YBSA Monthly Report March, 2010

YBSA Monthly Report
March, 2010

Drought: The Yakima River Basin is facing another drought in 2010. YBSA will continue to seek a solution to drought conditions that affect salmon and the economy in the Basin every couple of years.

Work Group Direction: YBSA continues to participate in the Yakima River Basin Water Enhancement Program but are concerned with the direction it is taking. The plan does not provide the answer needed to create a more normal river to enhance salmon recovery, provide a minimum of 70% of water necessary for junior water districts, and provide sufficient water for municipal and industrial growth. With 67% of average snow pack available as of April 2nd and the reservoirs only partially full (see the Teacup Diagram below) any additional storage created in the Basin may not produce necessary results.

Only Solution: The only possible solution for salmon recovery and the economy is an inter-basin transfer and storage of Columbia River water for the Yakima Basin. YBSA has asked the Work Group to develop a scorecard that shows the amount of water available from each project. The scorecard should consist of such items as cost, the number of fish, and the cost/benefit ratio for each project. The habitat and fish portion of the Work Group plan fits nicely with the large amount of water that would become available with Columbia River pump/storage. Our concern is that if we create a program that does not provide the results necessary to correct our water problem, in the future we will be faced with the same problem we have at the present time, and it will cost a lot more to accomplish what could be done today.

PROVISIONAL DATA – SUBJECT TO CHANGE!

Average daily streamflows indicated in cubic feet per second.
Reservoir levels current as of midnight on date indicated.

See updated information at www.ybsa.org