Direct Dial Tacoma: (253) 620-6422
eMail Address: mailto:mikb@gth-law.com
November 7, 2000
The Honorable Gary F. Locke
Governor, State of
Washington
Capitol Building
PO Box 40002
Olympia, WA
98504-0002
Dear Governor Locke:
In August, you asked that we prepare a proposed water investment action agenda for the Yakima Basin to substantially improve water supply, water quality and fish benefits, while reducing conflicts among the water users. Attached are our final recommendations on an action agenda for your consideration. We have also kept Senator Gorton and the rest of the Congressional Delegation, the legislators from the area, the Northwest Public Power Council, and the Bonneville Power Administration informed of our activities and will be forwarding our recommended action agenda to them as well.
In preparing this action agenda, we worked with the cities, counties, conservation districts, irrigation districts, Tri-County Water Resource Agency, state agencies, the Yakama Nation, the Bureau of Reclamation and staff from the Bonneville Power Administration. We asked all of them to submit proposed projects that would address the three goals of improving water quality, fisheries habitat and water system supply and reliability. Their proposed projects were circulated in a draft report to the same broad cross-section of governments. On October 16, we held a workshop in Yakima, which was broadcast on the local public broadcasting network, to review and seek comment on the proposed projects. In addition, we met with, and received comments and information from, numerous individuals regarding the needs to be addressed and the merits of various proposals.
The quality and importance of the proposed projects is impressive. Over 85 project proposals, valued at just over $300 million, were submitted and considered. Those project proposals were included in our draft report and broadly circulated in the community, as were later project proposals that we considered. Our report recommends that 63 of these projects be considered in the near-term and funded at approximately $132 million. We reviewed them individually, and in various combinations, to evaluate their benefits for the Yakima Basin. In some cases, based on new information, we modified the project purpose and costs contained in the final report. In preparing our recommendations we paid careful attention to ensure they would be consistent with and compatible with the federal planning effort done under the federal Yakima River Basin Water Enhancement Project Act, the planning done to date under the state 2514 process, projects previously funded by BPA, and the fisheries and planning ideas from the Yakama Nation. The Yakima Basin is second only to the Snake River Basin in its size and importance in the Columbia River system. This action agenda will play a key role for BPA in accomplishing its off-site mitigation responsibilities and in implementing the NWPPC ecosystem approach. We are not recommending all of the projects that were proposed. Some need more time to be fully developed. Others should be considered as a part of a long-term plan for the Basin. On some projects, with substantial costs, it was difficult to assess the benefits. Each of these will have a chance to be more carefully considered in the future planning processes which are ongoing in the Yakima Basin.
We also deferred decisions on a number of proposed analytical projects, not because of their merit, but because this assignment was focused around an action agenda based on current knowledge. We did recommend funding some analytical tools that we felt would be useful in prioritizing or implementing future action steps.
These decisions were not easy. Others could have reached different decisions. But we are confident of one thing: if these recommendations are implemented the water quality, the fisheries habitat and the water management system of the Yakima Basin will be vastly improved over what it is today. Both the economy and the environment of the area will be enhanced. Conflicts between municipal and agricultural activities, and fisheries and aquatic resources will be greatly diminished.
We will conduct another meeting with governmental leaders on November 9, to present our recommendations and answer any questions they may have. We have informed them that after that meeting, they should communicate their response to the recommended action agenda or any other comments to your office by the end of November.
These projects will require the expenditure of significant funds, but the results are worth the investment. They will also require the cooperation of many governments and land owners, which we are confident will occur if the resources to do the tasks are made available.
We appreciate the confidence and cooperation that we have received from so many people in the Yakima Basin. We believe in them, their ideas, and their ability to achieve tangible successes in the next few years.
Finally, we wish to express our thanks to you and the leadership of your Administration for entrusting us with such an important responsibility and the freedom to pursue it as we thought best.
Sincerely,
James C. Waldo
Barbara J. Mirk
Attachment
INTRODUCTION
Governor Locke asked us to develop an action agenda for the Yakima Basin that
will contribute to improved water quality, water supply reliability, and
enhancement of the fish resources. The action agenda includes recommendations on
appropriate state and federal funding sources to implement these actions. This
report outlines our recommendations for the action agenda, which includes
recommendations to fund 63 projects at approximately $122 to $132 million. This
combination of actions and water investments will provide substantial
improvements in the Yakima Basin and address the three goals outlined by
Governor Locke.
Context and Overview: Recommendations
In the lower basin, the recommended projects will provide substantial improvements for fisheries and water quality, particularly through actions to reduce temperature and sediment impacts. The water quality projects are aimed at both urban and agricultural actions. The Kennewick Irrigation District’s pump exchange is a key action to making significant changes in water temperature and flow levels, and to reduce potential long-term conflicts between fish and agriculture uses in the District’s service area. At an estimated cost of $50M, the Pump Exchange is by far the most expensive project we recommended. The funding recommendations in the lower basin also target habitat protection, restoration and acquisition in the lower basin.
In the region of the mainstem of the mid-Yakima River, beginning at the Wide Hollow/Union Gap, the major actions will include relocating gravel mining from the floodplain, acquisition of important habitat, and reconnection of habitat that has been disconnected from the mainstem. These actions will not only improve the fish habitat, but also improve water quality. Various entities in the watershed are already considering or actively pursuing acquisition of riparian properties critical to fish and wildlife habitat restoration. A variety of project proposals have identified the Yakima River floodplain through the Selah Gap and Union Gap areas and the lower areas of Wide Hollow Creek as priority locations for these acquisitions and restoration efforts. Longer-term benefits of property acquisition and management include restoring the groundwater recharge function of the floodplain areas. This will be pursued once basic habitat restoration projects have been completed.
