Tuesday, 08 June 2010 06:23

Caution Recommended At Caples Creek and American River

slide5-caution_recommended_at_caples_creek_and_american_river.pngAmador County - El Dorado Irrigation District is cautioning visitors to take care if they plan to visit Caples Creek or the Silver Fork American River over the next several weeks. Streamflows and water levels in Caples Creek and Silver Fork American River will be noticeably higher than usual and will likely make trail crossings hazardous and unusable. The higher flow and water levels are the result of “pulse flow” releases from Caples Lake. The district must conduct the pulse flows as an environmental requirement of the federal license to operate EID’s 21-megawatt El Dorado hydroelectric project. The pulse flows are intended to mimic the natural snowmelt runoff pattern to help maintain a healthy riparian community and stream channel along Caples Creek. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.