Northwest

<< Previous   of   Next >>   ADVERTISEMENT   CONTACT THE HERALD Do you have a news tip? newstips@heraldnet.com | 425.339.3400   Published: Friday, May 16, 2008 New plan for water from the Columbia By John K. Wiley Associated Press SPOKANE -- Washington's Department of Ecology has released a new environmental study of an ambitious plan to make more Grand Coulee Dam water available for farms, towns and fish in Eastern Washington. The study of the largest new influx of water in three decades from Lake Roosevelt, the reservoir behind Grand Coulee in central Washington, stems from a 2006 law intended to break a logjam of demands for Columbia River water. "For the first time in many years we'll be able to issue new water rights from the Columbia River and do so in a way that balances both the environmental and economic needs of the region," Derek Sandison, Ecology's central regional director in Yakima, said in a news release Thursday. The incremental storage releases will draw down Lake Roosevelt in summer by an additional foot, or 82,500-acre-feet in normal water years and as much as 1.8 feet, or 132,000 acre-feet during drought years. An acre-foot is the amount of water covering an acre of land a foot deep. The additional water will be split among municipalities, farms and downstream flows for endangered salmon. The plan provides additional water to irrigators of 10,000 acres east of Moses Lake, more certainty for those whose water allocations are cut in times of drought, new water to towns with pending water right applications and increased stream flow to help salmon survive in late summer, state officials have said. The study concludes the additional water flow will have minimal effect on fish, wildlife, plants and cultural resources. A portion of the additional water will go to replace water traditionally pumped from a massive underground river called the Odessa Subarea aquifer. The additional water is being made available through Washington state's Columbia River Basin Water Management Program, authorized by the Legislature in 2006. The so-called "No Action Alternative" concludes that Odessa Subarea groundwater levels would continue to decrease at the present rate of about 7 feet a year; there would be less water available for pending municipal or industrial users; no additional water would be available to supplement stream flows to benefit fish; and costs of pumping water in the Odessa aquifer would continue to rise. The maximum drawdown is expected to last between a few days and a few weeks. The state this year reached agreements with the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation and the Spokane Tribe of Indians, whose reservations border the lake, on payment for tribal costs of the drawdown. The Colvilles will get about $3.75 million a year and the Spokanes $2.25 million a year to enhance fisheries, protect the environment, preserve cultural resources and other activities. The money is not considered payment for the water. In addition, local governments around Lake Roosevelt will receive $2 million to pay for the impact of the releases. Ecology plans to issue a final environmental study of the drawdowns in August. On the Web Ecology Draft SEIS: www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/wr/cwp/cr_lkroos.html

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