Not all of the entities who plan to make acquisitions have the capacity or authority to take on the responsibility for long-term care of these properties. Additionally, these properties are likely to span jurisdictions. Therefore, purchasing entities will need to work together to develop a long-term framework for property management and environmental stewardship of these lands. Our recommendations include a first step toward that goal. Short- and long-term coordination among the purchasing entities is essential in order to ensure that wetland areas and other critical floodplain functions are "reconnected" and to ensure that entities are not unnecessarily competing on the price of key purchases.
Relocating the gravel mining activities will also augment and improve water quality actions in this stretch of the river, which include major investments in addressing urban water quality problems through a variety of means.
In the Naches arm of the Yakima River, the recommended projects focus on improving and protecting fish habitat, and increasing flows, principally through the Wapatox project. We also recommend investing in major improvements to address current fish passage barriers, diversions affecting the fisheries, and to invest in infrastructure to reduce conflicts.
In the Upper Yakima River mainstem, the focus is on reconnecting portions of the floodplain, protecting critical habitat, improving water quality, and embarking on a major effort in the Kittitas tributaries. Actions include projects proposed by the Bureau of Reclamation in the Manastash, Swauk, and Taneum creeks; the Department of Ecology’s TMDL early implementation project on the Teanaway River, and significant commitments to screening small diversions in the Kittitas Valley. We are also recommending the acquisition of certain parcels because of their high habitat value. Finally, there are a number of major water quality improvements (both municipal and agricultural) recommended for the Kittitas Valley which will substantially improve water quality and will have secondary benefits for the fisheries resource.
We also received many good proposals to improve the information base for making future decisions. Because our charge is to develop an action agenda, we are recommending funding only those projects that will accelerate implementation of the best informed early actions. Additional investments in improving information needed for informed decisions will need to be made, but are beyond the scope of this project.
Similarly, we received requests for assistance related to development of a manual for stormwater management, which is a relatively new water quality regulatory requirement in the Yakima Watershed. Stormwater management presents a significant infrastructure financing burden on local governments and the development community to prevent runoff containing sediment and toxic chemicals. The cities of Ellensburg, Selah, Yakima, Union Gap, Sunnyside and West Richland, and Benton and Yakima Counties, will be required to implement federal requirements for Phase II stormwater management. A stormwater manual and model program for Eastern Washington is being developed by a group of affected local governments, along with the Departments of Ecology and Transportation. Therefore, its development and funding by DOE and DOT has been separated from this package of actions, but we recognize the importance of this effort.
The projects we are recommending are listed in geographical order beginning at the mouth of the Yakima River and proceeding up into the tributaries within the Yakima Basin. Our recommendations for funding levels and sources are listed in alphabetical order by the sponsoring entity.
When funded and implemented this package of actions will accomplish the following:
1) provide assurance to the National Marine Fisheries Service that there is a sufficient response to the listing of steelhead (as threatened), and that necessary actions are being taken in the Yakima Basin to significantly improve the opportunities of their success in this stage of their lifecycle;
2) satisfy the federal agency requirements for fishery projects in the federal All H paper’s Habitat section to address the issues of: a) improved passage and screening, b) improved water quality and quantity, and c) improved channel complexity. Therefore, these projects should qualify for off-mainstem BPA mitigation actions;
3) the fisheries package will provide for implementation of the Northwest Power Planning Council’s habitat approach which looks at the value of investments in an ecosystem, region or province;
4) provide significant additional protection and enhancements in the tributaries for bulltrout which is a species listed under the Endangered Species Act by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service;
5) be consistent with and help move forward the federal Yakima River Basin Water Enhancement Project Act (YRBWEP) implementation, the next phase of the state 2514 planning process, and the long-term fisheries management plans of the Yakama Nation.
6) provide substantial improvements in water quality to move the basin towards compliance with the Clean Water Act, and therefore, meet the state and federal requirements for water quality funding;
7) provide assistance to the agricultural sector of the Basin in meeting current state and federal requirements in an affordable and targeted manner, while enhancing water supply reliability;
8) provide assistance to the municipalities in complying with the Clean Water Act and the Endangered Species Act, while enhancing water supply reliability;
9) provide for significant reduction in conflicts between the agricultural and municipal uses of water, and the fisheries resource needs in the Yakima Basin; and
10) integrate actions by various federal, state, local and tribal governments to create the highest degree of value for the dollars invested. There is a high level of interest and commitment to cooperate in implementing projects addressing these problems.
This report completes our work on a water investment package for the Yakima Basin. We will forward copies of these recommendations to the local governments, the Yakama Nation, Congressional members, state legislators from the Yakima Basin, the NWPPC, NMFS, USFWS, and participating state agencies. Beginning in December of this year and continuing into next year, these officials will need to decide whether to fund and act on these projects. Although we cannot influence the outcome or implementation of this list of actions, we encourage these governmental leaders to do everything they can to seek the funding and support necessary to successfully act on these projects.
We also recognize that these actions do not neatly fall into any one program or agency’s authority. For example, the state currently has various categorical programs within various agencies that would consider or fund many of these activities. On the other hand, the state does not have an established procedure for addressing integrated basin recommendations that cut across these categorical lines. This is an issue that the Governor and Legislative leaders will need to consider in light of our recommendations and the many basin planning efforts currently underway across the State.
Similarly, the federal agencies charged with responsibilities for fisheries and water quality have historically had separate programs for analyzing and responding to these issues. It will take some creativity, and perhaps Congressional authority, to provide the flexibility and direction to integrate these historically separate programs.
Local governmental leaders, Congressional members, and the Tribe will have a central role in implementing these projects on the ground. To successfully implement the projects contained in this action agenda, the governments will need to work together in various combinations. This does not mean everyone has to be involved in doing everything. It does mean that each government will need to do its part of what is necessary to make these projects successful.
