Debate churns over Tuolumne fish passage

A system for getting salmon around Don Pedro Reservoir could cost as much as $700 million to build and operate, an expert said Thursday.

Environmentalists who support exploring such a project said they are aware of the expense for ratepayers of the Modesto and Turlock irrigation districts.

They held the third in a series of meetings at the MID office on the proposed fish passage, which would include the far-smaller La Grange Reservoir, just downstream on the Tuolumne River. The federal government could require it as part of a new hydropower license.

The cost still has to be pinned down over two years of study lasting into 2017. Researchers also are looking at whether salmon even lived in the upper river before dam construction, and whether the conditions today are right for spawning and other needs.

Rough construction estimates have ranged from $60 million to $150 million at other meetings over the past year. The $700 million figure came from consulting engineer John Devine, who said it is typical of large reservoirs such as Don Pedro and includes operating costs over as many as 50 years.

The costs drew concern from MID board members Paul Campbell and Larry Byrd, and from representatives of the Stanislaus County Farm Bureau and the Manufacturers Council of the Central Valley.

“It’s very easy to talk about spending other people’s money,” Campbell said. “I for one am not going to hide the cost of this from the people I represent.”

The passage would involve trucks, canals, motorized ladders or other means of getting salmon across about 30 miles of river canyon between La Grange Dam and the upper extent of Don Pedro when full. From there, they might swim more than 25 miles up the main river, plus several tributaries.

The system would assist salmon that return to spawn after a few years in the Pacific Ocean, as well as young fish heading to sea. It also could involve oceangoing trout, known as steelhead, if experts conclude that they once used the upper Tuolumne.

Environmental leaders have said a fish passage could help repair a river that has suffered from diversion by the districts, and to part of the Bay Area through the Hetch Hetchy Water and Power System. They said Thursday that cost is a factor, too.

“Anyone who is at these meetings understands that money is important,” said John Buckley, executive director of the Central Sierra Environmental Resource Center.

Peter Drekmeier, policy director for the Tuolumne River Trust, agreed. “I don’t think anyone is saying we’re set on a fish passage at any cost.”

The districts have been working since 2011 on the relicensing of Don Pedro, which was completed in 1971. La Grange was built long before licenses were required, but the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission ruled in 2012 that it needs one. The fish passage issue became part of the latter process at the behest of the National Marine Fisheries Service.

Devine, an engineer with the global firm HDR Inc., said the study needs will be refined at a Jan. 27 meeting at MID, with the time to be announced.

MID and TID expected to spend more than $50 million on other aspects of the licenses, much of it for studies of fish conditions in the lower river.

This story was originally published November 20, 2015 at 3:43 PM with the headline "Debate churns over Tuolumne fish passage."