PG&E Canal Incident Stains Butte Creek, Threatening Spring-Run Chinook
An incident in a PG&E-maintained canal turned Butte Creek into an orange mess on late this week, and fisheries’ experts are concerned that the water is a threat to spring-run Chinook salmon in the Sacramento River tributary. Here’s more from Action News Now TV in Chico/Redding:
The spilling water was discovered at 7 a.m. yesterday and the flow was stopped, but it was too late for Butte Creek.
By late afternoon, the muddy orange water flowed downstream for miles.
PG&E confirms it discovered a breach in a canal it operates which transfers water to the De Sabla Reservoir above Magalia.
As the above post from CalTrout reflects, there is concern what the effects could be on salmon spawning in Butte Creek. Here are some other social media reactions to the potential devastation to the salmon:
