YBSA Monthly Report

September, 2014

 

The proposed Cle Elum Pool Raise Project would store 14,600 acre/feet of water at a cost of $9,901,000. The cost does not include property acquisition that would be required.

 

The stored water would be managed for instream flow to benefit fisheries or, if authorized, for proratable water users during drought years.

 

The project could provide additional flow in the Cle Elum River during winter as a high priority. Typical fall and winter flows in the Cle Elum River could be increased from 180 cfs to 220 cfs in years when the additional pool volume is available (on average 73% of the years of record).

 

The complete EIS is available online for more detailed information.

 

Draft EIS for Cle Elum Pool Raise Project

 

The Bureau of Reclamation and Washington State Department of Ecology prepared a Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Cle Elum Pool Raise Project. The proposed project is a component of the Yakima River Basin Integrated Water Resource Management Plan.

The Draft EIS evaluates five alternatives:

• Alternative 1 – No Action Alternative.
• Alternative 2 – Additional Stored Water Used for Instream Flow with Rock Shoreline Protection.
• Alternative 3 – Additional Stored Water Used for Instream Flow with Hybrid Shoreline Protection.
• Alternative 4 – Additional Water Used for Total Water Supply Available with Rock Shoreline Protection.
• Alternative 5 – Additional Water Used for Total Water Supply Available with Hybrid Shoreline Protection.

 

Common components to all alternatives are:

• Modifying the radial gates at Cle Elum Dam to provide an additional 14,600 acre-feet of storage capacity in Cle Elum Reservoir;
• Providing for shoreline protection of Cle Elum Reservoir; and
• Accomplishing necessary environmental mitigation.

 

The purpose of the Cle Elum Pool Raise is to increase the capacity of the reservoir and improve aquatic resources for fish habitat, rearing and migration in the Cle Elum and upper Yakima Rivers. The project was authorized under Title XII of the Yakima River Basin Water Enhancement Project. The Draft EIS satisfies National Environmental Policy Act and Washington State Environmental Policy Act requirements. Questions or comments on the Cle Elum Pool Raise Draft EIS will be accepted until November 25, 2014. Comments may be submitted to cepr@usbr.gov, by mail to the Bureau of Reclamation, Attn: Ms. Candace McKinley, Environmental Program Manager at 1917 Marsh Road, Yakima, WA, 98901; by telephone to (509) 575-5848, ext. 613; or by facsimile to (509) 454-5650. Hearing impaired citizens may dial 711 to obtain a toll free TTY relay.

 

Oral comments may be presented at one of two public meetings from 4 to 7 p.m. at the following locations:

 

 

October 21, 2014

Hal Holmes Center

209 N. Ruby Street

Ellensburg, WA 98926

 

October 22, 2014

U.S. Forest Service

Cle Elum Ranger District

803 W. 2^nd Street

Cle Elum, WA 98922

 

 

Reclamation and Ecology offices and local libraries will have copies available for viewing. Or view online at: http://www.usbr.gov/pm/programs/eis/cleelumraise/index.html.

 

The public meeting facilities are physically accessible to persons with disabilities. Requests for special assistance should be made by October 10^th to Ms. McKinley at the contact information above.

 

 

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Reclamation is the largest wholesale water supplier and the second largest producer of hydroelectric power in the United States, with operations and facilities in the 17 Western States. Its facilities also provide substantial flood control, recreation, and fish and wildlife benefits. Visit our website at www.usbr.gov.

 

 

YBSA Monthly Report

August, 2014

 

Mt. Adams September 1, 2014

 

Governor Visits Valley About Climate Change: Governor Jay Inslee toured the Yakima Valley on August 27.  He praised the Roza Irrigation District’s project to temporally store up to 500 million gallons of water for future use as a step to combat climate change’s impact on the region’s water supply.

 

The visit is his fifth stop on a statewide climate tour, meeting with businesses and communities threatened by the changing climate and discussing potential solutions.

 

In the Yakima Basin, climate change could jeopardize the water supply. The mountain snowpack acts as the largest reservoir, but less snow and earlier melting are predicted. Data already show that the spring snowpack has declined 20 percent since 1950, and climate scientists predict the trend will continue, or worsen. Droughts are predicted to become more frequent while the basin’s water supply is already completely spoken for. The Integrated Plan, a 30-year plan for investing in water supply improvements that Inslee signed last summer, aims to help the basin adapt.

