Dams: fish: critically dry year.

Existing law requires that the owner of any dam allow sufficient water at all times to pass through a fishway, or in the absence of a fishway, allow sufficient water to pass over, around, or through the dam, to keep in good condition any fish that may be planted or exist below the dam. Existing law authorizes the Department of Fish and Game, during the minimum flow of water in any river or stream, to grant permission to the dam owner to allow sufficient water to pass through a culvert, waste gate, or over or around the dam, to keep in good condition any fish that may be planted or exist below the dam, when, in the judgment of the department, it is impracticable or detrimental to the owner to pass the water through the fishway. This bill would prohibit these provisions from applying during a critically dry year.