YBSA Monthly Report June, 2007

YBSA Monthly Report
June, 2007

Meeting with New Vision and Tri-Dec: Members of the Yakima Basin Storage Alliance and Ted Strong met with members of Yakima County Development Association (New Vision) and Tri Cities Development Association (Tri-Dec) in Prosser to discuss the value Black Rock Reservoir is to the economy of the Yakima River Basin.

Planning a Seminar: YBSA would like to hold a seminar or two in the Tri-Cities to present the value power generation and recreation will have when Black Rock is operational. Black Rock, a water exchange project, has the potential to allow the existing water removed from the Yakima River to remain in the river for fish making the Yakima River one of the most productive salmon rivers in the lower 48 states.

Letter to BOR: A letter signed by the chair of Benton, Kittitas and Yakima Counties and Sid Morrison, chair of YBSA, was delivered to the BOR requesting the Storage Study team adhere to their timeline which is to complete the study by December 2008 and to ensure the study complies with Public Law 108-7 Section 214.

Yakima River Basin Water Resources Advisory Committee: Attended the Yakima River Basin Water Resources Advisory Committee where organizations presented their Detailed Implementation Plan. These plans are being developed to identify areas that can be expanded for additional fish habitat. Once the Boards of Commissioners approve the list of projects, funding could become available for some of the projects.

Columbia River Policy Advisory Group: The Columbia River Policy Advisory group met at the Department of Ecology office in Yakima. A presentation on the progress of the Potholes Feed Route Study was made. The Bureau is looking at two options for moving water to the south end of the Potholes project. One of them would be through Crab Creek and the second would be via the French Hills wasteway. These routes would not provide additional water nor would they irrigate additional lands. They are means of augmenting the existing route, the East Low Canal, which is maxed out in the spring.

The BOR then made a presentation on the Odessa Subarea Special Study. The purpose of the study is to explore means of replacing groundwater pumping in the study area (which is located within the Odessa Ground Water Management Subarea designated by Ecology) with more reliable surface water supply from the Columbia Basin Project.

Jim Trull explained the Sunnyside Irrigation District is committed to a set of conservation and water quality projects. He also noted the progress that has been made in irrigation methods and that 95% of the sediment returning to the Yakima River has been eliminated.

Executive Committee Getting Word Out About Black Rock: The Executive Committee met to discuss the methods that could be used to provide information to the greatest number of people on the value and benefits of Black Rock Reservoir. It was decided to produce a number of strategic articles about Black Rock over the next six months using email, website, newspaper, radio, and television to get the word out.