Salmon Creek School Water Conservation Project
Program
In-Stream Flow Enhancement
Primary RCD
Gold Ridge Resource Conservation District
Lead Implementer
Gold Ridge Resource Conservation District
Funders
Wildlife Conservation Board
Other Organizations
California Department of Fish & Wildlife, California State Coastal Conservancy, North Coast Resource Conservation and Development Council
Project Primary Contact
John Green (john@goldridgercd.org)
Project Stage
Completed
Duration
2021 - 2024
Water Management and Conservation
In-Stream Flow Enhancement
This project eliminated the annual extraction of up to 1.5 million gallons of water from a shallow, near-stream alluvial well for playing field irrigation at Salmon Creek School, which is located immediately adjacent to Salmon Creek. The project involved turf replacement to shrink the irrigated area, implementation of a suite of irrigation improvements, and construction of a 517,000-gallon rainwater catchment system. The project was designed to increase summer baseflow through the upper and middle reaches of Salmon Creek, important coho salmon habitat, with streamflow monitoring in progress.
Key Accomplishments
- Special Status Fish Species Habitat: 76,560.00 lf
- Water Conserved: 2 acre-ft
Project Themes
- Wildlife/Endangered Species
- Healthy Watersheds
Large rooftops with tall eaves, as seen on the school gym, make ideal collection areas. The currentirrigation grass will be converted to a drought-tolerant landscaping.
Credit: Gold Ridge RCD
Location
Expenditures
Expenditures by Funding Source to Date: $3,144,600.00
Stream Flow Enhancement Progra... (WCB): $3,144,600
Photos
Rendering of the concrete cistern from the playing field, with seatwall and mural. The semi-subgrade cistern will have a storage capacity of 517,500 gallons, collected from a network of roof surfaces (Timing: Before)
Credit: Gold Ridge RCD
Salmon Creek School Rainwater Catchment System Construction Photos (June 2022) (Timing: During)
Credit: John Green
Salmon Creek School Rainwater Catchment System Construction Photos (May 2022) (Timing: During)
Credit: John Green
Salmon Creek School Rainwater Catchment System Construction Photos (July2022) (Timing: During)
Credit: John Green
Salmon Creek School Rainwater Catchment System Construction Photos (August 2022) (Timing: During)
Credit: John Green
Salmon Creek School Rainwater Catchment System Construction Photos (November 2022) (Timing: During)
Credit: John Green
Salmon Creek School Rainwater Catchment System Construction Photos (April 2023) (Timing: During)
Credit: John Green
Freshly planted native plants next to Salmon Creek's new turf field (June 2023) (Timing: After)
Credit: John Green
Students enjoying the new turf field at Salmon Creek School (June 2023). (Timing: After)
Credit: John Green
Project last updated 2/8/2024