Background and Description of Project
Various local, state, tribal and federal efforts have resulted in a number of planning assessments and have identified potential on-the-ground projects to address the highly important water management, water quality, and fish recovery needs in the Yakima Basin. Governor Locke, Senator Gorton, and others recognize there are many ideas and potential projects resulting from these planning efforts that could provide positive benefits in the Yakima Basin and be incorporated into an action plan for the upcoming federal and state funding cycles. With this in mind, the Governor retained our services to develop an action plan to provide for timely improvements in the Yakima Basin that will substantively benefit water supply, water quality and/or fish, while reducing conflicts among the water users. Specifically, we were charged by the Governor to undertake two important specific tasks:
The Governor requested that the Action Plan be completed by the end of October, 2000, and that recommendations for funding the appropriate projects be integrated with the state and federal budget processes this winter and into next spring. While this one-time Action Plan was being developed, the Governor indicated that the current watershed planning and salmon recovery processes should continue in the basin. It is hoped that some of the projects contained in the Action Plan will be incorporated into these ongoing planning processes in the future.
To prepare this report, we communicated with numerous individuals and governments. An initial meeting of interested parties was held on September 20th in Yakima. At that meeting, the approach for developing the Action Plan was discussed and a preliminary list of projects was briefly reviewed. Guidelines for submitting additional Yakima Basin Action Projects were developed and subsequently sent to all interested individuals. On October 16, we conducted a second workshop to present the projects that were proposed by the various entities and to seek additional information where needed.
We appreciate the significant interest in and assistance we received from the local communities in helping to develop the projects that are contained in this report. On November 9, we will meet again with the governmental leaders to present our recommendations. The next vital step is for the governmental leaders to communicate their response or any comments on the action agenda to Governor Locke and other officials.
Project Recommendations *
Sponsor: Tapteal Greenway Association, Richland *
Project Name: Habitat Restoration and Preservation at Tapteal Bend *
Cost: $200K *
Sponsor: Kennewick Irrigation District *
Project Name: Kennewick Irrigation District Pump Exchange Project *
Cost: $50M with possible state share of 5% *
Sponsor: Benton Conservation District *
Project Name: Water Quality Improvement (Lower Yakima basin) *
Cost: $2.45M *
Sponsor: Yakama Nation Wildlife Management Program *
Project Name: Restoring the Native Bunchgrass Community in the Satus Creek Watershed to Improve Wild Steelhead Habitat *
Cost: $60K over 2 years *
Sponsor: Roza Sunnyside Board of Joint Control *
Project Name: Habitat Recovery—Sulphur Creek *
Cost: $50K *
Sponsor: Grandview, City of; Port of Grandview, Yakima County, Sunnyside Valley Irrigation District *
Project Name: Grandview Comprehensive Drainage Plan *
Cost: $150K *
Sponsor: Sunnyside, City of *
Project Name: The City of Sunnyside Storm Drainage Project *
Cost: $100K *
Sponsor: Sunnyside, City of *
Project Name: Sunnyside Wastewater Plant Improvement Project *
Cost: $12M *
Sponsor: Roza Sunnyside Board of Joint Control *
Project Name: Buffer Zones—Yakima River *
Cost: $375K *
Sponsor: Yakama Nation Wildlife Management Program *
Project Name: Dike Removal (Remove and Rebuild) *
Cost: $60K per year for 3 years ($180K) *
Sponsor: Yakama Nation Wildlife Management Program *
Project Name: Habitat Acquisition—Yakama Reservation *
Cost: $1M *
Sponsor: South Yakima Conservation District (SYCD) *
Project Name: Best Management Practice (BMP) Implementation—Mainstem Lower Yakima and Tributaries *
Cost: $400K over 4 years *
Sponsor: Yakama Nation *
Project Name: Prioritization Plan for Toppenish and Simcoe Creeks *
Cost: $100K for evaluation with a Phase 2 funding to implement solutions *
Sponsor: Roza Sunnyside Board of Joint Control *
Project Name: Sedimentation Basins *
Cost: $400K *
Sponsor: Yakama Nation *
Project Name: Yakima Basin Culverts—Yakama Reservation *
Cost: $2.5M *
Sponsor: Roza Sunnyside Board of Joint Control *
Project Name: Enclosed Conduit System Phase 1/Lateral 23.08—Granger Drainage Basin *
Cost: $1.3M ($1,228,600) *
Sponsor: Yakama Nation *
Project Name: Wapato Irrigation Project On-Farm Water Measurement and Conservation Best Management Practices Program *
Cost: $2M *
Sponsor: Yakama Nation *
Project Name: Critical Habitat Acquisitions *
Cost: $500K *
Sponsor: Fish and Wildlife, Washington Department of *
Project Name: Union Gap Reach *
Cost: $45K for 14 acres *
Sponsor: Fish and Wildlife, Washington Department of *
Project Name: Spring Creek (Union Gap) Passage Restoration *
Cost: $25K *
Sponsor: Bureau of Reclamation, United States *
Project Name: Alternatives to Gravel Mining within Yakima River Floodplains *
Cost: To be negotiated. *
Sponsor: Yakama Nation *
Project Name: Floodplain Gravel Mining Relocation *
Cost: $75K *
Sponsor: Fish and Wildlife, Washington Department of *
Project Name: Wide Hollow Creek Passage and Floodplain Restoration *
Cost: $1M *
Sponsor: Yakima, City of *
Project Name: Water Quality Ponds *
Cost: $3.2M *
Sponsor: Yakima, City of *
Project Name: Yakima Regional Wastewater Treatment Facility *
Cost: $3.5M *
Sponsor: Yakima, City of *
Project Name: Critical Lands Protection *
Cost: $2.2M *
Sponsor: Ahtanum Irrigation District/No. Yakima Irrigation District *
Project Name: Ahtanum Irrigation District Salmon Recovery Program *
Cost: $900K *
Sponsor: Ecology, Washington Department of *
Project Name: Ahtanum Watershed Study/Instream Flow Incremental Methodology (IFIM) *
Cost: $400K *
Sponsor: Yakima, City of *
Project Name: Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR) Pilot Test *
Cost: $125K *
Sponsor: Yakima, City of *
Project Name: Relocation Intake Fruitvale Power Canal *
Cost: $6M *
Sponsor: Yakama Nation/Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife *
Project Name: Cowiche Watershed Passage Restoration and Screening *
Cost: $150K *
Sponsor: Fish and Wildlife, Washington Department of *
Project Name: Buckskin Slough Restoration *
Cost: $77K *
Sponsor: TreeTop, Inc. *
Project Name: Selah Spray-Field/Yakima River Restoration *
Cost: $105K *
Sponsor: Yakima, City of *
Project Name: Water Treatment Plant Intake Modification *
Cost: $550K *
Sponsor: Fish and Wildlife, Washington Department of *
Project Name: Lower Naches Reach *
Cost: $1M *
Sponsor: US Bureau of Reclamation *
Project Name: Wapatox Power Plant *
Cost: Under negotiation. *
Sponsor: Fish and Wildlife, Washington Department of *
