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Drainage Project

The Robinson Rancheria Drainage Project was funded by the US EPA Clean Water Act Non Point Source Pollution Program and was completed in 2009. Nonpoint Source (NPS) pollution comes from many diffuse sources, while Point Source pollution comes from specific point locations such as from industrial and sewage treatment plants. drainageNPS pollution is caused by rainfall or snowmelt moving over and through the ground. As the runoff moves, it picks up and carries away natural and human-made pollutants, finally depositing them into lakes, rivers, wetlands, coastal waters, and even underground sources of drinking water. These pollutants include:
Excess fertilizers, herbicides, and insecticides from agricultural lands and residential areas;
Oil, grease, and toxic chemicals from urban runoff and energy production;
Sediment from improperly managed construction sites, crop and forest lands, and eroding stream banks;
Salt from irrigation practices and acid drainage from abandoned mines;
Bacteria and nutrients from livestock, pet wastes, and faulty septic systems.
The purpose of the Robinson Rancheria Drainage Project was to improve the quality of the storm water runoff by reducing the amount of sediment that is introduced to the drainage system during storm events. The work consisted of re-grading of ditches, removal and replacement of the defective leaking culvert below the smallest Frog Pond floodgate, reconstruction of a drainage ditch, removal of debris from drainagedrainage structures, and installation of riprap for storm drain inlet protection.
The residential area of the Robinson Rancheria involved in this project included Manzanita Circle, New Meadowlark Lane, and the Water Tank Road. This work involved removal of debris in the existing storm sewer located on Manzanita Circle as well as New Meadowlark Lane. Additionally, the existing drainage ditch above the homes located on the north end of Manzanita Circle was re-constructed to provide adequate capacity for diverting storm water runoff. An erosion control material Enkamat was utilized to replace riprap. Enkamat also allows for the growth of vegetation to further aid in erosion control. The backyards of the three homes have little to no vegetation established, which makes the slope more susceptible to erosion during storm events.
Construction along Water Tank Road consisted of re-grading the roadway to control the runoff as well as installing inlet protection to the five (5) storm drain culverts. The riprap of the inlets will
help minimize the sediment before it enters the culvert and also aid in making the inlets visible.
Several factors impacted the drainage system adjacent to the gymnasium/pre-school area. The drainage ditch located at the toe of the slope required the removal of sediment that had accumulated down slope from diverted storm water runoff. The diversion ditch above the top of the slope was re-graded with the excess sediment removed. Straw and erosion control jute netting was also used to protect the slope. Therefore, all of the drainage improvementsof this project will help to reduce NPS pollution, and they will improve the Rancheria's storm water protection

Why Water Sampling?

The Robinson Rancheria Water Resource People sample every Quarter or Monthly at Kayan Meadow or Duck Pond, Frog Pond, The New Housing Pond, the Culverts draining into and out of the Casino parking lot, Hammond Slough, and the Newly placed culverts located at the corner of Old Lake County Rd. and Pyle Rd. that drain into Frog Pond.  Our Sampling Plan is collecting samples for Total Nitrogen and Total Phosphorous. These require more than field measurements and observations. 

Every quarter or month the Water Resource Coordinator and Technician will go to sampling points on Robinson Rancheria to collect samples.  Over time these parameters can indicate trends in the Rancheria's Water Quality and better help the Water Resource Program to respond appropriately with the supporting data to back it up.

WATER QUALITY PARAMETERS

Temperature, Turbidity, Dissolved Oxygen (DO), pH, Total Nitrogen, Total Phosphorous

Water Program Grants
Water Grants currently being funded to the Robinson Rancheria Environmental Center

Fish and Wildlife Grant- Hitch Monitoring Program
BIA Water Resource Management Program
USEPA CWA 106 Program
USEPA CWA 319 Program
USEPA CWA NPS Competitive Program

 


Stranded Fish in 1899 near Kelseyville

Hitch Recovery Program

As of 2009 the Robinson Rancheria has received a US Fish and Wildlife grant.  This grant will focus on developing a Hitch fish captivity breeding program through a small-scale fish hatchery.  The project will also work with Big Valley Rancheria and Upper Lake Rancheria on Hitch monitoring and tagging the Hitch spawning and migration.  This is a large step in obtaining the goal of Hitch recovery for the tribes.

Hitch Adaptive Management Plan - February 18, 2011

Draft Plan (low-res) * Draft Plan (high-res / 47 Mbytes)
Attachment 1 * Hydro Lines Map
Attachment 2 * Creeks and Streams Map
Attachment 3 * Marshlands Map * Clover Valley and Robinson Lake Map *
                        Witter Springs and Bachelor Valley Map * Scotts Valley Map
Attachment 4 * Barriers Update Map
Attachment 5 * Middle Creek Flood Damage Reduction and Ecosystem Restoration Project
Appendix 1: Observations of Habitat at Water Monitoring Sites
Appendix 2: Water Quality Report and Tagging and Habitat Study Report
Appendix 3: Observations and Monitoring Rodman Slough * Sampling Sites Map
Appendix 4: Reconnaissance for Potential Remediation and Restoration
Conservation Agreement

Life Cycle of the Hitch

Adult members of the sub-species lavinia exilicauda chi, which can reach a maximum length of 14 inches (in the case of the noticeably larger females) and weigh a pound or more, spend most of their time deep in the waters of Clear Lake, where as "filter feeders" they subsist primarily on plankton. It is said to be nearly impossible to catch them on a hook and line, and although they are occasionally caught accidentally in the nets of commercial fishermen they are otherwise seldom observed by human beings at all.  But every spring for a few weeks—or occasionally for a few months—these ordinarily invisible fish suddenly emerge into view.

As the days start to lengthen and temperatures warm, and the winter's rains fill the tributaries of the lake, schools of hitch begin to move upstream to their spawning grounds. The run can begin as early as the beginning of February, and continue as late as May or even June, but "prime time" for hitch most often comes in the month of March. Schools of migrating adults were once almost unimaginably abundant—numbering in the millions if not the billions—but have been greatly reduced in recent years.  When a gravid female finds a place she likes—clean gravel bottoms and shallow rapidly flowing water seem to be preferred though this preference is by no means absolute—she begins to swish her body back and forth preparatory to laying her eggs, though no nest is excavated. A cluster of males gathers around her, eager to fertilize them. The spawning adults splash vigorously, with parts of their bodies frequently emerging from the water.

After spawning, the adults do not die as salmon do, but instead make their way back to Clear Lake: it is surmised that the females swim downstream immediately after spawning, but that the males may linger in the creeks in hopes of finding another opportunity to breed.   Immediately after being laid the eggs absorb water, swell to about four times their original size, and sink to the bottom, bound together in thick masses of shiny golden jelly. The roe settles into crevices between the stones, and when conditions are right can be so abundant that the gravel bottom of the creek is largely obscured. After five to ten days the eggs hatch out into tiny fry that resemble mosquito larvae at first. They stay near the location where they were spawned for another five to ten days, until they can swim well enough to start moving downstream. The journey back towards Clear Lake takes several weeks, and after reaching the lake the young fish stay near the shoreline for another three months or so before heading out to deep waters, where they remain until they reach breeding age and are ready to begin the cycle all over again.

For more information on the Clear Lake Hitch

please visit the Chi Council


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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