Historic California dam removal, meant to help salmon, sees massive die-off

[IcyPeas]

8. Emptying the reservoirs exposed vast tracts of unsightly mud that has sent silt and decaying algae downriver...

From the link:

The emptying of the three large reservoirs behind the dams in January has exposed vast tracts of unsightly mud that has sent silt and decaying algae downriver and turned the water a striking brown. Dead perch, crappie, bass and other mostly nonnative fish were left scattered in the drained lakebeds while some critics worried that salmon would not be able to migrate up the murky river.

Project managers have dismissed the allegations as “mischaracterizations” of what’s happening. They’ve repeatedly said that what has been observed, excluding this week’s salmon die-off, was exactly what was expected.

Planning documents projected that 5 million to 7 million cubic yards of sediment would be unleashed from the reservoirs, turbidity would increase and dissolved oxygen levels would drop in the river for several months and nonnative fish unaccustomed to cold river flows would die.