Project Name: Umtanum Creek *
Cost: $160K *
Sponsor: Ellensburg, City of *
Project Name: Ellensburg Treatment Plant Outfall Modifications *
Cost: $150K *
Sponsor: Ellensburg, City of *
Project Name: Ellensburg Storm Drainage Outfall Treatment Program *
Cost: $1M *
Sponsor: Ellensburg, City of *
Project Name: Ellensburg Replacement Well Location Study *
Cost: $45K *
Sponsor: Ellensburg, City of *
Project Name: Ellensburg Stream Inventory *
Cost: $55K *
Sponsor: Bureau of Reclamation *
Project Name: Lower Manastash Creek Watershed Assessment—Instream Flow Protection *
Cost: $150K *
Sponsor: Fish and Wildlife, Washington Department of *
Project Name: Wilson Creek Riparian Protection Project *
Cost: $150K *
Sponsor: Bureau of Reclamation, United States *
Project Name: Taneum Creek Steelhead Supplementation *
Cost: $100K *
Sponsor: Kittitas Reclamation District (KRD) *
Project Name: KRD Water Quality Improvements in the Kittitas Valley *
Cost: $100K over 4 years *
Sponsor: Kittitas County Water Purveyors (KCWP), individual members including irrigation districts and companies / Kittitas Reclamation District (KRD) *
Project Name: Irrigation District Delivery System Enhancements *
Cost: To be determined in the future – estimated range of $10M-$20M *
Sponsor: Kittitas County Water Purveyors (KCWP), Kittitas Reclamation District (KRD) or Kittitas County Conservation District (KCCD) *
Project Name: Survey of Unscreened Diversions and Fish Passage Barriers in the Upper Yakima River Watershed *
Cost: $30K *
Sponsor: Kittitas County Conservation District *
Project Name: Kittitas Valley Irrigation Diversion Screens *
Cost: $3M *
Sponsor: Kittitas Reclamation District (KRD) and Kittitas County Water Purveyors (KCWP) *
Project Name: Upper Yakima Tributary Diversion Screening/Barrier Removal Project *
Cost: $4M *
Sponsor: Kittitas County Water Purveyors (KCWP) / Kittitas Reclamation District (KRD) *
Project Name: Upper Yakima Watershed Technical Support for Screening and Delivery System Improvements *
Cost: $80K annually for 5 years or $400K *
Sponsor: Kittitas County Conservation District *
Project Name: Kittitas Valley Irrigation System Efficiency Improvements *
Cost: $300K *
Sponsor: Bureau of Reclamation *
Project Name: Lower Swauk Creek Watershed Protection Project *
Cost: $1.3M *
Sponsor: Fish and Wildlife, Washington Department of *
Project Name: Cle Elum Reach *
Cost: $4M *
Sponsor: Fish and Wildlife, Washington Department of *
Project Name: Big Creek Passage and Screening *
Cost: $70K *
Sponsor: Kittitas County Water Purveyors (KCWP) / Kittitas Reclamation District (KRD) *
Project Name: Improved Water Quality Measures in the Kittitas Valley *
Cost: $275K over 5 years (Note: these projects are included in Project #) *
Sponsor: Ecology, Washington Department of *
Project Name: Teanaway River Riparian Habitat Improvement and TMDL Early Implementation *
Cost: $200K *
Basin-wide Projects *
Sponsor: Tri-County Water Resource Agency *
Project Name: Yakima Watershed Planning and Level II Assessment *
Cost: $410K *
Sponsor: Washington Grazing Lands Conservation Initiative *
Project Name: Washington WEST (Watershed Ecology, Science and Technology) *
Cost: $5K *
Sponsor: Yakama Nation and Central Washington University *
Project Name: Salmon Habitat Metrics Project *
Cost: $200K *
Sponsor: Yakama Nation *
Project Name: Improvements to Irrigation Diversion Bypass Outfalls and Wastewater Returns *
Cost: $150K for Initial Pilot Test *
Sponsor: Yakama Nation *
Project Name: Additional Flows for Fish —Yakima River *
Cost: $800K *
Sponsor: Fish and Wildlife, Washington Department of *
Project Name: Yakima Basin Inventory and Assessment—SSHIAP *
Cost: $125K *
Sponsor: Yakima Valley Conference of Governments *
Project Name: Rural Community Shoreline Program – Assist Smaller Cities in Updating Shoreline Management Programs *
Cost: $50K *
Funding Recommendations for Water Investments in the Yakima Basin *
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Sponsor: Tapteal Greenway Association, Richland Project Name: Habitat Restoration and Preservation at Tapteal Bend Benefit: Water Quality Improvement Summary: The project consists of two components. PART I involves the design and completion of riverbank stabilization and habitat restoration along approximately 500 feet of the Yakima River (left bank). This property is used as an "outdoor classroom" by the Greenway Association and is publicly accessible. PART II is the purchase and preservation of Fox Island from an already identified willing seller. Extensive aerial and ground photography of the area is available, detailing the extent of damages and threats. |
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Sponsor: Kennewick Irrigation District Project Name: Kennewick Irrigation District Pump Exchange Project Cost: $50M with possible state share of 5% Summary: Near-term support the BOR and KID in accomplishing a feasibility study and acquisition of right-of-way. The expected long-term cost is approximately $50 million with a possible state share of 5% ($2.5 million) to move the point of diversion for the Kennewick Irrigation District from Prosser Dam on the lower Yakima River to the Columbia River near Kennewick. A new pumping plant and distribution facility would be constructed. The existing hydraulic pump station and 11 miles of conveyance canal would be decommissioned or modified. The change in point of diversion would increase stream flows in the Lower Yakima River by several hundred cfs, eliminating fifty miles of the Lower Yakima River as a critical problem area for migratory fish. The changes would also improve the water quality of the Lower Yakima River. |
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Sponsor: Benton Conservation District Project Name: Water Quality Improvement (Lower Yakima basin) Benefit: Water Quality Improvement/Salmon Restoration Summary: On farm conversion of rill irrigation to pressurized and controlled irrigation and management systems to improve water quality, salmon habitat in the tributaries, and habitat in the main stem of the lower Yakima River by reducing the amount of soil, nutrient, and associated chemicals from farm runoff. 4,000 acres of rill irrigated land will be converted to pressurized systems preventing 200,000 tons of sediment from reaching the Yakima River. Benefits to fish and wildlife will get a permanent reduction in stream flow sedimentation from agricultural runoff and nutrient leaching and consequent improvements to salmonid habitat. |
