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class=headline1>Trinity flows to hit 4-decade high</SPAN> </FONT></FONT>
<P><SPAN class=subhead>Agency won't save water to prevent another big fish
kill</SPAN>
<P><SPAN class=smalltext><B>By Alex Breitler, Record
Searchlight</B></SPAN><BR><SPAN class=smalltext><B>April 29, 2005</B></SPAN>
<P><SPAN class=bodytext>TRINITY RIVER -- Get ready for a new Trinity River.
<P>Flows downriver in the coming weeks should be the highest since Trinity Dam
was built more than 40 years ago, as a Clinton-era restoration plan is put into
place after years of litigation.
<P>
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<TD><IMG height=10
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border=0></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>The Bureau of Reclamation decided against
saving some of the Trinity's water to send downstream in the fall to prevent
another fish kill on the lower Klamath River.
<P>Instead, the vast majority of the water will be released in May, June and
July, giving the Trinity strong currents that it hasn't had in decades, with the
exception of flood years.
<P>Flows have stayed around 300 cubic feet per second (cfs) since October. By
today, they should crank up to 2,000 cfs and by May 10 should peak at 7,000 cfs.
<P>
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<DIV align=center><B>Go with the flow </B></DIV>
<P>Scheduled flows for the Trinity, in cubic feet per second:
<P>Today: 2,000 cfs
<P>Saturday: 2,500 cfs
<P>May 6: 4,500 cfs
<P>May 8: 6,000 cfs
<P>May 10: 7,000 cfs
<P>May 14: 6,000 cfs
<P>May 19: 4,500 cfs
<P>May 25: 3,000 cfs
<P>June 8: 2,000 cfs
<P>July 22: 450 cfs</P></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<P>At that level, the water will be so high that just 12 seconds of flow would
be enough to supply the towns of Weaverville and Douglas City for one day. The
flows will remain at 7,000 cfs for four days before slowly dropping back down.
<P>Until this year, flows have been limited to 6,000 cfs. In future years, they
could go a lot higher -- up to 11,000 cfs in very wet seasons.
<P>Ecologically, the idea is to scour clean the river's gravel beds and flush
juvenile salmon out toward the ocean. The flows might also be good news for
rafters.
<P>But those who are used to a tame Trinity had better beware, the bureau warns.
<P>"That's an awful lot of water," said bureau spokesman Jeff McCracken. "It's
going to be moving very fast, and it's going to be very cold."
<P>Department of Interior officials created a controversy earlier this month
when they asked an advisory council to consider holding back some water to help
adult salmon swimming upstream in the fall. In 2002, at least 33,000 of those
fish died on the lower Klamath below its merger with Trinity due in part to low
flows.
<P>Trinity River advocates struck back, saying the proposal would ignore years
of scientific study and would "prostitute" the Trinity for political purposes.
<P>The advisory council rejected the fall flows, and the bureau published a flow
schedule that supporters say is much closer to the vision of the original
restoration plan.
<P>Historically, the majority of the Trinity's water has been diverted to farms
in the Central Valley. The restoration plan was challenged in court but
ultimately upheld last year.
<P>Crews are rebuilding or strengthening four bridges to withstand higher flows,
and one home eventually will have to be moved.
<P>Rafters are gearing up for what the Trinity River Rafting Co. on its Web site
calls "exceptional flows."
<P>Marc Rowley of the Bigfoot Rafting Co. in Willow Creek says the higher flows
are good for business.
<P>But the swift currents are probably best for those with experience, Rowley
said. Flows at 7,000 cfs are the equivalent of 52,500 gallons per second
shooting through the channel.
<P>"It's got to be the right group of rafters," he said. "It's certainly not for
average family travelers. The rapids can get quite turbulent."
<P>Reporter Alex Breitler can be reached at 225-8344 or at <A
href="mailto:abreitler@redding.com">abreitler@redding.com</A>.</SPAN></P></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>