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1994 Columbia River Basin Fish and Wildlife Program |
| Council document 94-55 | |
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7.11 Yakima River Basin
The Yakima River Basin is located east of the Cascade Range in Washington, where annual precipitation is very low. Irrigation has changed the Yakima River Valley from a near-desert environment to one of the most productive agricultural regions in the country. Valuable agricultural crops are grown there, thanks to a series of irrigation diversion dams, canals and ditches. Three irrigation diversion dams also divert water for hydroelectric generation. However, in a low water year, the demand for irrigation water for farming and ranching still exceeds the water supply. Available water must be allocated among competing uses, and the provision of streamflows sufficient to support anadromous and resident fish historically has received a lower priority. Yet, because the Yakima's fish habitat remains largely intact, most fish and wildlife experts consider this basin to be one of the areas with the best potential for producing anadromous fish in the Columbia River Basin.
In the past, during certain times of the year, sections of the river below some diversion dams have been dry, making fish migration impossible. Water in the pools that remain and in the river below irrigation returns reaches temperatures that are too high to support cold-water fish species. In addition, irrigation return flows carry sediment and chemicals into the Yakima River. However, water quality problems are secondary to those concerning water quantity. Additional water storage, and changes in existing storage operations and water management functions, are needed in the Yakima River Basin to satisfy fish requirements while meeting other competing demands, particularly irrigation uses.
In addition to water supply problems, many of the fish screens and passage facilities at the various irrigation and hydroelectric structures that control streamflows in the Yakima Basin were outdated, in ill-repair or non-existent when this program was first developed in 1982.
The Council adopted Yakima River Basin measures primarily as off-site enhancement. Off-site enhancement is a way to compensate for fish and wildlife lost due to development and operation of a hydropower project elsewhere in the Columbia River Basin. Such enhancement is used when it is not desirable or feasible to mitigate the adverse impacts at the hydropower site where the fish were lost. This program's Yakima measures include actions to correct structural problems at irrigation diversion dams, canals and ditches that interfere with the passage of anadromous fish. These are off-site enhancement projects to mitigate the impacts of hydropower elsewhere in the basin.
Measures to provide passage or protection in the lower Yakima River have received priority and are nearly completed. Once the lower-river passage problems are solved, emphasis will be placed on the upper reaches.
Notable progress has been made on the Yakima Basin projects. Screens and ladders have been completed at a number of diversion dams. Other passage projects are well under way or near completion. The increased fish runs recorded in 1986 underscore the Yakima River's potential as one of the most promising areas for off-site enhancement in the Columbia River Basin.
The Council recognizes that the water needs of the Yakima River Basin, including provision of adequate flows for fish, cannot be satisfied without additional storage, changes in existing storage operations and/or modification of water management practices. Although Bumping Lake (on the Naches arm of the Yakima River in central Washington) has a long history of study as a suitable site for added storage, several other sites also have significant potential. These sites are being studied by the Bureau of Reclamation and the Washington Department of Ecology. The results of this study should be considered in identifying the site or sites to be developed for additional storage.
The Council also recognizes the critical importance of the Yakima River's potential for natural propagation and as a system for releasing hatchery fish. An outplanting facility to supplement natural production in the Yakima Basin will be developed in accordance with Section 7.4K.
Additional water storage in the Yakima River Basin should be used primarily to provide flows to allow the rebuilding of anadromous fish populations and to protect resident fish. Recent studies to estimate the flow requirements for anadromous fish will provide the Council with better information for identifying basinwide flows for anadromous fish protection. Results of these studies also will provide a more detailed basis for determining the amount of water storage necessary for fish flows, a key factor in basin water planning and assessment of storage sites.
When additional water storage is developed in the basin, a major use of this water should be to protect, mitigate and enhance the basin's anadromous and resident fish and wildlife. Flexibility in water management could be increased through construction of reregulating dams. The Council endorses this as a means to allow the additional stored water to be used for both agriculture and fish enhancement.
The Council encourages more efficient use of water in the basin. Irrigation results in the loss of large volumes of water, primarily through transpiration, poorly maintained canals and ditches, and field flooding practices. Water also has been used for frost protection of crops, a practice that appears to be gaining popularity. Other irrigation methods could use less water. For example, irrigation waters can be distributed through closed, pressurized systems. In addition, water management alternatives, such as water banking, have been proposed.
Funding of many program measures in the Yakima River Basin is part of a cooperative effort involving Bonneville, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Bureau of Reclamation and others. The Council anticipates that cooperative funding will continue as provided under Section 3.1C.3, which calls on Bonneville to work with the Council and the federal project operators to identify the most expeditious means for funding measures at federal projects.
