This project was completed by Northwest Biological Consulting (NBC) and subcontractors, during the summer and fall of 2012 for the Ashland Public Works Department. The project was designed to remove large sediment deposits under the Water Street Bridge and increase the flow velocity through 450 feet of stream by removing a small irrigation dam and building a series of rock vanes. The overall focus was to narrow the stream and increase the elevation gradient. The reconstructed channel increased flow velocities, thereby minimizing deposition under the bridge. The project consisted of the following:

• Erosion Control and planting of riparian vegetation along the stream banks
• Removal of blackberries and a number of large hazard trees
• Road Closure and traffic control
• Block netting of the project stream reach. Fish salvage and rescue of ESA listed coho salmon as well as anadromous seelhead, and resident rainbow and cutthroat trout, sculpins, and salamanders.
• Constructed a clean water bypass system that dewatered the entire stream for 450 lineal feet by using a series of large electric pumps powered by a large diesel generator. The system was operated 24/7 for several weeks.
• Removed a small irrigation dam as well as excavating hundreds of cubic yards of accumulated sediment from under the bridge and downstream
• Constructed a series of 6 rock vanes with added and anchored large wood material for fish habitat. The access was very limited and it was very difficult and time consuming to build the rock vanes in such a restricted work space.
• Excavated under the streambed and installed/buried 200 feet of welded HDPE pipe that tied into an irrigation ditch to provide irrigation water to the Million Ditch.
• Installed a NOAA approved fish screen at the upstream end of the pipe that regulates flow into the million ditch
• Stabilized a failed bank with large boulders