 

Governor Inslee urged the audience to talk about climate change when they talk about the plan’s goals of protecting the region’s agricultural economy and the environment.

 

For the full article see: http://www.yakimaherald.com/news/latestlocalnews/2431270-8/governors-climate-tour-stops-in-yakima-valley-today

 

Reintroduction of Salmon: The Yakama Nation transported more than 10,000 adult sockeye salmon to Lake Cle Elum.

 

In July 2013 the Yakama Nation celebrated the return migration of fry hatched by sockeye in the lake. Their migration to the Pacific Ocean and back was a cycle completed that hasn’t been witnessed in a hundred years.

 

Summarizing the transplant program to date, Yakama Nation fish passage biologist and reintroduction program leader Brian Saluskin said, “We put a thousand sockeye in the lake in 2009. The adult fish returning last year were ones hatched in the lake in 2009. In 2010 we reintroduced another 2,500. In 2011 the number rose to 4,100 and in 2012 to 10,000.”

 

For the full article see the Northern Kittitas County Tribune August 21, 2014 edition.

 

 

Central Valley Irrigators Ask Judge to Stop Releases for Salmon: A federal judge denied a request by agricultural water providers in California’s Central Valley to stop approved releases of extra water intended to help salmon in the Klamath Basin. See link below for complete story.

http://www.times-standard.com/localnews/ci_26414222/central-valley-irrigators-ask-judge-stop-releases-salmon

 

Go to www.ybsa.org for more information about the predictions of future climate changes.

YBSA Monthly Report

July, 2014

 

 

Summer is half over and our growing season is in full swing. Instream flow for fish, out-of-stream water for agriculture and for other uses is still being provided by water stored in the five existing reservoirs (storage control).

Lake Cle Elum late July, 2014

Go to www.ybsa.org for more information about the predictions of future climate changes.

YBSA Monthly Report

June, 2014

 

Keechelus-to-Kachess Conveyance: The Keechelus-to-Kachess Conveyance pictured below shows the possible routes to move water from Keechelus to Kachess to augment the quantity of water necessary to make the Kachess drought relief project workable

Kachess Pumping Plant Alternative: Pumping plant alternative shows the possible location of pumping plants that would be used to withdraw water from below Kachess Dam and the shoreline of the lake when the maximum amount of water is withdrawn.

 

Cle Elum Fish Passage: The fish passage facility will allow fish to move from Lake Cle Elum to the Cle Elum River during maximum drawdown of the lake. When fish return they will be trapped and hauled from the Cle Elum River to the lake.

 

Potential Project Costs: The potential construction costs, continued operational costs, and mitigation costs for both projects will need to be estimated. A determination of who will be entitled to the water and who will pay still has to be decided.

 

*This is a follow-up to the May 2014 Monthly Report the following provides additional details on the Lake Kachess and Lake Cle Elum Projects.

 

Go to www.ybsa.org for additional information.

YBSA Monthly Report

May, 2014

 

Yakima River Basin Integrated Plan Water Resource Management Plan update on technical and planning studies.

 

Fish passage projects at Lake Cle Elum Dam: The Yakima Storage Dams Fish Passage Core Team met with Reclamation’s Technical Service Center design and modeling team in Denver to see the physical models of the fish passage facilities and to discuss modeling results and the design criteria for both upstream and downstream fish passage facilities. This event facilitated agreement on design criteria and several decisions related to the ongoing physical modeling and computer modeling of the upstream and downstream fish passage facilities.

 

Considering the cost and operational capability of the passage during maximum drawdown of Lake Kachess: Reclamation’s Bend Field Office continues to prepare draft conceptual designs to provide passage from the lower to upper lake in the drawn-down Kachess Reservoir and from the reservoir into Box Canyon Creek. Reclamation will meet with the Yakama Nation and agencies in June to review progress on conceptual designs.

 

Structural and Operational Changes Keechelus-to-Kachess Conveyance (KKC) Project: The project team performed additional analysis of stream flow and water supply for this project, using the RiverWare model. A feasibility study is under way to advance the project design to feasibility level and develop updated project costs. The project team is working on the draft Environmental Impact Statement for this project.

 

Reviewing the environmental effects of the route of the conveyance from Keechelus-to-Kachess need to be considered along with, “with climate change will Lake Kachess be refilled after maximum drawdown.”

 

Go to www.ybsa.org for additional information.

