This project provides a direct and measurable enhancement to flow in Porter Creek – a tributary that is critical to the survival of the endangered Central California Coast coho salmon.

The system, which releases water from a vineyard irrigation reservoir, will sustain in-stream pool habitat for listed coho salmon in Porter Creek in the dry season and provide higher flow releases to allow coho smolt out-migration in the spring. Streamflow, water quality, and fish monitoring will be conducted for three years to further understand how the water releases affect the fish and inform recommendations for the long-term operation and management of the water release system.