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.

YBSA Monthly Report

November, 2013

Scoping Meeting: On November 20^th the Bureau of Reclamation and the Department of Ecology held a scoping meeting to receive comments on the upcoming EIS for both the Kachess Reservoir Inactive Storage and the Cle Elum Pool Raise Project.

Cle Elum Project: The Cle Elum Project would increase the storage in Lake Cle Elum approximately 14,600 acre/feet which would be used to improve instream flow for fish. The 3 foot raise would necessitate a modification of the gates on Lake Cle Elum Dam, purchase of private property, move and change the public campgrounds and boat launches, increase the existing dikes to protect private property and roads, and provide environmental mitigation for other impacts. The 14,600 acre/feet of water would only be used during a short time during the spring. There has been no estimate of the cost of the project and who will be expected to pay the cost to continue the evaluation and the cost of mitigation and constructing the project. A cost-benefit evaluation needs to be completed.

See: http://www.usbr.gov/pn/programs/eis/cleelumraise/index.html

Kachess Reservoir Inactive Storage Project: The proposed Kachess Reservoir Inactive Storage Project is to provide additional water supply for municipal, domestic, and agricultural use during drought years. To accomplish this goal a pipeline or tunnel approximately 5 miles long would be built to move water from the Keechelus basin to the Kachess basin. A pumping plant would be installed on the shore of Lake Kachess connected to a tunnel below the level of the original lake before the dam was constructed, to pump water from Lake Kachess to the Kachess River that flows into Lake Easton. The proposed project would allow the existing Kachess Reservoir to be drawn down approximately 80 feet below the current outlet below the level of the original lake. The estimated 200,000 acre/feet of water could be available during drought years.

The project consists of two water conveyance structures, one to move water from Lake Keechelus to Lake Kachess and one to move water from Lake Kachess to the Kachess River and a pumping plant.

With the history of water availability from Lake Keechelus and climate change, will Lake Kachess be able to be refilled after the maximum drawdown during drought years? Continuing the review of construction and maintenance costs without a determination of who will share the costs (agriculture and municipal) along with the State and Federal Governments may find that the project is unattainable.

See: http://www.usbr.gov/pn/programs/eis/kkc/index.html

See: http://www.usbr.gov/pn/programs/eis/kdrpp/index.html

Both Projects: With both projects operational will we be able to meet our goal of enough new water for the next 100 years?

Comments may be submitted by December 16^th to:

Bureau of Reclamation, Columbia-Cascades Area Office

Attention: Candace McKinley, Environmental Program Manager

1917 Marsh Road

Yakima, WA 98901-2058

yrbwep@usbr.gov

FAX (509) 454-5650

Phone (509) 575 5848 ext. 613

Go to www.ybsa.org for additional information.

YBSA Monthly Report

October, 2013

Lake Cle Elum: Final design of the Lake Cle Elum Pool Raise Project is being prepared by the Bureau of Reclamation in Boise, Idaho. A site visit was conducted on October 9, 2013 to discuss shoreline protection. The public scoping meetings for the Environmental Impact Statement are scheduled for November 20, 2013 at the Yakima Arboretum and November 21, 2013 at the Cle Elum Ranger District Office.

Lake Kachess: The name of the project formerly called the Kachess Reservoir Inactive Storage Project has been changed to Kachess Drought Relief Pumping Plan. The project will still remove dead water from the lake bottom, which was part of the natural lake prior to building the dam. A geophysics survey was done to locate sites for drilling through the lake bed and on the lakeshore. The public scoping meetings for the Environmental Impact Statement are scheduled for November 20, 2013 at the Yakima Arboretum and November 21, 2013 at the Cle Elum Ranger District Office.

Proposed Wymer Reservoir: The Wymer Reservoir Project drilling will be scheduled for this fall. The reservoir temperature modeling has been completed to evaluate the temperature of the water in Wymer effect on the Yakima River. A conceptual design is being developed for a pump station in the Yakima River.

Bumping Lake: The Bumping Reservoir Enlargement Project seismic testing is continuing and a field exploration will be performed in November, 2013.

