Officials: Temporary Barrier To Help San Joaquin River Fish
FRESNO, Calif. (AP) — State and federal water officials are planning to install a temporary rock barrier in the San Joaquin River to help improve salmon and steelhead populations.
Officials said Thursday the barrier is part of a compromise between environmentalists and water contractors.
The barrier will only be up for two months this year — in April and May. It's intended to save more juvenile salmon and steelhead from being killed by powerful pumps as they swim toward the ocean.
Water contractors had challenged previous measures to help the fish, saying they would limit the amount of water pumped to farms and cities.
In September, a federal judge in Fresno invalidated parts of a river management plan, saying the pumping operations still negatively impact the fish.
Thursday's announcement is an out-of-court agreement among the parties.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.
