Putah Creek image

OCT 18 FIELD TRIPS

SITE VISIT 1: UC Davis Arboretum Waterway Maintenance and Enhancement Project

Field visit will be led by Nina Suzuki, Waterway Steward, UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden
Departs from UC Davis Conference Center at 8:30 am, returning in time for 10 am sessions.
Limited to first 25 summit participants to register. (Must be registered for Riparian Summit to participate. No additional cost.)

Join us for a walking tour of the east end of the UC Davis Arboretum to show the progress of Phase 1 of the Arboretum Waterway Maintenance and Enhancement Project  http://publicgarden.ucdavis.edu/waterway. The UC Davis Arboretum Waterway sits in the historic channel of Putah Creek, which is now dry, except for the section that flows through the UC Davis Campus. Here you can see the multiple benefits offered by this urban waterway that involve stormwater management, recycled water, wildlife habitat, education, research and the visitor experience of the Arboretum plant collections. Phase 1 of this project involves dredging sediment that had accumulated over 20 years, building five weirs that introduce incremental drops in the water level, installing a pump that will circulate water through the system, and revegetating the banks with locally native plants, as well as significant path improvements to improve accessibility.

Sign up now, to join the Arboretum field visit!

 

SITE VISIT 2: Channel realignment project at Winters Putah Creek Park

Field visit will be led by Rich Marovich, UC Davis
Departs from UC Davis Conference Center at 7:30 am, returning in time for 10 am sessions
Transportation provided for first 20 summit participants to register. (Must be registered for Riparian Summit to participate. No additional cost.)

The channel realignment project at Winters Putah Creek Park was a feat of engineering that converted a former gravel pit to a river channel.  The grading work was completed in 2011 and resulted in salmon spawning in the park for the first time in living memory.  The project also extended the range of trout in October on Putah Creek by six miles (300%) by eliminating the warming effect of the gravel pit.  A final phase is scheduled for 2018 to convert former sewage aeration ponds to river parkway.  Challenges including heavy browsing by beavers and soil compaction are being addressed by caging trees and loosening the soil for planting sites with an excavator.  Water temperatures as far downstream as Stevenson Bridge (7 miles) are significantly lower after the project.  Attendees will learn of the many challenges and rewards of geomorphic restoration.

Sign up now, to join the Winters Putah Creek Park visit!