California Central Valley Water Operations: Delta Operations for Salmonids and Sturgeon

The Delta Operations for Salmonids and Sturgeon (DOSS) is a technical advisory team that provides recommendations to Water Operations Management Team (WOMT) and NOAA Fisheries West Coast Region.

West Coast

The Delta Operations for Salmonids and Sturgeon (DOSS) is a technical advisory team that provides recommendations to Water Operations Management Team (WOMT) and NOAA Fisheries West Coast Region on measures to reduce adverse effects of Delta operations of the Central Valley Project (CVP) and State Water Project (SWP) to salmonids and green sturgeon, and coordinates the work of the other technical teams. The DOSS

The DOSS group is comprised of biologists, hydrologists, and other staff with relevant expertise from the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation), California Department of Water Resources (DWR), California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), U.S. Fish and Wildlife (USFWS), and NOAA Fisheries. Invitations to the Environment Protection Agency (EPA), U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), and Regional Water Quality Board biologists were extended to provide expertise on issues pertinent to Delta water quality, hydrology and environmental parameters. The working group will have biweekly phone conferences, or more frequently if necessary for real-time operations, and meet at least quarterly to discuss and review information related to project operations and fisheries issues. Either Reclamation or NOAA Fisheries may call for a special meeting of the DOSS group if they deem it necessary.

The team will:

provide recommendations for real-time management of operations to WOMT and NOAA Fisheries, consistent with implementation procedures provided in this Reasonable and Prudent Alternative (RPA);
review annually project operations in the Delta and the collected data from the different ongoing monitoring programs;
track the implementation of Actions IV.1 through IV.4;
evaluate the effectiveness of Actions IV.1 through IV.4 in reducing mortality or impairment of essential behaviors of listed species in the Delta;
oversee implementation of the acoustic tag experiment for San Joaquin fish provided for in Action IV.2.2;
coordinate with the SWG to maximize benefits to all listed species; and
coordinate with the other technical teams identified in this RPA to ensure consistent implementation of the RPA.

The DOSS team provides annual written reports to Reclamation, DWR, and NOAA Fisheries, including a summary of major actions taken during the year to implement Action Suite IV of this RPA, an evaluation of their effectiveness, and recommendations for future actions. At the technical staff level, the working group coordinates with the Data Assessment Team (DAT), the Smelt Working Group (SWG), and other workgroups to ensure coherent and consistent implementation of actions in the Delta. Every five years, the DOSS working group will produce a summary report of the previous five years of operations, actions taken, and the effectiveness of those actions in achieving the objectives of the Delta actions in this RPA. Included in this report will be recommendations for adaptive management changes consistent with the objectives of this RPA. The report will be provided to NOAA Fisheries, Reclamation, DWR, CDFW and USFWS.

The DOSS group also provides a coordinating function for the other technical working groups, to assure that relevant information from all technical groups is considered in actions to implement this RPA.