Provo Delta versus High Spring Runoff

[Piscophilic]

I have a son that lives just off the NE corner of the new delta and watching the water levels this spring left me asking how will the area handle this year's high runoff. I pinged the USBR and asked them.

Their response seemed reassuring and well thought out.

I especially liked their anticipated view that says we could get another 3' rise in lake level by/during the peak runoff. 

We are already 3' higher than last fall's low point and equal to the last summer's highest level. If we get 3 feet or more added this season, we will get almost to the full (compromise) level for the first time since April of 2020!

From the images at the bottom: A) is where we are now, B) is their anticipated peak based on the 10 year high flow and C) is what it will look like in a normal summer after the runoff is over.

Here is their response:

"Hi again Jim,

Things have been kind of crazy around here, so sorry for the delay - I've got some info for you in response to your questions about high flows in and around the delta this spring:
 
Here’s what we’re focusing on to manage high flows in different areas:

• At the diversion structure and small downstream dam (which will remain in construction mode for many more months): we are working to shore up protections to be ready for high river flows and rising lake levels.
  
• Around the Delta perimeter: we have accelerated the schedule for building up the berms around the Delta perimeter to protect surrounding properties from river-caused flooding. This includes work on the southern delta boundary berm.
  
• New channel upstream of Lakeview Parkway and near Lakeview Parkway bridge: we have accelerated the schedule for building up berms on both sides of the new channel upstream of Lakeview Parkway. Crews are on alert and staging equipment in case flood debris creates problematic obstructions near Lakeview Parkway bridge.
  
• In the Delta: “flood preparation” is built into the design of the delta itself in the form of a natural, connected floodplain. The channels and ponds are meant to overtop and spread out during high flow periods, dissipating flood energy (see the figure below). This is in contrast to rivers confined between narrow levees, where conditions can only get faster and deeper during floods. Overbank flooding is an important ecological process that deposits nutrient-rich sediment, creates habitat, and jump-starts the growth of native riparian plants like cottonwoods.
  

It would have been preferable to have another growing season of vegetation establishment prior to a big flood, but we anticipate the restored delta will generally hold up well during this year’s high flows. After the water recedes, some minor bank repairs and extra planting and seeding may be needed.
As you gathered from our flier, we do not plan to release high flows down the old river channel. The Delta was designed to receive all the river’s high flows and to restore the ecological benefits of natural overbank flooding. Releasing high flows down the old channel would damage the diversion and small downstream dam. 
 
This figure illustrates how the Delta is designed to flow out of bank at high flows. As of mid-April, river and lake conditions are similar to scenario A. Conditions similar to scenario B are anticipated later this spring.


Hope this info addresses your concerns. Please let me know if you have further questions!
Thanks,
Diane"

[JazzyM]

Great information. Thx much

[Boatloadakids]

Thanks Jim, Very interesting info. I still wonder if there will be enough water in the old river channel to accommodate the white bass spawn or will they have to use the back door through the new delta flow? Seems like they don't need a full river to enter the river but will they be able to reach the deeper pools above the highway bridge? I guess if the drive to get to where they need to do what they gotta do they will get there. The river wb run has always provided me with a good supply of wb for bait so i hope the new flows do not have a negative effect on the spawn. Kind of a wait and see i guess.
Thanks again for the info.
Lynn BLK

[Piscophilic]

Thanks Jim, Very interesting info. I still wonder if there will be enough water in the old river channel to accommodate the white bass spawn or will they have to use the back door through the new delta flow? Seems like they don't need a full river to enter the river but will they be able to reach the deeper pools above the highway bridge? I guess if the drive to get to where they need to do what they gotta do they will get there. The river wb run has always provided me with a good supply of wb for bait so i hope the new flows do not have a negative effect on the spawn. Kind of a wait and see i guess.
Thanks again for the info.
Lynn BLK

Hey Lynn, 

I think they will either find the "back door" or the spawning in that section will wilt. I don't think they will have any trouble adjusting to the new channels. I was over where they come in 3 or 4 weeks ago (the river flow was at about 200 CFS) and the area looked really good for fish entry. Normal flow is about double that during the time they spawn and the new habitat might even improve the success rate.

If they can find Benjamin Slough they can easily find the new route!

[TubeDude]

White bass are not like salmon.  They do not pattern on the same tributaries in which they were spawned.  They simply look for any kind of current and follow it up to a suitable spawning area.  Suitable to them...not anglers.  So in any given year...under any set of water circumstances...the whities will swim around the lake until they find a place to spawn.   And it can simply be a wave washed rocky shoreline...not a flowing stream. Any port in a storm...so to speak.

