Honolulu Bar is located on United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) property and funded by a grant from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service – Anadromous Fish Restoration Program.

cbec worked as a sub consultant to FishBIO, LLC (project prime) in the design of a fisheries enhancement project for a side channel and mid-channel bar of the Stanislaus River.

To inform the design, a 2D hydraulic model (SRH-2D) was developed for a 7.5 mile reach of the Stanislaus River, extending from Knights Ferry to Orange Blossom Bridge.  The model was used to evaluate the potential hydraulic conditions resulting from a suite of proposed restoration designs, and then was ultimately used to refine the preferred design to optimize the amount of inundated area that falls within the depth and velocity ranges preferred by juvenile salmonids. The selected design includes modification of a side channel of the Stanislaus River to enhance longitudinal connectivity at lower discharge levels, in addition to grading 2.4 acres of the mid-channel bar to lower elevations to allow inundation at lower discharge levels.

In the project vicinity, extensive topographic surveys were conducted to both verify and augment the existing high resolution LiDAR and bathymetric data.  To support model calibration and validation, a water level monitoring plan was designed and implemented in the vicinity of the gravel bar.  A geomorphic and fisheries habitat evaluation was also conducted on the side channel to identify and protect areas where quality habitat currently exists. A complete set of construction drawings was prepared upon completion of the design.