Go to www.ybsa.org for additional information.

YBSA Monthly Report

September, 2013

Drilling at Potential Sites: The Bureau of Reclamation is continuing the drilling at the location of the proposed dam sites for the enlargement of Bumping Lake Reservoir and the new Wymer Dam which is located on the east side of the Yakima River Canyon. Both sites have to be evaluated to determine if the sites are capable of providing the support necessary to construct the two new dams. Drilling is also being done to evaluate the possible location of a tunnel to connect Lake Keechelus to Lake Kachess. This project could provide additional water to increase the amount available in Lake Kachess that could be used to pump additional water from the original lake to the Yakima River during drought conditions.

Seattle Times Article: The Seattle Times article, “Longtime Foes Unite Over Water Plan for Eastern Washington” discusses the Yakima Basin Integrated Plan and its implementation strategy. The all-for-one strategy has brought unity by providing something for everybody. The overall price is estimated to be at least $4.2 billion in 2012 dollars. The plan is proposed to be completed over a 30 year period.

The article asks the following:

• Where the      money would flow.
• Climate:      “Something is different”.
• Economic      benefits in question.
• Big      hurdles remain

See the complete article at http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2021921558_yakimawaterxml.html

YBSA Monthly Report

August, 2013

Water Woes: (Excerpt from “Water Woes” article in the Northern Kittitas County Tribune, Cle Elum Washington by Bruce Coe)A public meeting was held in Ellensburg concerning the development of new wells outside the Upper Kittitas County Groundwater Rule Area. The proposal retains the concept of an exempt well which would allow 350 gallons a day, metered and with higher usage compensated with a mitigation plan. For a more comprehensive look at the proposed rules see www.co.kittitas.wa.us/cds/default.asp. See www.ybsa.org for complete article.

Climate Change Water Supply Impacts: Climate change scenarios in the Integrated Plan (IP) are described in the Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (FPEIS).³

Climate Change Water Supply Impacts on Total Water Supply (TWSA) in the Yakima Basin is described below. It lists the April 1^st TWSA estimate for the IP assuming no climate change and with three climate change scenarios.⁴

Decreases in TWSA affect the water supply available for out-of-stream and instream uses.  As a result the irrigation water supply available for junior (proratable) supply must be prorated in more years, the Title XII target flows over Sunnyside and Prosser diversion dams which are based on the TWSA estimate decrease and the instream flow objectives proposed in the Integrated Plan in the mainstem rivers and tributaries may not be met.

3  Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement of March 2012, pages 3-75 and 3-79.

4  Modeling of Reliability and Flows Technical Memorandum of June 2011, Appendix B, page 1 of 22 and Appendices D-1, D-2, and D-3, pages 3 of 22.

Go to www.ybsa.org for additional information.

YBSA Monthly Report

July, 2013

Legislation Signed: The State Legislature passed and the Governor signed legislation to begin implementation and a review of the Yakima River Basin Integrated Plan.

The timeline and actions include:

1. 12/15/14    Initial cost estimate and financing plan provided to Governor and Legislature and updated by September 1 of every even-numbered year.
2. 06/30/15    Department of Natural Resources must complete the transition post-acquisition management plan public process of lands purchased for watershed enhancement purpose.
3. 12/01/15    Begin submittal of status reports to the Governor and Legislature begin and continue for every odd numbered year.
4. 12/01/21    The status report to the Governor and Legislature must include a statement of progress in achieving the water supply permitting and funding milestone. If it appears the milestone cannot or may not be met, describe the strategy for resolving them, and if necessary recommend modifications to the milestones.
5. 12/31/21    After this date and continuing periodically the state’s continuing support for the Integrated Plan shall be reevaluated if the actual funding provided through non-state sources is less than one-half of all costs and if funding from local project beneficiaries does not comprise a significant portion of the non-state sources.
6. 06/30/25    After the water supply permit and funding milestone or June 30, 2025, whichever is sooner, the land purchased for watershed enhancement purposes must be disposed of as follows: If the “milestone” has been met the lands remain in the community forest trust and the transitional post-acquisition management plan must be converted to a permanent post-acquisition management plan. If the “milestone” has not been met, the Board of Natural Resources must decide between two designated options of dispositions.

