For the Land Conservancy of San Luis Obispo County
San Luis Obispo, California

This project involved the geomorphic and hydraulic analysis of a number of fish passage obstacles along creeks in the San Luis Obispo Creek watershed. Our subsequent designs for each project corrected problems involving grade control structures, concrete aprons and channel bottom abutments under bridges, and culverts where high winter stream velocities or summer flow dispersal over the channel bottom presented obstacles to fish passage.

Nine different project sites were evaluated on Stenner, Prefumo, and San Luis Obispo Creeks using hydraulic models. The designs provided for both demolition and stable channel reconstruction.

Most of the projects involved the partial or complete removal of concrete in-channel structures, installation of rock step pools, and local bank stabilization and channel grading. The projects were constructed over the summer of 2001.