Yuba Water Agency to receive $2.8 million grant for habitat restoration

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife will award the Yuba Water Agency a $2.8 million grant to conduct habitat restoration and flood risk reduction work on the lower Yuba River.

Proposition 68 made funding available for science-based, multibenefit projects that benefit Chinook salmon and steelhead trout in the state.

Yuba Water plans to use those grant funds to help complete the final phases of the Hallwood Side Channel and Floodplain Restoration Project, which will enhance up to 157 acres of seasonal and year-round floodplain and side-channel habitat on the lower Yuba River.

The four-phase project is designed to improve the river’s ecosystem by restoring natural river and floodplain processes, creating more food and habitat for salmon and steelhead.

“In all my years of being involved with restoration and public works projects, I can’t think of a better example of a publicprivate partnership than the enhancement work we’re doing at Hallwood,” said Jeff Mathews, the agency’s habitat enhancement project manager, in a press release. “That remarkable partnership made us more competitive for this grant, which will allow us to continue building on the great work we’ve already accomplished.”

As part of the project, crews will also remove

3.2 million cubic yards of sediment from the river, which will also enhance flood protection by lowering water surface elevations and flow velocities during high water events.

Partners on the project include the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, South Yuba River

Citizens League, cbec eco engineering, Cramer Fish Sciences, Teichert and Western Aggregates.