Agenda Item: Rock Creek (Paradise Valley) Water Right Lease Agreement Action Needed: Final Time Needed on Agenda for this Presentation: 10 minutesWater Right Lease Agreement • October 18th, 2022
Contract Type FiledOctober 18th, 2022In 2011, the department replaced a failing fish ladder and concrete culvert under an abandoned railroad at the mouth of Rock Creek with a series of step pools designed to restore fish passage from the Yellowstone River. Fish are now able to migrate upstream for spawning, and fry can migrate back to Yellowstone River. However, streamflow data collected at the mouth of Rock Creek in 2013 and 2014 indicate streamflow dropped below levels necessary to keep the bed of Rock Creek fully covered in water from mid‐July into the fall. With the exposure of parts of the stream bed, redds become dewatered which harms incubating fish eggs. Low flows also hamper the out‐migration of fish to the Yellowstone River once fry emerge from the redds.