Davids Engineering initiated the Kettle Spring Improvement Project in 2015 on behalf of Shasta Springs Ranch, modernizing the ranch’s irrigation diversion structure at Kettle Spring in order to simultaneously provide fish exclusion, spring flow management, and improved diversions. Prior to the completion of the Project, fish within the stream system could potentially access the ranch’s irrigation canals. Additionally, the pre-project diversion structure was not compatible with effective instream flow and fish habitat management.

The low-maintenance design crafted by Davids Engineering meets these challenges by consolidating water to a containment structure at Kettle Creek and the diversion point, allowing:
1)Pre-set water level regulation that provides sufficient head pressure for the ranch’s irrigation network with no operational input required
2)Priority discharge to Kettle Creek to guarantee instream flows
3)Adjustable flow control that passively and automatically discharges excess flow to Kettle Creek
4)Exclusion of fish from the impoundment and irrigation system using impassible physical barriers

This innovative solution has allowed the Ranch to exercise their irrigation diversion right, while maintaining steady and dedicated spring flow to Kettle Creek and significantly minimizing the risk of fish entrainment or entrapment in the diversion or irrigation system.