WSU to Complete a Study: Section 5057 of the Capital Budget included $300,000 to Washington State University to complete a benefit-cost analysis of the Yakima River Basin Integrated Plan Projects:

1. The Washington water      research center is to prepare separate benefit-cost analyses for each of      the projects proposed in the 2012 Yakima River Basin Integrated Water      Resources Management Plan (Yakima Integrated Plan).

2. The Center must measure      and report the economic benefits of each project on a disaggregated basis,      so that it is clear the extent to which an individual project is expected      to result in increases in fish populations, increases in the reliability      of irrigation water during severe drought years, and improvements in      municipal and domestic water supply.

3. The center must submit the      benefit-cost analyses, findings and any recommendations on the following      projects by December 15, 2014, to appropriate legislative fiscal      committees:

1. Tributary/mainstem enhancements
2. Box Canyon Creek
3. Subordination of power generation (Roza and Chandler)
4. Aquifer storage and recovery projects
5. Agricultural conservation
6. Municipal conservation
7. Water bank exchange programs
8. Cle Elum Reservoir
9. Keechelus, Kachess, Tieton Reservoir
10. Keechelus to Kachess pipeline
11. Wymer Reservoir
12. Bumping Reservoir Enlargement

Determine the Needed Flows in the Yakima River: There is still a need to determine the flows needed in the Yakima River under all conditions so the determination of who will get the needed water is not determined by the court like what has happened in the Klamath Basin.

Costs of Projects Need to be Determined: The cost of both construction and operating costs should be identified for each proposed storage project including cost of mitigation, and how the cost will be shared by the Federal Government, the State, Local Government, the people in the basin and the irrigators. Both construction and operation costs should be identified.

Go to www.ybsa.org for additional information.

YBSA Monthly Report

June, 2013

YBSA Met with the Benton County Commissioners: YBSA Chair Sid Morrison addressed the Benton County Commissioners at the January 25^th board meeting concerning the adequacy of the surface storage element in the Yakima River Basin Integrated Water Resource Management Plan. There needs to be a verification of the water supply listed in the Integrated Plan and compare it to the value of a water supply from the Columbia River. A comparison of the Integrated Plan Storage Element and the Yakima River Storage Study was presented. With the possibility of after 20 to 30 years some storage projects listed in the Integrated Plan may no be built, the Yakima Basin will still be short of the water needed for agriculture, fish, and municipal growth.

A public-private partnership using surplus wind energy could assist in providing a cost effective way of pumping and storing Columbia River water for use in the Yakima Basin. YBSA requested financial support to hire a consultant to verify water availability and needs in the Yakima Basin in the future.

New storage is the only solution for the Yakima River Basin.

Yakima River Storage Study Provides           Integrated Plan Storage Element Provides

1.3 million acre/feet in an active storage      Kachess 200,000 acre/feet

Reservoir (Black Rock) with at least              Wymer 162,000 acre/feet

800,000 acre/feet of water available             Bumping 156,000 acre/feet

when completed                                                 Total 518,000 acre/feet

of water when all storage projects are completed

For the completed comparison see New Storage is the only Solution for the Yakima River Basin.

Columbia River Policy Advisory Group Meeting:

I.   Aquifer Storage Recovery –      some of the issues that have to be clarified prior to injecting water into      an aquifer:

1. Doesn’t degrade aquifer?
2. Permit to use water?
3. Water put in aquifer becomes state water?
4. Quality of water injected?
5. Drinking water standards or not?

II.  Columbia River Treaty      Overview – BPA and others are preparing recommendations for the Department      of State that includes:

1. Irrigation a top priority.
2. Keep hydropower costs low.
3. Flows in the Columbia River and storage needs.
4. Fish enhancement.
5. Allocation of water, spring and summer, in and out of stream needs.
6. Maintain a benefit and cost balance.

Go to www.ybsa.org for additional information.