YBSA Monthly Report March, 2012
YBSA Monthly Report
March, 2012
Work Group Meeting March 14th:
Derek Sandison reported:
Final PEIS did not review any specific project. The only comparison was between the Integrated Plan (IP) and no action. Conservation will provide very little more water for the basin. A Columbia River exchange is not considered in the plan.
Wendy Christensen reported:
An engineering study and the cost of each project will have to be completed
Funding Approved by BOR for 2012-2013
$700,000 Cle Elum Fish Passage
$950,000 YRBWEP Sunnyside Canal Improvement Project
$450,000 to study pipeline Keechelus to Kachess, Lake Kachess Inactive Storage, or Ground water Filtration
Possible Drought Could Continue for Decades: Delaying the possible review of an inter-basin transfer of water from the Columbia River to the Yakima Basin as listed in the IP would only occur after storage projects listed in Phase 1 fail. The water needed for the Yakima Basin will be delayed for more than 20 years while we wait for Phase 1 projects to be evaluated. The economy in the Yakima Basin will continue to be jeopardized as it has since the YRBWEP was adopted in 1994. Droughts will continue to occur until a plan that provides water needed for fish, agriculture, and municipal and industrial growth is approved.
YBSA Concerns – Yakima River Basin Integrated Water Resource Management Plan: The IP is a comprehensive program that includes seven elements to provide reliable and sustainable water resources for instream (salmon and steelhead) and out-of-stream (irrigation and municipal and domestic) water needs. The seven elements consist of a surface water storage element (3) and six complementary elements; fish passage at existing Yakima Project reservoirs; structural and operational changes to the Yakima Project; groundwater storage; habitat/watershed protection and enhancement; enhanced water conservation; and market reallocation.
The estimated cost to implement the Integrated Plan ranges from $3.1 to $5.6 billion; annual operating costs are $10 million. Construction of the projects of the water storage element (Bumping Lake Enlargement, Wymer Dam and Reservoir, and securing use of the inactive storage space of Kachess Reservoir) is anticipated to be completed within seven to thirteen years after Congressional and State Legislative approval and funding.
Water Supply Question:
1. How do we know the instream flow water is enough to handle the five-fold increase in salmon and steelhead (85,000 to 490,000) expected to move upstream to spawn in the Yakima basin, that includes sockeye that have been reintroduced in Lake Cle Elum, and to provide the out-migration of smolts?
2. What assurance do we have of the reliability and sustainability of the water supply for out-of-stream uses in view of (a) the Treaty senior water rights of the Yakama Nation, and (b) the potential impact of climate change on precipitation and runoff?
Economic and Repayment Questions:
1. Does the Integrated Plan meet the Federal criteria for a favorable benefit to cost ratio?
2. What portion of the estimated total implementation costs are allocated to fish, irrigation, and municipal and domestic purposes?
3. What is the rate per acre-foot that will be required to pay for the irrigation and municipal and domestic water? What are the repayment terms?
Financial Questions:
1. How is the Integrated Plan of $3.1 to $5.6 billion to be financed in view of the current state of the Federal and State budgets and their revenue problems?
2. Integrating wind power into the NW system is a State and regional problem and a national priority. What is the opportunity for private investment in a joint water supply-pumped storage generation in this plan?
Environmental Question:
Why does Bumping Lake Enlargement continue to be promoted as a major storage project after almost 50 years of intense environmental opposition and no implementation?
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