1981 | Near Firebaugh
Keeping the water flowing between the Delta pumps and Central and Southern California distribution and end-users means that water must sometimes be halted for unscheduled maintenance. Here, the canal lining has suffered in service (it runs through the Carrizo earthquake country) and is being demolished and replaced. Before that work begins in earnest, the water level is drawn far down, concentrating the resident fish (mostly striped bass) who passed through the screened pumps upstream as eggs or tiny smolts and have grown in the canal to a hefty size. State Department of Fish & Game personnel set nets in the canal to gather the fish and transport them by tank-truck to a more hospitable body of water.
Engineering requires commitment.