Title: The Legend of the Auburn Dam:

41 Years of Water Resource Controversy

 

Author: Audrey Squires

Abstract: The Auburn Dam, which was approved in 1965 yet never built nor decommissioned, highlights many of the common water issues in the western United States: aridity, insufficient or unsteady amounts of water, flood control, water allocation and bureaucratic intervention. If constructed, the dam will negatively affect fall-run Chinook salmon habitats and the species’ viability due to increased water temperature, destruction of redds and the introduction of another physical barrier in their anadromous life cycle. Current recreational activities in the American River canyons, which would be flooded by the Auburn Reservoir, contribute to a thriving river-based recreation economy. The Auburn Dam would eliminate many of those activities thereby greatly hurting the Auburn economy.

Key References:

Bartholow, J. M., Campbell, S. G., & Flug, M. (2004). Predicting the thermal effects of dam removal on the    Klamath River. Environmental Management, 34(6), 856-874.

Myrick, C. A. & Cech, J. J. (2002). Growth of American fall-run Chinook salmon in California’s Central Valley: Temperature and Ration effects. California Fish and Game, 88(1), 35-44.

Smith, J.F. (2005). Nature noir: A park ranger’s patrol in the Sierra. New York: Houghton Mifflin.

United States Geological Survey, Department of the Interior. (2005). Water resources data California water year 2004: Northern Central Valley Basins and the Great Basin from Honey Lake Basin to Oregon State Line (Water-Data Report CA-04-4). Sacramento, CA: US Geological Survey.

Websites:

http://www.parc-auburn.org/

http://www.parks.ca.gov/default.asp?page_id=502

 

Return to Water Resources Papers page.

 

 


Date: May 2006
Student: asquires@willamette.edu
ENVR 327: Water Resources
Instructor: Dr. Karen Arabas
http://www.willamette.edu/~karabas/courses/envr327w