YBSA Monthly Report October 2019
YBSA Monthly Report
October 2019
Storage Capacity: With the end of the irrigation season the remaining water is at 17% of capacity which is 100,000 acre/feet below average. The remaining water in the reservoirs is to be carried over for the 2020 season. The largest reservoir, Lake Cle Elum, is at 12%. At the start of irrigation season last year Lake Kachess was not filled to capacity. With the possibility of a small snowpack this winter and of less water available in storage, irrigators and fish will be affected next year. At present the water released from the reservoirs is 1/3 of what is flowing into the reservoirs.
Record of Decision: The Environmental Impact Statement that was prepared for the drawdown of Lake Kachess is still being reviewed by the Bureau of Reclamation. Once the Record of Decision is released the mitigation requirements have to be accomplish. Then a decision of how much Roza Irrigators will have to pay for implementation the project and the annual cost of maintenance and operation must be reached.
A working draft prepared by the Bureau of Reclamation, the Department of Ecology, and the Yakama Nation drafted March 22nd, 2019 is an outline of how to plan for additional projects implantation in the Yakima Basin. No mention of how to proceed with acquisition of the water needed for-out-of stream and instream uses. The use of Columbia River water is the best solution.