.

"In the Klamath, the Department of Fish and Game put out a 60-page report that laid direct blame on various parties for what happened," Harthorn said. "But yet on Butte Creek they did nothing."

He estimated about 1,000 salmon have died so far this year, which will affect the salmon run several years from now when the fish hatched this summer return from the ocean.

A petition is being accumulated through the group's Web site at www.buttecreek.org to ask for Secretary for Resources Mary Nichols to do something. Harthorn said they're nearing 1,500 signees.

A call to the Department of Fish and Game was not returned by press time Wednesday.

Harthorn recalled last year there was a story in the paper about three men arrested for poaching salmon. They likely paid a large fine, he said. "Where is the equity here?"

Residents who live near the creek experience "rotting, maggot-infested carcasses" when they visit the water, Harthorn said.

Lisa Randle, spokeswoman for PG&E, said the company is operating under requirements set by resource agencies. PG&E releases about 43-45 cfs, more than the required 40.

But Harthorn said those minimums were set in the early '90s when the fish population had dwindled enough to merit the fish being listed as threatened.

Resource agencies are conducting studies to find the cause of the fish kills last year and this year, Randle said. The relicensing process currently under way will include a reassessment of the balance of beneficial uses of the water for fish, recreation and power production.

PG&E's project diverts water from the west branch of the Feather River to Butte Creek.

She said studies are currently being done to figure out the optimum operation of the creek for fish.

"We continue to work with resource agencies and ask if there is anything more or different in our releases they would like us to do in regard to fish mortality," Randle said.

So far, Fish and Game and the National Marine Fisheries Service haven't told them to put more water in upper Butte Creek, she said.

Randle said PG&E can't just unilaterally decide to release more water. Every year, the company works with the wildlife agencies to come up with an operations plan, she said. If PG&E decided to release more water, and that upset the system so that even more fish died, PG&E could be held liable.

"We've had record-high temperatures," Randle said, that could contribute to water temperatures that harm fish.

"It's a multifaceted problem."

Steve Evans of Friends of the River said diverting water from the creek to run hydroelectric plants means less water in that section of the creek. This is the section with the best holding habitat for fish to rest before they spawn.

"Spring run need deep pools to protect from the heat. There are pools downstream of Centerville Powerhouse but not as much as there is above Centerville," he said.

"When you take water out of a stream, you reduce the depth of pools and potentially heat up the water," he said.

He said PG&E has stated that because it diverts water through flumes and canals, it is keeping the water shaded and cooler for when it is released downstream.

"I don't think that theory has been proven by science," he said.

He said the 40 cfs minimum flow requirement was the result of negotiations, and PG&E negotiated to generate as much energy as possible.

Evans predicted PG&E will be forced to address the issue through relicensing. But in the meantime, "are we going to watch 10-20 percent of the salmon run every year die?" he asked.

Water from far up Butte Creek Canyon is diverted via Butte Canal to DeSabla Reservoir above Magalia.

More water in DeSabla comes from the West Branch of the Feather River, where PG&E stores water in Round Valley Reservoir (known as Snag Lake) and Philbook Lake.

As releases are made throughout the year, water from those lakes travels through the West Branch to Stirling City, where it runs through the Hendricks Canal to DeSabla.

The water from the reservoir drops back into Butte Creek Canyon at DeSabla Powerhouse, and re-enters the creek there.

It's the area of the creek between the diversion into the Butte Canal and the DeSabla Powerhouse that Harthorn and others are most concerned about.

Evans, of Friends of the River, attended the recent relicensing meeting. He said he is also concerned that fish ladders need to be installed at Centerville Dam.

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