YBSA Monthly Report October 2017

YBSA Monthly Report

October, 2017

Lake Kaches Plan: The Environment Impact Statement for the pumping project at Lake Kachess is still being prepared. YBSA received a report on the Yakima Basin Integrated Plan Hydrology and Economic Analysis: Supply, costs, and impact insights. The report included a technical review of the Lake Kachess drawdown and the Yakima Basin Integrated Plan that showed that the basis for the conclusions listed in the technical review did not provide a true account of the amount of water that would be available annually and the cost and benefit of the plan.

There needs to be a 3rd party peer review to affirm the assumption and analysis of

•  Hydrology
•  Economics
•  Fish Recovery
•  Community Impact

Fish: a review of fish population status:

1. Numbers of fish in the Columbia Snake River Systems. The federal government and others have spent 17.9 Billion Dollars ($17,900,000,000) on fish restoration projects during the las 35 years. In 2015 approximately 85% of the Columbia Basin Sockeye run was lost due to Thermal problems in the Columbia River and its tributaries. The same issue is the problem in the Yakima River
2. The Yakima River provides the greatest potential for salmon restoration in the entire Columbia Basin. However; there is a major issue or obstacle. It is the “Thermal Barrier” (TB)! The TB is the most critical limitation to the restoration of salmon in the Yakima River system and there are several factors contributing to this limitation. We need to understand the reasons and causes of the thermal barrier.

Also, the thermal barrier in the lower Yakima River causes a problem. Without a means to provide salmonoids an opportunity to move from the Columbia River through the lower reaches of the Yakima, the improvements upstream may not provide the benefits estimated.

Meeting: YBSA met with U.S. Representative Dan Newhouse and expressed our concern with the Integrated Plan to improve fish passage without addressing the thermal barrier that limits the number and time salmonoids can return up the Yakima River

Reservoir Levels: At the end of the irrigation season in the Yakima Basin the water remaining in the 5 reservoirs is at 39% of capacity. This winter and spring the Bureau of Reclamation will manage the water to control instream flow, increase storage, and possible flooding.

Go to www.ybsa.org for additional information.