The California Department of Water Resources will start up the Banks Pumping Plant on Sunday, 10 days after the state shut down the pumps to protect the endangered Delta smelt.

“What our biologists are telling us, to the extent we can tell, is that it looks like the smelt have moved in the past 10 days,” said Susan Sims, spokeswoman for the DWR.

State officials said last week that the tiny fish, which serve as an indicator of the Delta’s overall health, remained in a section of Old River near the intakes to Clifton Court Forebay, which sits between the river and the pumps. They hoped that by stopping the pumps they would give the fish a chance to migrate downstream to cooler water.

Sims said the state plans to pump about 100 cubic feet per-second, about 10 percent of normal for this time of year. She said that would reduce the amount of water in Clifton Court Forebay, but wouldn’t require the state to take water out of Old River.

“Assuming all goes well in two days, we’ll open up the gates atop the forebay and bring in a small amount,” she said.

She said that about 400 cubic feet per-second would come out of Old River and enable the state to replenish Bethany Reservoir and Lake Del Valle, which provide water for the Bay Area.

“At each step, the Department of Fish and Game and our people will be out there checking smelt conditions,” Sims said.