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Sponsor: Yakama Nation Wildlife Management Program Benefit: Salmon Restoration Summary: Provide $60,000 over 2 years to use a combination of mechanical, chemical, and seeding methods to return selected sites to historic bunchgrass and sagebrush abundance. In the past, intense livestock grazing resulted in removal of native perennial bunchgrasses on the Yakama Reservation. In problem areas, bunchgrass canopy coverages range from 0-10%; historical coverage was closer to 35-60%. Removal of perennial bunchgrass provided sagebrush a competitive advantage. Current sagebrush canopy coverage exceeds 40% in many areas. Historical coverage was closer to 10-25%. Non-native species have replaced native bunchgrasses. Nonnative species’ root systems do not penetrate soil as deeply as native perennials resulting in increased sediment-laden runoff reaching salmon-bearing streams. If this initial project is successful, then it may be used in other restoration projects in the basin. |
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Sponsor: Roza Sunnyside Board of Joint Control Project Name: Habitat Recovery—Sulphur Creek Benefit: Salmon Restoration/Water Quality Improvement Summary: Restore fish habitat by developing side channels associated with drainage systems and engineered streams in Sulphur Creek Watershed. The goal is to create additional natural-type habitat through engineered systems to meet the biological demands of salmon. Side channels can be redeveloped to provide habitat without destroying the existing productive agricultural land and communities. |
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Sponsor: Grandview, City of; Port of Grandview, Yakima County, Sunnyside Valley Irrigation District Project Name: Grandview Comprehensive Drainage Plan Benefit: Water Quality Improvement Summary: Comprehensive Drainage Plan objectives are to develop a long-term plan for addressing drainage within Grandview and its Urban Growth Area, to identify best management practices and implementation strategies for improving the water quality of drainage and storm water discharged, and to review and amend if necessary, drainage and development requirements to include policies consistent with long-term drainage and water quality goals. There are major efforts currently underway to improve fish habitat, water quality and water quantity. Grandview’s Comprehensive Drainage Plan will identify practices consistent with these efforts. |
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Project Name: The City of Sunnyside Storm Drainage Project Benefit: Water Quality Improvement Summary: This project is designed to accomplish the master planning feasibility study related to mitigation measures necessary to overcome negative impacts from stormwater runoff in the Sunnyside area. This project will include a comprehensive evaluation of the existing stormwater facilities, as well as design recommendations for improvements to the storm water system related to water quality issues. |
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Project Name: Sunnyside Wastewater Plant Improvement Project Benefit: Water Quality Improvement Summary: Provide $650,000 over 2001 and 2002 to design and permit the upgrade required by the City’s NPDES permit for the Sunnyside Wastewater Treatment Plant related to the quality of plant effluent water as it discharges into a drainage stream flowing into the Yakima River. This project should also include incorporation of the design for Outlook’s hook up to the Sunnyside POTW. Provide $11.4 million capital funding over 2003-2004 under state and/or federal clean water funding. |
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Sponsor: Roza Sunnyside Board of Joint Control Project Name: Buffer Zones—Yakima River Benefit: Salmon Restoration and Water Quality Improvement Summary: Improve quality of water returning to the Yakima River. Project will focus on 2.5 to 3 miles in the drainage system where farming practices or cattle have encroached onto the facility causing degraded water quality. In addition to restoring channel integrity and fencing, the RSBOJC will plant trees for shade outside the operation and maintenance roads. |
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Sponsor: Yakama Nation Wildlife Management Program Project Name: Dike Removal (Remove and Rebuild) Cost: $60K per year for 3 years ($180K) Benefit: Water Quality Improvement Summary: This project would restore a portion of Toppenish Creek by reconnecting original natural waterways. The hydrology of Toppenish Creek has been significantly altered from dikes, levees, water diversions and drains. |
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Sponsor: Yakama Nation Wildlife Management Program Project Name: Habitat Acquisition—Yakama Reservation Benefit: Salmon Restoration Summary: This project would identify anadromous fish-bearing waterways and prioritize those addressing ESA issues on the Yakama Reservation. Many of these areas are also important for wildlife and cultural resources. Priority areas would be identified and secured for restoration using the extremely cost-effective trust approach developed by our staff. In seven years, nearly 16,000 acres of prime floodplain habitats have been incorporated into the Yakama Nation’s Wetlands and Riparian Restoration Project at an average of $350 per acre. |
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Sponsor: South Yakima Conservation District (SYCD) Project Name: Best Management Practice (BMP) Implementation—Mainstem Lower Yakima and Tributaries Benefit: Water Quality Improvement/Salmon Restoration Summary: Implement BMPs to reduce sedimentation and water quality impacts from irrigated farmland, fish habitat and water quality in the mainstem Lower Yakima River. The goal is to prevent sediment and its subsequent pollutants from entering the Lower Yakima River. 1500 acres of rill irrigated land will be converted to pressurized systems preventing 60,000 tons of sediment from reaching the Yakima River. This would include converting hop fields, vineyards and orchards from surface irrigation to a sprinkler or drip irrigation system. By implementing BMPs to reduce sedimentation and water quality impacts from irrigated farmland, fish habitat and water quality in the mainstem Lower Yakima River will be improved. This project would provide technical and cost-share assistance to encourage installation of long-term effective conservation practices. All funds under this project would be used for cost sharing. |
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Project Name: Prioritization Plan for Toppenish and Simcoe Creeks Cost: $100K for evaluation with a Phase 2 funding to implement solutions Benefit: Salmon Restoration Summary: The Lower Toppenish and Simcoe Creeks have historically been used for both the migration of anadromous fish to an extensive headwater system as well as supplying irrigation water to many small private irrigation ditches and several irrigation ditches maintained by the Wapato Irrigation Project (BIA). Flows in both of these tributaries streams have been diverted to the extent that dry reaches develop during most years form July through October. Barriers also exist to fish passage and irrigation diversions are generally unscreened on the lower reaches of these tributary streams. Many options exist to alleviate or reduce the existing instream flow problems on these tributaries including upstream storage, utilization of ground water, importation of Yakima river water, improvement of irrigation delivery and application systems, screening, and retirement of presently irrigated lands for riparian and instream flow enhancement. Phase 1 of this project will evaluate these options to determine their potential, feasibility and cost. Phase 2 will seek funding to implement an acceptable set of measures that will allow fish passage and modified irrigation from Toppenish and Simcoe Creeks. This project builds on an earlier project funded by BPA. |
