Clover Creek Diversion Channel Habitat Enhancement Project

Description

The County of Lake is inviting sealed proposals for the Clover Creek Diversion Channel Habitat Enhancement Project. The Lake County Watershed Protection District is seeking a qualified contractor to perform vegetation removal, sediment removal, and associated channel maintenance within the Clover Creek Diversion Channel near Upper Lake, California. This work is part of the Clover Creek Hitch Habitat Restoration Project that was outlined in a Habitat Mitigation and Monitoring Plan (HMMP) prepared by Caltrans to fulfill compensatory mitigation requirements for Caltrans’ Blue Lakes Safety Project along Highway 20 in Lake County. This restoration project is intended to improve habitat for State-listed threatened Clear Lake hitch and provide broader ecological benefits within the Clover Creek–Middle Creek watershed. The anticipated budget for this project is approximately $125,000. The Clover Creek Diversion Channel is a perennial waterway bounded by levees that drains to Middle Creek, Rodman Slough, and ultimately, Clear Lake. The diversion channel was completed in 1966 as part of the larger Middle Creek Flood Control Project and diverts most water during peak flow times away from the historic Clover Creek channel in order to provide flood protection for the town of Upper Lake. The HMMP identifies accumulated sediment and vegetation overgrowth as existing impairments to the channel within the project area. Sediment accumulation has raised channel bottom elevations, contributed to flooding risk, and reduced native-species habitat, while invasive vegetation, such as Himalayan blackberry and poison hemlock, has become established throughout portions of the riparian corridor. The project will be managed by the Lake County Watershed Protection District, hereinafter referred to as the ‘District'. Tribal cultural resources monitoring will be conducted during ground-disturbing activities associated with project work. The District will recruit, following local purchasing policy requirements, a qualified company or firm to lead and facilitate the project. The selected company or firm will work closely with District staff to temporarily divert flows within the Clover Creek Diversion Channel, remove vegetation, and excavate accumulated excess sediment from the channel.  Work will occur along an approximately 0.9-mile stretch of the Clover Creek Diversion Channel upstream of its confluence with Middle Creek, as shown in Figure 1.