 

 

YBSA Monthly Report

April, 2014

 

Scoping Summary for Lake Kachess Pumping Inactive Storage: The Bureau of Reclamation and the Washington State Department of Ecology have distributed the Scoping Summary Report for the proposed Lake Kachess pumping of inactive storage (the original lake water) during drought years and transferring water from Lake Keechelus to Lake Kachess. There are two concerns that need to be answered. “Is there enough water in the basins available to refill Lake Kachess after a drought year,” and “who will have the right to the water?” The second concern is how much will it cost and who will pay for the construction and maintenance of the pipeline and pumping plant.

 

There are approximately 350 scoping questions and comments that will need to be answered during the preparation of the Environmental Impact Statement. Then questions and comments that were submitted can be found at http://www.usbr.gov/pn/programs/eis/kkc/kkceis.pdf in YRBWEP Reports.

 

Scoping Summary for Lake Cle Elum Pool Raise: The second Scoping Summary Report is for raising the elevation of the water in Lake Cle Elum 3 feet. The Cle Elum Pool Raise is a structural and operation element in the Integrated Plan. The proposal is to add 14,600 acre-feet of storage to the reservoir for annual release. The increase would be used to meet instream flow needs. A new type of fish ladder would be developed to allow fish to return to the Yakima River below the dam even when the lake is drawn down to its lowest level in late summer and fall. The returning salmonoids would be trapped below the dam and transported around the dam and deposited in the lake. The concerns and question, such as “what is the costs per acre feet of the newly stored water,” “what is the continuing operation and maintenance costs along with the mitigation costs should be researched and estimated?” Also, “who will pay the annual cost of the project?”

 

There are approximately 220 scoping questions and comments to be answered in the preparation of the Environmental Impact Statement. Those comments and questions can be found at http://www.usbr.gov/pn/programs/eis/cleelumraise/scoping/scopingsum.pdf in YRBWEP Reports.

 

Go to www.ybsa.org for additional information.

 

YBSA Monthly Report

March, 2014

 

The following was presented at the Integrated Plan Workgroup meeting:

 

A feasibility study on the Kachess Reservoir Drought Relief Project continues to determine the route of a tunnel from Lake Keechelus to Lake Kachess. A second route is being considered to evaluate subsurface conditions and to reduce pressure on the proposed tunnel.

 

A study is progressing to determine how to create fish passage to Box Canyon Creek and passage between upper and lower Lake Kachess. With the additional draw down of lower Kachess a steep-pass fish way will need to be created. The passage will have numerous resting pools along the way so the fish can travel between the lakes.

 

The Kachess pumping plant continues to be evaluated. The proposed intake is at the bottom of lower Lake Kachess with a tunnel to a pumping plant. The pumping plant on the northeastern side of the reservoir connected to a pipe that would transport water to the Kachess River below the dam.

 

Once the design of the Keechelus to Kachess pipeline, the fish passage between the lower and upper lake and the Kachess pumping plant to withdraw inactive storage water from the original lake to the Kachess River and put it below Kachess Dam many unanswered questions remain.

• How will the drawdown be      refilled during consecutive drought years?
• Do the watersheds above      Keechelus and Kachess provide the water needed during severe and moderate      climate change?
• Is the drought relief      water (200,000 a/f) to be used for out of stream use (agriculture) or      instream flow (fish) and who will pay for the water?
• How will the cost of      construction, mitigation, maintenance and operation be distributed among      the Federal, State, irrigation, and fish interests?
• A benefit/cost evaluation      needs to be completed.

 

Additional technical project updates at the Workgroup meeting included drilling at the proposed Wymer and Bumping Dam sites, Lake Cle Elum fish passage design, ground water storage, conservation and habitat enhancement projects, and Tieton Dam fish passage facilities. Reports may appear in the future at http://www.usbr.gov/pn/programs/yrbwep/index.html

 

Go to www.ybsa.org for additional information.

YBSA Monthly Report

February, 2014

 

Snow Shortage Worries Yakima River Water Users. By Kristi Pihl, Tri-City Herald Feb 16, 2014: The reservoirs for the Yakima River Basin are storing about 116 percent of the average water for this time of year, thanks to carryover water from the two previous good water supply years. But those reservoirs only store about 1 million acre feet of water, when 2 million to 2.5 million acre feet of water is needed in the Yakima Basin each year for irrigation, instream flows, and some municipal uses, said Jim Trull, Sunnyside Valley Irrigation District manager. In an average year, the water yield is about 3 million acre feet, he said. But so far, this year hasn’t shaped up as average.