7.11A Additional Water Storage
Council
7.11A.1 Before specifying program measures to resolve the storage problem in the Yakima River Basin, the Council will consult with the fish and wildlife agencies and tribes, especially the Yakama Indian Nation. The Council will evaluate the results of the Bureau of Reclamation and Washington Department of Ecology study of alternative storage sites and other studies of improved flows for anadromous fish. Based on this consultation and evaluation, the Council will develop measures that identify a site, or a combination of sites, and the amount of storage required. The Council maintains that the stored water should be used primarily to protect, mitigate and enhance anadromous and resident fish in the basin. The Council also will evaluate the use of reregulating dams to provide maximum flexibility in managing the additional stored water.
Council and Relevant Parties
7.11A.2 To reduce the amount of additional storage required, the Council will consult with water users regarding more efficient water-use practices in the basin, including alternative irrigation methods and water planning.
Relevant Parties
7.11A.3 The Council encourages all parties to use water as efficiently as possible in order to satisfy the many needs in the Yakima River Basin, to take any interim steps to improve fish flows in the Yakima River, and to support a program of additional storage incorporating appropriate cost-sharing arrangements.
7.11A.4 In keeping with the provisions of Section 210, Title II of Public Law 97-293 (the Reclamation Reform Act of 1982), the Council expects that:
- The Secretary of the Interior will encourage the full consideration and incorporation of prudent and responsible water conservation measures in the operations of non-federal recipients of irrigation water from the Yakima Project, where such measures are shown to be economically feasible for those recipients.
- Each Yakima River Basin irrigation district that has entered into a repayment contract or water service contract pursuant to federal reclamation law or to the Water Supply Act of 1958, as amended (43 U.S.C. 390b), will promptly develop a water conservation plan containing definite goals, appropriate water conservation measures and a schedule for meeting the water conservation objectives.
- To ensure coordination of ongoing programs, the Secretary of the Interior will enter into memoranda of agreement with federal agencies that can assist in implementing water conservation measures. Such memoranda will provide for involvement of non-federal entities, including the Council, the Washington Department of Ecology, the Yakama Indian Nation, water users? organizations and other appropriate groups, to ensure full public participation in water conservation efforts.
7.11B Passage
Bonneville
7.11B.1 After consultation with the fish and wildlife agencies, the tribes and the Bureau of Reclamation, and upon approval by the Council, implement needed fish passage improvements at irrigation diversion dams, canals and ditches in the basin. Lower river passage improvements will be made first. They will be followed by passage improvements in the upper river.
7.11B.2 Upon approval by the Council, fund a study to determine the feasibility of re-establishing runs of anadromous fish above Cle Elum Dam. If results of the study indicate that restoration is feasible, Bonneville shall fund the construction of fish passage facilities at Cle Elum Dam.
7.11B.3 Fund the construction of fish passage facility projects included in the two highest-priority groups established by the Yakima Passage Technical Work Group approved by the Council. Construction will begin with the highest priority facilities as established by a predesign memorandum and the Yakima Passage Technical Work Group. The Yakima Passage Technical Work Group may substitute projects from lower-priority groups for projects in groups 1 and 2 based on information developed or circumstances encountered during design. The Yakama Indian Nation and the fishery agencies should continue to make efforts to secure cost-sharing funding for the construction of Yakima Basin fish passage facilities. Funding for the two unscreened projects on tribal land should be conditioned on the Yakama Indian Nation adopting a requirement that any future water diversions on tribal land are screened at the time the diversion is made.
7.11C Flows
The System Operations and Advisory Committee was established as a means for fish and wildlife agencies, tribes, irrigation districts and the Bureau of Reclamation to negotiate flows to protect spawning and incubation in the Cle Elum River and elsewhere in the Yakima Basin.
Bureau of Reclamation and PacifiCorp
7.11C.1 Upon approval by the Council and in consultation with the Washington Department of Ecology, the Bureau of Reclamation should provide the minimum flows required for fish passage, spawning, incubation and rearing at Prosser and Roza dams and other locations in the basin. The Council encourages PacifiCorp to work with the Washington Department of Ecology, fish and wildlife agencies and tribes to provide such flows at the Wapatox Project. The Council will specify minimum flow requirements and the location of flow control and monitoring points after evaluating the results of the instream flow studies.
Council
7.11C.2 Until the results of instream flow studies are available, the Council will support the establishment of interim flows upon receipt of proposals from the fish and wildlife agencies and tribes, especially the Yakama Indian Nation. Those proposals will identify specific flow control and monitoring locations and information on the adequacy and safety of the recommended flows.
7.11C.3 Before supporting any flows for fish in the Yakima Basin, the Council will consult with the System Operations and Advisory Committee, irrigation districts, Washington Department of Ecology, the Bureau of Reclamation, fish and wildlife agencies and tribes.