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Sponsor: Roza Sunnyside Board of Joint Control Project Name: Sedimentation Basins Benefit: Water Quality Improvement/Salmon Restoration Summary: Improve water quality by reducing sedimentation, temperature, and other important factors by the incorporation of sedimentation basins in the major drains to capture sediment before it can discharge to the Lower Yakima River. |
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Project Name: Yakima Basin Culverts—Yakama Reservation Benefit: Salmon Restoration Summary: Currently, there are numerous passage problems created by culverts throughout the entire Yakima Basin. These culverts cut off access to both adult and juvenile fish including steelhead and bulltrout. Many of these culverts are readily correctable given permitting and materials. Correcting these passage problems opens up miles of functioning habitat, especially with respect to juvenile rearing. The Yakama Nation proposes to address a portion of these passage barriers on the Yakama Reservation where they can inventory and correct these passage problems in an expedient manner. This will need to be integrated with an assessment of current conditions and fish requirements in the tributaries above the culverts. |
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Sponsor: Roza Sunnyside Board of Joint Control Project Name: Enclosed Conduit System Phase 1/Lateral 23.08—Granger Drainage Basin Benefit: Water Quality Improvement Summary: Improve water quality in the Granger Drainage Basin and Yakima River by reducing agricultural return flows, and improve the irrigation delivery system which will promote Best Management Practices among farmers. This will encourage the conversion of irrigation systems from flood and rill methods to sprinkler methods. They will also allow irrigators the opportunity to avoid over-irrigation by providing more precisely the crop requirements. In the first phase, the RSBOJC will convert an existing lateral system to a closed lateral on-demand irrigation system. Lateral 23.08 is approximately 30,550 linear feet, serves 1228.60 acres and has 60 concrete delivery structures. |
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Benefit: Water Quality Improvement/Water Supply Reliability/Salmon Restoration Summary: The Wapato Irrigation Project (WIP) is the largest irrigation project in the Yakima Basin consisting of more than 130,000 acres. This project would provide matching funds for those growers who wish to improve irrigation systems, while also improving instream flows and water quality. Funding would be matched with other programs to install water metering devices at farm turnouts, establish a weather monitoring and data distribution system to allow irrigation scheduling and cost share on-farm irrigation improvements (BMP’s) that reduce irrigation deliveries. A portion of the saved water would be dedicated to instream flow improvements to tributary streams and the Yakima River. |
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Project Name: Critical Habitat Acquisitions Benefit: Salmon Restoration Summary: This effort would protect into perpetuity critical habitats that are within key reaches of the Yakima watershed. Protection would occur through fee simple acquisition, or purchase of conservation easements. The priority areas are in the middle of the watershed, and are characterized "by broad floodplains and an abundance of riparian vegetation. Where applicable, water rights would be purchased and converted to instream flow. Protected habitats would remain undeveloped as fish and wildlife habitat and open space. Flood water conveyance and storage would also be maintained. The purchased lands would be open to the public for the purposes of passive recreation." |
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Sponsor: Fish and Wildlife, Washington Department of Benefit: Salmon Restoration Summary: USBOR’s Reaches Study has identified the area just upstream from Union Gap as another key reach. One acquisition has already been completed in the area and several others may be available. This project will permanently protect rearing habitat in an important reach of the Yakima River. |
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Sponsor: Fish and Wildlife, Washington Department of Project Name: Spring Creek (Union Gap) Passage Restoration Benefit: Salmon Restoration Summary: Spring Creek was relocated by highway construction near Union Gap and it currently has passage barriers in the lower reaches. Restoration of the upstream passage for juveniles would increase access to off-channel rearing habitat. |
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Sponsor: Bureau of Reclamation, United States Project Name: Alternatives to Gravel Mining within Yakima River Floodplains Benefit: Salmon Restoration Summary: The USBOR is currently coordinating with the Yakima County, local gravel miners, and interested parties to develop alternatives to relocate mining operations off of the floodplains within the Union Gap reach of the Yakima River. Reclamation is working with these entities to acquire funding in order to hire a consultant to develop alternative sources of quantity and quality gravel away from the floodplains. The primary funding for this project will be from the Bureau of Reclamation. Some additional funding for relocation costs may be needed from BPA, the state, and others. The local governments, BOR and the Yakama Nation are currently developing an approach to address these opportunities. During the transition from floodplain gravel mining to upland gravel mining, there is a need to provide additional interim water quality protection above current requirements in order to provide increased protection for fish. Therefore, the Department of Ecology should be provided $200K to provide grants for projects which will reduce impacts from current mining activities. In addition, the state (DOE, DNR and/or DOT) should consider providing approximately $150K to the participating local governments for work on this relocation program if such requests are made by the affected jurisdictions. |