 

Since October, it’s been unusually dry, said Nic Loyd, Washington State University’s AgWeatherNet meteorologist. This is the time of year when the mountain snow pack in the Cascades builds up. Snowpack, which Washington uses as a reservoir, hasn’t improved enough yet to prevent a drought, Pattee said. Snowpack for the Lower Yakima River Basin was up to about 72 percent of the average as of earlier this week. That’s up about 7 percent from the beginning of the month.

 

The impact of a potential drought on some Mid-Columbia water users is tempered because some irrigation districts, including Columbia and Sunnyside Valley, have senior water rights that the state and federal government can’t limit. But for junior water right holders, the state can prorate their water rights when there is a drought, meaning that the water users will only get a percentage of the water they have the right to use when water is plentiful.

 

Sunnyside Valley Irrigation District, which provides irrigation water in Yakima and Benton counties, is in a better situation than some others because two-thirds of the district’s water rights are senior, Trull said. Only receiving a percentage of one-third of the district’s junior water rights could be a significant issue, but it’s not at the same level as those who only have junior water rights.

 

The Kennewick Irrigation District also has junior water rights.

 

Yakima Basin Plan-Initial Development Phase: This proposed development phase will span the time frame from passage of the state’s Integrated Plan authorizing legislation in 2013 through the year 2023. The initial development phase would involve requests for funding for a number of specific capital projects including the:

• Kachess Drought Relief      Pumping Plant – $205 million
• Fish Passage at Lake Cle      Elum – $87 million, and
• Three-foot pool raise at      Lake Cle Elum – $18 million.

 

A fourth project, the $159 million Lake Keechelus to Lake Kachess Conveyance project, will likely be included in the Kachess Drought Relief Pumping Plant project.

 

Other components of the initial development phase include proposals for agricultural conservation projects, floodplain and tributary habitat restoration projects and acquisitions, additional fish passage projects, aquifer storage and recovery, and water banking and exchange programs.

 

The total estimated cost of the initial development phase could range between $607 million to $766 million. There is $31 million in current funding for the Integrated Plan Projects.

 

Go to www.ybsa.org for additional information.

YBSA Monthly Report

January, 2014

 

Weather: Everyone is holding their breath hoping the weather pattern will change and provide the snowpack necessary to provide the approximately 2 million acre/feet of water from the snowpack along with 1 million acre/feet that is stored in the 5 reservoirs. The 3 million acre/feet provides the instream flow and out-of-stream needs annually in the Yakima Basin.

 

Spokesman Review Article from the Spokesman Review, January 4, 2014 by Mike Prayer: The latest report from the U.S. Drought Monitor shows that abnormally dry conditions have moved into the Columbia Basin as well as the Cascades. In the mountains of the Inland Northwest, snowpack on Friday, January 3^rd was about 76% of normal for this time of the year. That compares with 33% to 44% of normal in the Central Cascades of Washington.

 

KNDO News Report “Low Snowpack Gives Yakima Valley Farmers Concern”, KNDO-TV January 29, 2014: As many of you have noticed, this winter has been especially mild and skiers aren’t the only ones who are upset. Water from snowpack up in the Cascades trickles all the way down to farms in the lower valley. With an unusually mild winter so far, farmers are beginning to prepare for what could be a water shortage.

 

As California experiences its driest season on record, farmers in the Yakima Valley worry about their own water supply. “The Yakima Basin could be facing a little bit of a challenge,” farmer Jim Willard said.

 

Despite a few recent snow storms, snowpack levels are hovering right around 60 percent of normal. Jim Willard grows wine grapes, apples and cherries in Prosser. Melting snow from the Cascades provides a large amount of the water farmers in the valley, like Jim, use for their crops. “Two thirds of that water is in the annual snowpack, so that makes a big difference,” Willard said.

 

If snowpack levels don’t improve it can cause farmers to dip into emergency wells or even leave some land empty. “Any crop out here needs an adequate water supply,” Willard said. “It just depends on how much we have available.”

 

Snowpack has left other merchants worried as well. Mark Barrett, owner of Barrett Orchards in Yakima, is a fourth generation farmer. He hasn’t a seen a snow pack this low in years. Maybe 1 or 2 years in the last 20 that we’ve been this low at this point that I can remember,” Mark Barrett said.

