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1994 Columbia River Basin Fish and Wildlife Program |
| Council document 94-55 | |
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5.1 Coordinate River Operations
The Columbia River and its tributaries and the hydroelectric system they fuel make up an extremely complex operating system. The Council recognizes that the flow, velocity and temperature improvement measures contained in this program will have a substantial impact on the operations of this system.
Given more time and experience, it is likely that the following measures can be refined, resulting in greater operational efficiency and better coordination between the needs of fish and other uses of the river.
The Council welcomes proposals from river operators, especially those proposals that emerge from the river operations process described below, for better ways of providing equivalent amounts of water for salmon and steelhead within time frames specified in this program. Any such proposals should be submitted to the Council and, on approval, implemented.
The Council expects that river operation changes for fish will be in accordance with the following measures as they are now written. The Council will carefully monitor these operations and will welcome suggestions from all interested persons on how they can be improved. Each year, until further notice, the Council will review the operations. At that time, it will determine whether these measures should be revised to provide the intended benefits to fish in the most practical and efficient manner.
5.1A Fish Operations Executive Committee
Council
5.1A.1 Initiate an annual policy and technical process to address flow and temperature regimes and reconcile measures described below to protect salmon and steelhead. The process will be managed by the Fish Operations Executive Committee, which will be appointed by the Council and made up of senior management representatives of the Council, as well as power and fishery interests.
Fish Operations Executive Committee
5.1A.2 The Committee should produce a detailed, annual implementation plan for carrying out its work. The committee should produce the operating plan by March 31 of each year and will need to begin in the preceding year to complete its work. Insofar as practical, the committee should consider matters such as spill, transportation, the Corps? Fish Passage Plan, the fishery agencies and tribes? Detailed Fishery Operating Plan, recommendations from the Ad Hoc Committee of the Columbia Basin Fish and Wildlife Authority, the coordinated plan of operation for flow augmentation (Section 5.1C), annual operating plans for the Non-Treaty Storage Fish and Wildlife Agreement, planning for coordinated system operations, Idaho Power Company's proposed operations under its weak stock plan, water identified by the Snake River Anadromous Fish Water Management Office, spring and fall trade-offs, research and monitoring results and other mainstem passage matters.
In its meetings, the committee should identify all water available in a particular year and plan for its use. During low flow conditions when the monthly average flow equivalent[1]of 85,000 cubic feet per second in the Snake River cannot be provided for the full migration period, flows should be distributed to protect a portion of all known naturally reproducing stocks. The plan will have the flexibility to move flows between May and June, if such shaping is more likely to achieve the intent of this program. If there are conflicting water demands among anadromous species, conflicts should be resolved by the Fish Operations Executive Committee in consultation with the National Marine Fisheries Service. In resolving conflicts, the committee should carefully consider the value of retaining cold water in the Dworshak project to help control temperatures for Snake River fall chinook returning adults.
All alterations in river operations undertaken pursuant to these amendments should consider impacts on resident fish and other species, especially threatened, endangered or native species, and should seek to avoid adverse effects on them.
5.1A.3 Develop a procedure to address fish flow operations throughout the migration season, if necessary.
5.1A.4 Develop accounting procedures for the use of this water. These procedures will be provided to the Council and other interested parties. Pending development and Council approval of new accounting rules, the provisions set out below (Section 5.1D) will continue to apply. All water supplies acquired under the measures below will be applied to the fish migration.
5.1A.5 Manage water supplies for fish in accordance with the annual implementation plan. To assist the full range of stocks migrating in the Snake and Columbia rivers, every effort must be made to shape water stored for fish flow augmentation to the fullest extent practicable. Any proposed deviations from the implementation plan must be approved by the Fish Operations Executive Committee.
5.1B Fish Passage Center
Bonneville
5.1B.1 Fund the establishment and operation of a Fish Passage Center, including funds for a fish passage manager position, technical and clerical support and the services of consultants when necessary, as jointly agreed by Bonneville and the fish and wildlife agencies and tribes. This support will assist the fish passage manager in: 1) planning and implementing the annual smolt monitoring program, 2) developing and implementing flow and spill requests, and 3) monitoring and analyzing research results to assist in implementing the water budget and spill planning and in preparing reports.
5.1B.2 Provide funds to establish a ?fish passage manager? position designated by the federal and state fish and wildlife agencies and the Columbia River Basin Indian tribes. The fish passage manager will provide expert assistance to the designated entities in working with the power project operators and regulators to ensure that requirements for fish are made a part of all river system planning and operations. The fish passage manager will be selected for knowledge of the multiple purposes of the regional hydropower system and of the water needs of fish and wildlife, as well as the ability to communicate and work with the fish and wildlife agencies, tribes, project operators, regulators and other interested parties, including members of the public. The Council will provide a fish passage advisor on its staff to review the operation of the water budget, to advise the Council on all matters related to fish passage and to assist in resolving fish passage disputes.
Fish Passage Center
5.1B.3 House the fish passage manager and staff and function as the primary program center for housing data and information about juvenile fish passage. All data collected and stored at the Fish Passage Center will be available upon request to all interested parties.