[Piscophilic]

White bass are not like salmon.  They do not pattern on the same tributaries in which they were spawned.  They simply look for any kind of current and follow it up to a suitable spawning area.  Suitable to them...not anglers.  So in any given year...under any set of water circumstances...the whities will swim around the lake until they find a place to spawn.   And it can simply be a wave washed rocky shoreline...not a flowing stream. Any port in a storm...so to speak.

Thanks Pat! I didn't know that much about their spawning behavior and growing up in SW Oregon I do tend to think of things from an salmon-ish perspective. Sounds like they won't miss the old channel much at all.

---

White bass are not like salmon.  They do not pattern on the same tributaries in which they were spawned.  They simply look for any kind of current and follow it up to a suitable spawning area.  Suitable to them...not anglers.  So in any given year...under any set of water circumstances...the whities will swim around the lake until they find a place to spawn.   And it can simply be a wave washed rocky shoreline...not a flowing stream. Any port in a storm...so to speak.

Thanks Pat! I didn't know that much about their spawning behavior and growing up in SW Oregon I do tend to think of things from a salmon-ish perspective. Sounds like they won't miss the old channel much at all.

From your description, I would guess that walleye are more like white bass, just seeking flowing water if they can find it. Is that your understanding?

[TubeDude]

White bass are not like salmon.  They do not pattern on the same tributaries in which they were spawned.  They simply look for any kind of current and follow it up to a suitable spawning area.  Suitable to them...not anglers.  So in any given year...under any set of water circumstances...the whities will swim around the lake until they find a place to spawn.   And it can simply be a wave washed rocky shoreline...not a flowing stream. Any port in a storm...so to speak.

Thanks Pat! I didn't know that much about their spawning behavior and growing up in SW Oregon I do tend to think of things from an salmon-ish perspective. Sounds like they won't miss the old channel much at all.

---

White bass are not like salmon.  They do not pattern on the same tributaries in which they were spawned.  They simply look for any kind of current and follow it up to a suitable spawning area.  Suitable to them...not anglers.  So in any given year...under any set of water circumstances...the whities will swim around the lake until they find a place to spawn.   And it can simply be a wave washed rocky shoreline...not a flowing stream. Any port in a storm...so to speak.

Thanks Pat! I didn't know that much about their spawning behavior and growing up in SW Oregon I do tend to think of things from a salmon-ish perspective. Sounds like they won't miss the old channel much at all.

From your description, I would guess that walleye are more like white bass, just seeking flowing water if they can find it. Is that your understanding?

Some fish are nest spawners...taking the time and effort to scoop out nests into which the female and male both deposit their respective contributions. ..with the male typically remaining to guard the nest.  Bass, bluegill and trout are good examples...except trout usually boogie after the spawn ritual.

Some are "community" spawners...with a male making a nest into which multiple females might contribute a few eggs.  Catfish are the best examples here.  Males make the nests and then try to coax a succession of females to join him for a brief spawn session...none of them dumping all their eggs in one nest.  Good insurance against any nest being destroyed or left out of water by a sudden drop in water level.  The male also guards the nest until after the young hatch...and then sometimes hang around to protect the fry for a short time.

Others...like white bass, walleyes and shad are "broadcast" spawners...where a group of spawn ready adults congregate.  Periodically a ripe female will signal readiness and several males will crowd in on her to spew milt while she dumps her eggs...anywhere from the surface to mid depth.  Fertilization is completely random and the eggs that do successfully meet up with a sperm settle to the bottom...hopefully well enough aerated that they won't suffocate in the bottom silt. 

There are lots of strange spawning rituals in the fishy world.  A lot in the human world too.  But that is another issue.

[FishfulThinkin]

"There are lots of strange spawning rituals in the fishy world.  A lot in the human world too.  But that is another issue."

Thanks for the laugh! Have you every thought of writing humor? You could give Pat McManus a run for his money.

[TubeDude]

"There are lots of strange spawning rituals in the fishy world.  A lot in the human world too.  But that is another issue."

Thanks for the laugh! Have you every thought of writing humor? You could give Pat McManus a run for his money.

Thanks fer the kindly comments.  Mr. McManus (and my namesake) have long been one of my personal faves.  But I have my own sense of humor (better than no sense at all).  I have produced a plethora of pages of written drivel over my working career, but never tried to sell any of my stuff.  I have a bunch of verse and short stories I have put together...mostly for family members.  And I also started a never-finished book of "Famous Quotations Nobody's Ever Heard Before".  Examples:  "Never smell a gift horse's breath"..."People who live in glass houses shouldn't do ANYTHING."...and "When you wish upon a star, makes no difference who you are...it never works."

I discovered a long time ago it is better to laugh than to cry...and to try to find the humor in even the most serious situations.