Fish Surveys in the Manastash

On Friday, WDFW and KCCD staff conducted 2 fish surveys in Manastash Creek.  The sites were Manastash Creek upstream of Barnes Road and Manastash Creek upstream of the MWDA diversion.  It was a beautiful day and there were lots of fish!  At the lower site, there were lots of spring chinook salmon, rainbow trout and sculpin.  At MWDA, there were rainbow trouts (the biggest was about 10" long) and sculpin. Thanks to Jennifer Scott and William Meyer (both with WDFW) for their work!

Jen Scott  identifies and measures all fish collected during the survey at Barnes Road and places them in the cooler before releasing them back in the stream.  The landowner (left) was very interested in what was collected. 

Anna and Brent are ready to net the fish that Jen finds with the electrofisher.  Ryan is in the background with the bucket to collect the netted fish. 

William Meyer (WDFW) worked up the fish found at the MWDA site.  There were only two species found, rainbow trout like this one and sculpins.

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Manastash

TOUR OF THE NEW FACILITIES CONDUCTED!

Yesterday, the Manastash Creek Restoration Project Steering Committee conducted their quarterly meeting. Afterwards, we did a tour of both the Barnes Road and the MWDA/Consolidated diversions. It was great to be able to show the Committee those facilities up and running after so many years of work!

HDR engineer Mike Garello described the facilities and explained the control panels which allow the irrigators to set flow rates and airburst intervals. At each site, we manually set off the airburst system that cleans the screens. Any debris is blown off of the screen and carried back to the stream through the fish bypass.


Here are some photos of the tour and even a video of the airburst test at the MWDA/Consolidated site.

That's me (Anna) in the building, pressing the button to set off the airburst for the Steering Committee. Yahoo!

And, here is the airburst.

Mike Garello (far left) explains the control panel at MWDA to Steering Committee members.

This is a video of the Steering Committee members watching as the airburst is set off at the MWDA/Consolidated Diversion .

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Manastash

The Manastash Water Ditch Association/Consolidated diversion is coming together. The mechanical building is up and WDFW has installed the fish screens and is working on the handrails and walkways. The plumbers and electricians are installing the automated control system and the air burst system.

This is a great shot shows the facility and the rock weirs in the creek at MWDA.

At Barnes Road, the facility has been accepted as "substantially complete" by the Board of Supervisors. There is a punch list of remaining items, so all the work is not quite done yet. Start-up and training should happen next week.

Barnes Road (3/11) - Almost done!

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Manastash

At the Barnes Road diversion, water was allowed through the facility in order to observe the function of the fishway. Adjustments continue to be dicussed by the project engineer and WDFW. It was interesting to see the facility with the fish screens submerged and the fishway operating. We're just a few steps from actual start-up and testing of the fish screen, air burst and automated gate systems.

The fish screens were submerged (foreground) and the fishway was operating yesterday. This fishway actually has rock in parts of it, which is a new technique for this area.

At the MWDA/Consolidated diversion, the facility is coming together rapidly. The CMU block eqiupment building was constructed last Friday, and the trusses and roof were added this week. Both the electricians and the plumbers have been working on the air burst and automated systems. Several large gates were delivered and installed. Next week, WDFW will be installing the fish screens, the contractor will complete the last pour (an apron for the building and a small fillet in the structure), and the plumbers and electricians will be finalizing their work.

The mechanical building went up quickly. This buildling houses the air compressor and tank for the air burst system and all the controls for the automation.

The gates were installed at several locations in the structure. These two gates are the outlets for the irrigation ditches. The laborer working on the structures gives an idea of the scale of this facility.

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Manastash Project Rolls On

Both the Barnes Road Diversion and the MWDA/Consolidated Diversion projects are moving toward completion. If this were a race, Barnes definitely would have the lead. The structure is essentially complete and the equipment building has been constructed. The plumbers and electricians have been working on the airburst system for the fish screen and the automation for the airburst system and the gates in the last few days. We are expecting start-up and testing as early as next week.

The air tank at the Barnes Road site has been installed in the building. The air in this tank is released through the manifold to clean the fish screen.

At MWDA/Consolidated diversion, the contractor has worked hard in the last month and the biggest concrete pours are now complete. Backfill is being placed around the north side of the structure. When this backfill is complete and new headgates arrive and are installed, the coffer dam in the creek can be removed. The CMU blocks for the building arrive tomorrow. If this building goes as fast as the one at Barnes, it should be up by the end of the week. WDFW is expected on site next week to begin installing the fish screens.
The schedule at MWDA/Consolidated is still very tight, but the contractor is staying on track and the site should be ready for start up and testing by late March.

Backfill is being placed on the north side of the structure. The frame in the structure will hold the fish screens.

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Manastash Project

Despite the weather, the Manastash Creek Restoration Project is making great progress.
At the Barnes Road site, there are only a couple more concrete pours to go. There is a big one underway today.

