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Upper York Creek Dam-Removal Project groundbreaking to mark start of endangered-species habitat restoration
August 25, 2008
SAN FRANCISCO – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the City of St. Helena will hold the Upper York Creek Ecosystem Restoration Project groundbreaking August 25, 2008 at
1:00 p.m. at the Upper York Creek Dam, located on Spring Mountain Road in St. Helena, Calif.*
The project, which will remove over 70 percent of the Upper York Creek Dam and 95 percent of its reservoir’s sediment, will reconnect the wildlife habitats above and below the dam. “Removing the sediment will, of course, ensure there can’t be any uncontrolled sediment release, which can kill fish,” said Jay Kinberger, Corps project manager. “We will be making available a high-quality spawning habitat for endangered species.”
Steelhead trout is one of the endangered or threatened species that will benefit directly from this project. In addition, the project will increase the creek’s hospitability for salmon spawning.
The project will restore 12 acres of channel and upland habitat within and around the dam, as well as reconnect two miles of upstream habitat. The total project cost is estimated at $7 million, which will be shared by the Corps and the City of St. Helena.
Construction of the Upper York Creek Dam, an earthen structure, was completed in 1900 to serve as a city water-supply source. The city has subsequently created a new water-supply infrastructure which no longer uses the dam.
Officials scheduled to attend the groundbreaking include City of St. Helena Mayor Del Britton; Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works John Paul Woodley, Jr.; Army Corps of Engineers Director of Civil Works Major General Don T. Riley; and Army Corps of Engineers Deputy Director of Civil Works Steven L. Stockton.