The Upper Conner Creek Rehabilitation Project is set to mobilize Phase 1 construction early next week. The site is located approximately one river mile downstream from the Dutch Creek Bridge in Junction City. After mobilization, phase 1 rehab will focus primarily on the upstream portion of the area and consists of lowering the riparian floodplain, adding riffle enhancements, placing large wood to slow water and create habitat and planting of riparian vegetation. Crews began mobilizing equipment and staging areas Monday.

The largest feature of this portion is the R1 floodplain.  This 5.7 acre broadly lowered surface and pilot channel on river left targets inundation at levels from 500 to 3,500 cfs.  Given that this reach of the Trinity’s average winter flow is 771 cfs, this feature should remain wetted for much of the fall winter and spring, providing low velocity salmonid refugia and opportunity for riparian recruitment.   

Supporting this floodplain/pilot channel feature, phase 1 will also see the construction of a riffle (IC-1 ) and the structured log jam (SLJ-1). The riffle (IC-1) is a 160ft long riffle that will raise the water surface elevation to encourage flows onto the new floodplain feature and has the added benefit of providing habitat for benthic macroinvertebrates, which are an important food source for salmonids.  In between the main stem Trinity and the new pilot channel is a placed log jam (SLJ-1) which primary purpose is to provide temporary protection to the pilot channel, until riparian vegetation has an opportunity to establish.  It is expected that this feature will eventually succumb to the forces of the river, but will provide low velocity salmonid refugia along the channel margins until then.  Once revegetation commences this fall, the construction area will receive a compliment of cottonwoods, mixed willows, and a variety of sedges and rushes.  The revegetation effort improves the aquatic habitat, helps prevent less desirable plants from taking hold, and generally speeds the healing of the river. 

Junction City residents should expect to see increased traffic and activity along Red Hill Rd in the vicinity of the Smith Pit.  Hours of operation on site are from 7am to 7pm, Monday thru Friday (with an allowance for Saturday if deemed necessary).  Civil construction and revegetation of phase 1 should be completed by years end.   

If you’d like to read more about the Upper Conner Creek Rehabilitation Project, please click here.

While it has not been a focus of the TRRP for many years, infrastructure improvement was one of the foundational tasks that was laid out in the 2000 Trinity River Mainstem Fishery Restoration Record of Decision. Years of low, predictable flows had led riparian property owners to develop very close to the river’s edge. In order to implement restoration releases, the TRRP has worked with willing property owners to upgrade or remove infrastructure that could be damaged by restoration flow releases as guided by the “maximum fisheries flow” boundary.

The maximum fisheries flow is an 11,000 cubic feet per second release from Lewiston Dam (the highest the program can target for restoration objectives) that coincides with a major spring storm event. In the program’s first decade, there was a big push to address permitted infrastructure to clear the floodplain for fisheries releases; we moved roads, replaced several bridges, upgraded dozens of septic and water intake systems, and relocated a house in Douglas City. Another house (391 River Acres Rd in Junction City) was identified as being inside of the maximum fisheries flow boundary, but the owners were not interested in improving or selling their home at that time.

The circumstances changed in the late 2010’s when the house sold to a new owner who used it as a fishing cabin and was very interested in finding a mutual solution that would benefit Trinity River fisheries. Together with engineers and architects the landowner and TRRP explored moving the house, building a levee, and elevating the living area with a flow-through bottom story. In the end, none of those solutions proved feasible due to flood concerns with adjoining properties and other constraints. The situation led the homeowner to decide to sell the house to the Bureau of Reclamation, who acquired the property in 2023.

In March of 2024, Cal Inc., a certified small business located in Vacaville, California was awarded the contract to demolish the 391 River Acres structures. Cal, Inc., specializes in general construction, abatement and remediation services, and environmental and safety training, and it took their professional staff only a few weeks to gather intel, test for lead and asbestos, and mobilize machinery, crew and subcontractors to begin the demolition.

Over the course of the week of April 8 the domestic water well and septic system was decommissioned, the structures and concrete pads were reduced to splinters and rubble, and an entire fence line of firewood was donated to a local charity. 

The first crunch of an excavator bucket flattening an outbuilding occurred Monday morning and by Friday a final few sweeps of a hard-tine rack flattening the vehicle tracks left from construction. The materials left were loaded into what amounted to 12 dumpsters and was hauled-off for proper disposal.

Over the course of the week many of the neighbors wandered over and reminisced about those who had called the River Acres house home (or home away from home) over the years.  They were understandably sad about losing a piece of River Acres history but were excited about the open space for their dogs and grandchildren to run and play in. We appreciate their tolerance of the noise, construction and extra visits these past few months. The project will be considered complete once the bare areas have been mulched and seeded, likely to be fully complete by the first of May.