San Joaquin,

Mendota to Firebaugh

Put-in below Mendota Pool

Put-in below Mendota Pool
Photo by Paul Martzen taken 1175313600 @ 100 ? very low

Gauge Information

River Description

This section is flatwater and especially suited for canoes and touring kayaks. There is playboat potential at the outflow from the dam, but there are usually lots of fishing lines from people up on the dam. The reach is of particular interest because of its historic and political significance.

The flow situation here is unusual. Friant dam normally diverts all of the water that would flow in this section. Most San Joaquin river water is diverted south to Tulare and Kern counties via the Friant Kern Canal, and some is diverted north through the Madera Canal.

To provide water to Mendota and Firebaugh area farms, water from the Sacramento and Feather rivers, is pumped out of the Sacramento - San Joaquin delta, into the Delta Mendota Canal. This water reenters the San Joaquin River at Mendota Pool immediately above the put-in. Water then flows down the river to various irrigation diversions, till there is no more. The river is empty and dried up by the time it crosses highway 152. It is an expensive process, but worth it to the farmers, since your federal tax money pays for much of the real costs.

A settlement agreement in 2006 between the Bureau of Reclamation and various environmental groups, lead by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), mandates that sufficient flows be returned to this river so that it does not dry up and that salmon may once again swim up the river to spawn. According to the agreement, restoration test flows are due to begin in October 2009.

Put in: There appear to be a number of access options in the Mendota area, but the most obvious and convenient one is at the base of Mendota Pool Dam.
google map

Take out: There appear to be a number of access options in Firebaugh. There is a nice public park on river left just downstream of a highway bridge.
google map

Other Information Sources:

Revive the San Joaquin

Save the San Joaquin

http://www.nrdc.org/water/conservation/sanjoaquin.asp

City of Firebaugh History

A minimart in Firebaugh at a main intersection of highway 33, has a large and informative display about the history of the area.