Fish Passage Center and Bonneville
5.1B.4 The Council expects Bonneville and the fish and wildlife agencies and tribes to cooperate fully in developing the contractual agreements necessary to carry out tasks described in this section. Pursuant to this expectation, the Council or its staff will review all contracts related to the Fish Passage Center and the fish passage managers.
5.1B.5 The fish passage manager will be the primary point of contact between the power system and the fish and wildlife agencies and tribes on matters concerning all flow and velocity augmentation, temperature control and spill operations affecting juvenile fish migrating downstream at hydroelectric projects operated by the Corps of Engineers and the Bureau of Reclamation on the mainstem of the Columbia and Snake rivers. The fish passage manager will be responsible for informing the Corps of Engineers when and to what extent the manager wishes to draw on the water budget. In making requests, the fish passage manager should: 1) give the Corps three days advance written notice of changes in the planned flow schedule, unless otherwise agreed by the manager and the Corps; and 2) take into account flow and reservoir level fluctuation requirements for resident fish and reflect these considerations in writing in system operational requests. The Corps will inform the other project operators and regulators of water budget requests and spill communications to the extent necessary, manage and implement annual water budget and juvenile fish passage plans and make in-season spill decisions in consultation with the fish passage manager and the Fish Operations Executive Committee.
5.1C Coordinated Plan of Operation for Flow Augmentation
Federal Project Operators and Regulators
5.1C.1 By January 15 of each year, meet with a committee composed of the fish passage manager, the Council's fish passage advisor and representatives of the power system operators to: 1) review the official January water supply forecast, 2) coordinate the system's flow operation for the current year with the Fish Operations Executive Committee, and 3) report to the Fish Operations Executive Committee on development of the annual coordinated plan of operation for flows for the juvenile fish migration. Conduct a similar meeting in mid-February and mid-March of each year. This committee also shall evaluate alternative water budget and other flow measure implementation procedures and report to the Council.
Corps of Engineers
5.1C.2 By March 20 of each year, provide to the Fish Operations Executive Committee and the Council a coordinated plan of operation for flow augmentation for the periods April 15 through June 30 and July 1 through September 30. During these periods, submit to the Fish Operations Executive Committee, the Council and the fish passage manager a daily flow report and make available a copy of the National Weather Service weekly flow forecast. During the remainder of the year, submit a monthly flow report to the Council.
Fish Passage Center
5.1C.3 By November 1 of each year, submit to the Fish Operations Executive Committee and the Council a single report that explains the scheduling of flow augmentation and supporting rationale for that calendar year. This report will include:
- the actual flows achieved for that calendar year;
- a record of the estimated number of smolts that passed Lower Granite and Priest Rapids dams, and the period of time over which the migration occurred;
- a description of the flow shaping used for that calendar year to achieve improved smolt survival; and
- further assessments of tradeoffs between anadromous and resident fish.
Bonneville
5.1C.4 Pay the travel costs and related travel expenses for one or two representatives from each Columbia River Basin Indian tribe to attend up to three meetings per year for the purpose of coordinating tribal flow augmentation activities.
5.1D Operating Rules for Flow Augmentation
Fish Passage Center and Corps of Engineers
5.1D.1 To provide a base from which to measure use of water for flow augmentation, the Council has established the ?firm power flows? listed in Table 5-1. For the Columbia River, the fish passage manager will request flows for Priest Rapids and/or The Dalles dams and dates on which these flows are desired. The flow requests must be greater than the firm power flows. For the Snake River, the fish passage manager will request flows from Dworshak and/or Brownlee reservoirs to provide flow augmentation at Lower Granite Dam. The fish passage manager must give the Corps of Engineers three days? written notice of changes in the planned flow schedule from the water budget volumes, unless otherwise agreed to by the manager and the Corps. For the Columbia River, water budget use will be measured as the difference between the actual average weekly flows or the fish passage manager's flow request at Priest Rapids Dam, whichever is less, and the firm power flows, or as agreed to by the project operators and the fish passage manager.
Relevant Parties
5.1D.2 The Council recognizes that the description of the water budget lacks many of the operating details that will be addressed as the water budget is implemented and operating problems occur. Recognizing that operating decisions could influence the effectiveness of the water budget, the Council recommends priorities for competing uses of the hydropower system. Relevant parties should rely on these priorities in their decisions about the hydropower system.
First: Firm power to meet firm loads
Second: Water budget and other flow measures
Third: Reservoir refill
Fourth: Secondary energy generation (beyond that provided in connection with use of the water budget)
5.1D.3 Implement flow augmentation measures within the context of laws related to federal, state and Indian water rights. (See Section 14: Disclaimers.)
5.1D.4 Beginning in 1995, evaluate alternative ramping rates for flow fluctuations at mainstem Snake and Columbia River dams to constrain reductions or increases in total flow per 24-hour period at these projects.
[1] ?Flow equivalent? means the flow level required to achieve the same water particle travel time as 85,000 cubic feet per second at average normal pool elevations at all projects. For example, 81,000 cubic feet per second at minimum operating pool elevations is the flow equivalent of 85,000 cubic feet per second at average normal pool levels.