 

Things can still turn around though.

 

“It’s not a good pattern but hopefully the weather pattern will change and we’ll get more snow,” Willard said. Farmers in the valley missed out on a white Christmas, so now they’re desperately hoping for a white spring. Farmers say no need to sound the alarm quite yet, with a strong next couple of months, snowpack levels may still return to normal.

 

Summary of Climate Change Effects by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife National Wildlife Federation July, 2011: The Yakima River Basin April 1^st SWE (Snowpack Water Equivalent) is projected to decrease by 34% by the 2020s, 53% by the 2040s, and 80% by the 2080s as compared to the 1980s. Over the next 70 years the spring peak stream flow are projected to occur in mid-February and will likely cause the Yakima River Basin to shift to a rain-dominate basin. Climate change is expected to cause a decline in snowpack and earlier snowmelt resulting in reduced water supplies. Snowpack declines are expected to exacerbate existing water shortages in the Yakima Basin due to changes in runoff. The system is projected to become increasingly unable to meet deliveries to junior water right holders.

 

Copy of Draft EIS: To receive a copy of the draft EIS for Lake Kachess and Cle Elum email yrbwep@usbr.gov.

 

 

Go to www.ybsa.org for additional information.

YBSA Monthly Report

December, 2013

 

Independent Review of the Storage Component of the Integrated Plan: YBSA has consistently supported the Yakima River Basin Integrated Plan but continues to be concerned with the storage component of the Plan. Our great valley depends on a strong agricultural sector to fuel every other sector of our economy. Planning for water security over the next 50-100 years in the Great Yakima River Basin is a critical point. Future generations are counting on us to make correct decisions today. Our core values include economic growth and stability, and environmental, agricultural, social and cultural sustainability. All must be protected and maintained.

 

The planning process is the Yakima River Basin Integrated Water Resource Management Plan (Integrated Plan), which is proposed to be implemented over a 30 to 40 year period at a current estimated cost of about $4.2 billion.

 

As climate change becomes a reality and the threat of more severe and more sequential drought years increases, the need for additional water storage for the Basin is at an all-time high. The big question remains: Is the stored water, as proposed by the Integrated Plan, enough to meet all future water demands that are necessary to support a thriving economy and healthy fish population? If we wait for all of the pieces of the Integrated Plan to fall into place, 30 years or more, we may find out too late that it contains not enough water.

 

YBSA has entered into a contract with an independent consulting firm, Normandeau Associated, Inc., to review and validate the water needs and supply aspects of the Integrated Plan and to report on their findings and conclusions.

 

General Operating Guidelines for water Supplies Produced by Partial Implementation of Integrated Plan – Draft December 17, 2013: The first phase of implementation of the IP consists of constructing the K-K Conveyance to move water from Lake Keechelus to Lake Kachess, KDRPP/Kachess Inactive Storage, and Cle Elum Dam Pool Raise.

• K-K Conveyance will be      used in all years to reduce summer flows in the Keechelus Reach of the      Yakima River.
• KDRPP/Kachess Inactive      Storage is to be used only when proratable water supply for participating      water users in the IP is below 70%.
• The approximate 15,000      acre-feet of storage in the Cle Elum Pool Raise project will be used for      fisheries.

 

Instream Flows-With partial implementation of the IP and construction of the K-K Conveyance instream flows in the Yakima River from Keechelus Dam to Lake Easton will be reduced to 500 cfs in July and less that 500 cfs from August 1 through the first week of September. Flow objectives are not assigned to the additional water stored by the Cle Elum Dam Pool Raise project. The additional storage in Lake Cle Elum, when available, will be used for fisheries purposes and be used during a 1 to 6 week period.

 

Water Supply for Out-of-Stream Needs-The irrigation need to be met for single and multi-year droughts for 70% of the irrigation water right entitlement for each year is estimated for Kittitas Reclamation District, Roza Irrigation District, and Wapato Irrigation Project. In severe drought conditions this need could be as high as 300,000 to 400,000 acre-feet of additional supply. Participants will be allowed to draw water from inactive Kachess Reservoir pool to bring their water supply of up to 70% of their entitlements during drought years (when water supply is less than 70%). It is recognized that in severe drought years or in multiple year droughts, the inactive storage in Kachess Reservoir will be inadequate to bring water supplies up to the 70% of entitlement level.

 

Go to www.ybsa.org for additional information.