Barnes Road- last week's prep for today's concrete pour

At the MWDA diversion, there is a concrete pour planned for next week. This is the first large one and a big step forward for the project.

Preparing for next week's concrete pour at MWDA. The frame will hold the inclined fish screens.

A sprinkler conversion project has also been underway for a shareholder on the MWDA. The pivots are now assembled and work should be completed in the next month. This project resulted in 1.7 cfs in the Trust Water Rights program to benefit instream flow in Manastash Creek.

New center pivot sprinklers

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Cold Weather

The cold weather is affecting the Manastash Creek projects. At Barnes Road, progress continues. Another wall pour was completed last week. With the cold weather, the contractor worked to cover and heat the concrete so it will cure properly.

Wall No. 3 at Barnes Road was poured last Friday.

The newly poured wall is covered and heated. The exposed walls were poured a few weeks ago. They are the walls for the fish ladder.

At the MWDA/Consolidated diversion, the single digit and sub zero weather caused icing problems, affected the contractors equipment and generally slowed work. For these reasons, and because of delays with temporary power, the project is now 3 weeks behind schedule. The good news is that temporary power is now available making the pumping for dewatering easier. The contractor has proposed an aggressive new concrete pour schedule and will be working hard to make up time in the schedule. We'll all keep our fingers crossed for better weather!

Manastash Creek and the diversion work site has accumulated more ice every day during this cold spell making work difficult for the contractor.

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Barnes Road Progress

The Manastash Creek fish screen projects continue to move forward. The Barnes Road facility involves several pours. So far, the slabs that are the bottom of the structure have been poured, along with two walls forming the lower portion of the fish ladder. We are hopeful that the pours will be complete before the end of the year and the work into January and February will be the installation of the fish screen panels and the screen's air burst cleaning system.

Excavation for the screen facility at the MWDA/Consolidated Diversion has begun. The first pour at that site is not expected for another week or two.

Barnes Road fish screen/passage facility with two major walls completed and the floor slabs completed.

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Manastash Project Construction

The Manastash Creek Restoration Project is finally seeing substantial construction! The Barnes Road diversion fish screen and fish ladder facility has been underway for a couple of weeks. The first of several concrete pours is scheduled for Monday November 2nd.

Construction crew began setting the forms for the concrete pour and preparing the footings this week.

The Menastash Water Ditch Association (MWDA) and Consolidated Diversion construction is starting this week. The contractor worked on access road improvements and preparing to dewater the stream reach where 7 rock weirs will be constructed to accommodate fish passage.

Tomorrow, the entire creek will be diverted into the upper reach of the MWDA Ditch and then routed through an excavated diversion channel back into the creek just below the lowest rock weir. A fish salvage will occur at the same time. Rock weir construction should begin next week.

The contractor began excavation of the bypass channel that will go from MWDA's ditch to back to the creek. On the left is Chris Landreau, an archaeologist on site to monitor excavation for cultural or historic resources.

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First Manastash Fish Screen Construction Underway

The Barnes Road Diversion fish screen is now under construction. The screen facility and a fish ladder are being installed by Belsaas & Smith Construction. Barnes Road is closed to all but local traffic to allow for construction. Work is expected to continue through February.

The MWDA/Consolidated fish screen facility and instream rock weirs will also be constructed this fall and winter by Belsaas & Smith Construction Inc. That work is funded by Bonneville Power Administration and contracted by HDR Engineering.

The work area is protected from Manastash Creek by a large coffer dam constructed with bulk bags and plastic sheeting.

The facility will be constructed along the edge of the creek and essentially in the location of the excavator in this photo. The Barnes Road bridge over Manastash Creek is on the right side of the photo.

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Jack Creek/Indian Creek Update and Fall Construction Projects

The Jack Creek and Indian Creek culvert replacement projects are nearing completion. The Jack Creek culvert is installed and the creek is now running through the culvert. The road portion (paving and guardrail) will not be complete until the end of the month.

The newly shaped streambed inside the Jack Creek culvert

The Indian Creek culvert has been assembled and is being backfilled this week. The streambed gravel is being placed inside the culvert. That work should be complete by the September 22.

Backfilling the Indian Creek culvert this week.

The Coleman Creek Irrigation Modification Project bids were received last week. A construction contract will be executed next week with the lowest responsive and responsible bidder. That project is expected to begin in mid October. It involves removal of the existing dam and installation of rock weirs and a fish screen. The new diversion configuration will include automated gates and telemetry for the water measuring devices.
The Manastash Restoration Project make a significant leap this fall. The Barnes Road Fish Screen project will begin construction on October 5th. That project is contracted by the District and includes a fish ladder, a fish screen and water measuring equipment with telemetry and automated gates. The MWDA/Consolidated diversion fish screen structure will also be constructed this fall. That project is contracted directly by BPA through HDR and includes a fish screen, rock weirs for fish passage, and water measuring equipment with telemetry and automated gates.



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