Opening of American River salmon ladder postponed due to ‘water management issue’

The Nimbus Fish Hatchery in Sacramento County has delayed the annual opening of its salmon ladder.

The fish hatchery, which had scheduled the ladder opening for a Halloween event Tuesday, said it would announce a new date soon.

“We anticipate the delay will only be a few days and will provide an updated opening date as soon as we have one,” the hatchery said on its Facebook page. The post said the delay is due to a “water management issue beyond (the hatchery’s) control.”

The hatchery, located off Hazel Avenue in the eastern portion of the county, opens its ladder annually for salmon and steelhead trout as they journey upriver to spawn. This event will allow the public to view the migration of Chinook salmon, also known as king salmon.

The water flowing down the American River is released from Folsom Lake through the Folsom Dam.

Officials with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, which manages the dam, said the issue is low oxygen levels in the lower American River.

Levi Johnson, the federal agency’s Central Valley operations manager, said water is being released from the Folsom Dam to mix with water flowing from the power generators, which when combined better aerates the water and lowers the temperature.

Water is also being released from the Nimbus Dam to help boost oxygenation and improve conditions for the migrating salmon, he said.

Johnson said the dam operations do not interfere with the salmon.

This story was originally published November 1, 2023 at 12:04 PM.