SFPUC: Solar Charged Continuous Monitoring in Rugged Conditions - Case Study

Overview

As part of the Alameda Creek Aquatic Resources Monitoring Program, near the town of Sunol, CA, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) operates a rotary-screw trap (RST) and fyke trap. Trapping data is used to document the downstream movement patterns of fishes, and age-class-specific relative abundances of juvenile Oncorhynchus mykiss, in the southern portion of upper Alameda Creek. The different trap tyles allow for monitoring over a wide range of conditions, with the screw trap fishing at higher flows (about 25 to 400 cfs) and the fyke fishing at lower
lows (about 10 to 40 cfs).

Biologists check the traps daily from February through May. Daily water quality data is collected on the days that the traps are fishing to explore possible correlations with fish capture rates, and to add to the SFPUC’s long term dataset.