News in Photos: Drought Barrier Nears Completion

Construction of a temporary emergency drought barrier at West False River in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta is nearing completion about two weeks sooner than anticipated, according to the Department of Water Resources (DWR).

The barrier now spans the approximately 750-foot-wide river between Jersey and Bradford islands and blocks salt water that tidal action attempts to push eastward from San Francisco Bay into Franks Tract.

The trapezoidal barrier is about 120 feet wide at its base and 12 feet wide at its top above the waterline.

About 150,000 tons of rocks have been dropped from barges with hinged bottoms or lifted from barges and dropped by crane into the river’s channel to create the barrier.

Design, installation, monitoring and mitigation are estimated to cost roughly $22 million; the cost for removal is estimated at $15 million. Costs are to be paid with a mix of funding from Proposition 50, a $3.4 billion water bond approved by voters in November 2002, and General Fund dollars.

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