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Project Name: Floodplain Gravel Mining Relocation Benefit: Salmon Restoration Summary: The purpose of this project is to facilitate the movement of existing and proposed floodplain gravel mining operations to suitable upland sites. Floodplain gravel mining causes a number of problems for aquatic resources. Floodplains provide key habitat and food web functions for salmonids. Gravel mining degrades these functions by interfering with habitat forming and maintaining processes, exacerbating temperature problems, and damaging or removing existing surficial and subsurface habitats. Funding would provide for one staff to perform several necessary functions. He/she would facilitate land transactions, land swaps, acquisitions, etc. necessary to provide new upland sites for the industry to relocate. The staff person would facilitate the necessary changes in Comprehensive Plans and Growth Management Act designations for relocation. He/she would develop the necessary instruments to ensure that acquired floodplain habitat was placed in the appropriate status to ensure permanent protection of the resource. |
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Sponsor: Fish and Wildlife, Washington Department of Project Name: Wide Hollow Creek Passage and Floodplain Restoration Benefit: Salmon Restoration Summary: Relocate the lower mile of Wide Hollow Creek to its historic floodplain and restore instream and riparian habitat. Lower Wide Hollow Creek currently flows in an artificial channel through downtown Union Gap. Partial passage for juvenile fish has been restored, but a barrier still exists to the upstream rearing area. The project would reconnect Wide Hollow Creek with the Yakima River and provide increased spawning and rearing habitat. |
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Project Name: Water Quality Ponds Benefit: Water Quality Improvement/Salmon Restoration Summary: The City of Yakima adopted a Storm Drainage Plan in 1995 which recommended the purchase of private lands at the outfall of existing storm drainage pipelines to surface waters and the construction of water quality ponds. The water quality ponds would reduce sediment impacts and peak flows to local water sources improving water quality and providing habitat mitigation to endangered and/or threatened species. |
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Project Name: Yakima Regional Wastewater Treatment Facility Benefit: Water Quality Improvement Summary: This project has two interrelated elements that will benefit water quality in the Yakima River watershed—eliminating use of a wastewater spray field and enhancing the performance of the treatment plant. The first element of the project involves eliminating use of the spray field at the YRWWTP for wastewater treatment. Historically, food-processing water from Del Monte and other food-processing operations has been applied to the spray field for treatment. The spray field is adjacent to the Yakima River. Ecology has expressed concern about the potential impact of spray field use upon groundwater quality and possible influence on river quality. Eliminating use of the spray field for wastewater treatment will eliminate the potential source of groundwater degradation, and will involve re-routing the food processing waste stream into the treatment plant itself. The total cost for new investments in the plant is approximately $12.2M. The recommendation is to provide $3.5M for the City to make improvements to ensure there are no near-term adverse impacts on the groundwater. |
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Project Name: Critical Lands Protection Benefit: Water Quality Improvement Summary: Provides for long-term protection of water quality for local surface water, and long-term protection of lands (adjacent to surface water) for future stream restoration and habitat enhancement. Land owners would be paid fair market value for "all lands" within 25 feet of either side of existing streams, creeks and rivers within the Urban Growth Boundary of the City of Yakima. For the lands between 25-50 feet, land-owners would be compensated for "any development right" that may be attached to the land based on current land use regulations. Additional land purchase at the outfall of existing storm drainage to surface water would also be purchased. |
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Sponsor: Ahtanum Irrigation District/No. Yakima Irrigation District Project Name: Ahtanum Irrigation District Salmon Recovery Program Benefit: Salmon Restoration Summary: Provide $900K for fish barrier removal, pump and additional diversion screening to eliminate fish mortality from irrigation activities and provide habitat along 35 miles of stream corridor in the Ahtanum Irrigation District creeks and high water channels. |
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Sponsor: Ecology, Washington Department of Project Name: Ahtanum Watershed Study/Instream Flow Incremental Methodology (IFIM) Benefit: Salmon Restoration/Water Quality Improvement Summary: Conduct an instream flow analysis using IFIM for the Ahtanum Creek watershed. Portions of the watershed run dry each summer, negatively impacting aquatic and riparian habitat, including spring chinook and steelhead habitat. An IFIM would provide a basis for analyzing specific project proposals to address fisheries resources, water quality (including temperature), impacts to stream channels, impact to groundwater recharge, riparian habitat, flood and erosion control and irrigated agriculture. The information needed to determine the types of projects that would best restore and maintain these features in the watershed is currently not available. |
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Project Name: Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR) Pilot Test Benefit: Water Supply Reliability Summary: The ASR program is a water storage management tool that could provide benefits to the environment as a whole, and would also improve the reliability of the city’s public drinking water supply. The test would consist of a 30-day constant rate recharge, a 60-day storage period, and then a 30-day constant rate recovery period. All recharge water would be treated to Federal and State drinking water standards. Inn order for the test to achieve maximum reliability it is necessary that the test be conducted during the off-irrigation season (i.e., the winter months). |
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Project Name: Relocation Intake Fruitvale Power Canal Benefit: Salmon Restoration Summary: The Fruitvale Power Canal is screened to current standards, however the intake is structured such that it must travel a substantial distance through the river bottom area to reach the screen. Much of this channel traverse must be maintained annually. The proposed project would relocate the intake to the existing Nelson Dam, where diversion occurs immediately at the river’s edge. It would also be necessary in this context to enlarge the capacity of the existing transmission main for approximately one-mile. This project also includes relocating the City’s raney well to the Nelson diversion. It may also include relocation of the old Union diversion to the same area. Restoration would occur in the areas of the old diversions and the lower Cowiche Creek. |
