By Jennifer Langston
Herald Writer
In stark contrast to last year’s meager snowpack, winter storms have left an embarrassment of riches in the mountains above Spada Lake in Snohomish County.
The Snohomish County PUD found record levels of snowfall and water this week when crews flew by helicopter to the Sultan Basin and stuck measuring tubes into the snow.
The annual trek helps the utility and the city of Everett figure out how to manage Spada Lake and other facilities, which provide drinking water for about two-thirds of Snohomish County.
They must maintain minimum flows in the Sultan River for threatened chinook salmon and other fish. Additional water stored in the reservoir 25 miles east of Everett also is run through turbines to generate power for the Snohomish County PUD.
Snow depths at the three sites where the utility takes measurements each year were 170 percent, 220 percent and 265 percent of average this spring.
At the two lower sites, the snow was deeper than it has been since the utility started keeping track in the 1980s. The site at Stickney Ridge, which had 165 inches of snow, was just shy of the record.
That means there will be plenty of water to keep taps flowing, fish happy and the turbines that generate power for the PUD spinning.
The Jackson Hydroelectric Project in the Sultan Basin typically generates enough power to light about 28,000 homes. This year, the project may generate about 20 percent to 25 percent more than that, officials said.
"It’s been a good year for water, and therefore a good year for power generation, which is a nice turnaround from last year," said Bruce Meaker, the PUD’s senior manager for regulatory affairs in the water resources division.
Last year, the PUD — because of the drought and a decision to sell its interest in a coal plant — was caught short without enough power to meet its needs. It had to buy energy elsewhere at a time when prices were going through the roof.
Because of conservation, the economic downturn and contracts signed last year, the PUD now has more power than it can use.
Extra power generated at the Jackson Hydroelectric Project will be sold on the open market to other utilities. However, prices for energy have fallen back to earth, so the PUD won’t be selling the power at a premium.
Because it generally costs the same amount of money to run the hydropower project, any extra power generated is a good thing for the bottom line, said PUD assistant general manager John White.
He said the PUD hadn’t calculated how much it would make selling power from Jackson this year. That depends on when the water melts off the mountains and what market prices are at the time.
"Any time we can get additional generation out of Jackson, it’s beneficial, even if it doesn’t stay in the county," White said. "It’s a little more power to sell, and it doesn’t add to our costs."
Meaker said the utility has dropped the water level in Spada Lake about 15 feet lower than it would normally be this time of year to make sure the reservoir can catch all the water if it comes off the mountains in big slugs. With such a heavy snowpack, a good rain could make the reservoir refill very quickly, he said.
"Certain times of year, you can get a rain or snow even that will wash it off in a hurry… the reservoir just jumps like a rocket," he said. "We’ll go into the spring prepared to catch all that water and use it for our generation."
You can call Herald Writer Jennifer Langston at 425-339-3452
or send e-mail to langston@heraldnet.com.
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