Currently, the East Sand Side Channel currently runs dry along part of the Sacramento River for much of the year. This project will allow for water to flow along the channel for more days of the year, which creates suitable habitat for critically endangered juvenile Chinook salmon and other aquatic species. The restoration of the channel will also provide a recreational and visual amenity for the surrounding community. 

“The East Sand Slough project will be the largest side channel reconnection project on the Upper Sacramento River.  It will provide important juvenile salmon habitat and restore water to a former recreational site that was lost when the Red Bluff Diversion Dam was decommissioned to protect salmon.” – Susan Strachan, Project Manager, CSU Chico Geographical Information Center