SRP draining Salt River canals, rounding up fish for infrastructure project

PHOENIX — The Salt River Project recently kicked off its biannual maintenance on sections of the canal system, which begins with draining water and rounding up fish.

Crews started the monthlong process of drying canals south of the Salt River on Nov. 20 and will continue the project through Dec. 20. In January, they’ll repeat the process north of the river.

To collect the fish, workers skim the canal with chicken wire, guiding them toward a partition. Once enough fish are gathered, an excavator lowers a large net into the water while crew members use smaller nets to help transfer them.

Finally, the giant net is lifted onto the road beside the canal, where a waiting tank truck receives the fish.

Before maintenance starts crews must make “sure we get those fish out so we can transport them to another canal section that’s being held with water and we can repurpose those fish at another location,” SRP environmental scientist Brian Moorhead told KTAR News 92.3 FM.

SRP stocks the canal with white amur, also known as grass carp.

“They are non-native fish, but we have a state permit to have them here and they are very good at eating aquatic vegetation,” Moorhead explained.

The grass carp eat algae and other plants that grow in the water, which means SRP doesn’t have to use chemical weed control.

Other fish species in the canal include bass, catfish and common carp that come in from the Salt and Verde Rivers.

Details about the SRP fish herding, canal maintenance project

Crews have to relocate about 3,000 fish downstream so they can clean up the canal water.

“That way we can get in and start moving the silt and the trash that collects over the years,” SRP water maintenance manager Justin Schonhoff said.

The dry-up also gives crews a chance to make concrete repairs.

“The concrete will buckle, break, get washed out during storms,” Schonhoff explained. “All of that needs to be repaired so we have a reliable system to transport water.”

During the 30-day maintenance period, canal banks will be closed.

Schonhoff warned it’s dangerous to walk along the canal during this time because excavators, trucks and crews are working.

“This water eventually comes out of taps in Valley homes, so making sure we can get in there safely and reliably is critical to ensuring the Valley has the water it needs to keep growing,” he said.

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