The Upper Tuolumne River Ecosystem Program: New USGS Ward's Ferry stream gage

Tuesday, January 14, 2014

New USGS Ward's Ferry stream gage

The USGS has installed a new stream gage near Ward's Ferry Bridge, at the upstream end of Don Pedro Reservoir, to monitor Rim Fire-related water quality parameters. The gage currently records stage, water temperature, conductance, turbidity, dissolved oxygen, and pH. The gage is funded by Modesto and Turlock irrigation districts, and the SFPUC.

About the Program

The Tuolumne River is located on the west slope of the Sierra Nevada in central California. With headwaters in Yosemite National Park, the Tuolumne flows westward 150 miles to its confluence with the San Joaquin River in California's Central Valley.

The Upper Tuolumne River Ecosystem Program (UTREP) is a collaborative, long-term, science-based river management program led by the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC).

The UTREP monitors river ecosystem conditions and develops recommendations for river management downstream of Hetch Hetchy Project facilities to support broad river ecosystem values, while maintaining water supply reliability for 2.6 million San Francisco Bay Area customers and providing clean hydropower for San Francisco municipal facilities.

Scientific collaborators include Yosemite National Park, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, Stanislaus National Forest, consultants, researchers, and academics.

STATUS: UTREP efforts are currently focused on technical review and revision of the O'Shaughnessy Dam Instream Flow Management Plan and routine annual monitoring.