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Sponsor: Yakama Nation/Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Project Name: Cowiche Watershed Passage Restoration and Screening Benefit: Salmon Restoration Summary: Will benefit steelhead, coho, bull trout, resident trout and possibly spring chinook by restoring migratory passage over three artificial, diversion structures that are currently impassable. Fish screens would also be constructed to prevent entrainment/stranding of fish in irrigation ditches. |
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Sponsor: Fish and Wildlife, Washington Department of Project Name: Buckskin Slough Restoration Benefit: Salmon Restoration Summary: Buckskin Slough is a small tributary to the Naches River in Yakima County, entering the Naches River near Mile 3. The stream length is two miles and is bordered by a golf course and residential development on small lots. Fisheries habitat function has been severely impacted by riparian clearing, construction of irrigation diversions that form migration barriers, residential encroachment, and removal of woody debris. Because channel substrate lacks sufficient spawning size material, spawning gravels were placed in Buckskin Slough, and currently 20 coho salmon redds were excavated in the channel. |
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Project Name: Selah Spray-Field/Yakima River Restoration Benefit: Water Quality Improvement/Salmon Restoration Summary: TreeTop generates wastewater as a byproduct of fruit processing. This water is used to irrigate a pasture with 7,800 feet of Yakima River shoreline which suffers from the management practices of the previous owner. This project will establish a vegetated riparian zone and reconnect the Yakima River to a portion of its floodplain. Project actions will have several immediate impacts including nutrient input, and providing storage for floodwaters, sediment and large woody debris. The project will benefit salmon and steelhead by improving water quality, providing natural inputs (leaf and insect litter), and adding habitat complexity (woody debris). |
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Project Name: Water Treatment Plant Intake Modification Benefit: Water Quality Improvement/Salmon Restoration Summary: Upgrades to the existing intake for the City of Yakima’s Naches River WTP are proposed to address thee following needs: 1) to achieve current fish screening criteria, 2) to improve operations and maintenance for the WTP staff, and 3) to improve raw water quality tot he WTP. |
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Sponsor: Fish and Wildlife, Washington Department of Project Name: Lower Naches Reach Benefit: Salmon Restoration Summary: USBOR, Yakama Nation, WDFW and other have long agreed on the importance of the reach from Yakima upstream to the mouth of the Tieton River. USBOR is considering acquisition of PacificCorp’s Wapatox hydroelectric project and increasing upstream flows by over 400 cfs. As this project occurs, protection of the adjoining habitat should be increased through easements and acquisitions. |
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Sponsor: US Bureau of Reclamation Project Name: Wapatox Power Plant Benefit: Salmon Restoration Summary: The United States would purchase the Wapatox Hydroelectric Power Facility, located on the Lower Naches River, from PacificCorp, Inc. and retire the project. This project is currently being negotiated. The primary funding will be from BOR and BPA. This action would result in an additional 350-400 cfs of flow to seven miles in a critical reach of the Naches River, where data indicate that 35 to 40 percent of the basin’s summer steelhead spawn. This reach of the river is unconfined in some areas, where good rearing habitat exists. However, much of the river channel is currently unavailable because of inadequate flow. Purchase would improve connectivity to this rearing habitat. Moreover, winter demands on upstream irrigation storage reservoirs would be reduced because target flows in the bypass reach would be easier to maintain. |
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37 |
Sponsor: Fish and Wildlife, Washington Department of Benefit: Salmon Restoration Summary: Acquire 160 acre parcel with ¼ mile of stream reach along a known anadromous fish stream with watershed largely in public ownership. This is an important inholding in the L.T. Murray Wildlife Area in need of acquisition. |
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38 |
Project Name: Ellensburg Treatment Plant Outfall Modifications Benefit: Water Quality Improvement Summary: This project modifies the effluent structure to improve the receiving water quality by better mixing of effluent. Review of the dilution potential of the diffusers discharging to the Yakima River suggests that more efficient mixing of effluent could be achieved by modifying the effluent structure. Opportunity to mix at the effluent diffusers will provide enhancement of the discharge stream. |
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Project Name: Ellensburg Storm Drainage Outfall Treatment Program Benefit: Water Quality Improvement Summary: This project will catalog and prioritize outfalls, determine opportunities for consolidation, and pay for the acquisition of property and construction of initial facilities. The effect of this project will be improved water quality of the receiving streams, all of which are tributaries to the Yakima River. |
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Project Name: Ellensburg Replacement Well Location Study Benefit: Water Supply Reliability Summary: Prepare a well location study to evaluate the aquifer condition, and potential impact on other groundwater rights. This study will be the basis for an application to Ecology for change of point of diversion to accommodate replacement well(s). |
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Project Name: Ellensburg Stream Inventory Benefit: Salmon Restoration Summary: The project provides for development of a stream inventory with focus on impediments to fish passage, and opportunities for habitat restoration. The expected work product from this effort will be a prioritized capital program that ensures the most efficient use of salmon recovery funding, and guards against a piecemeal approach to restoration efforts. |
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42 |
Sponsor: Bureau of Reclamation Project Name: Lower Manastash Creek Watershed Assessment—Instream Flow Protection Benefit: Water Quality Improvement Summary: This project will assess problems and possible projects and/or solutions related to anadromous fish conservation, restoration and enhancement on Manastash Creek, a tributary to the upper Yakima River. Manastash Creek historically supported spring chinook and steelhead. Anadromous fish runs have been thwarted by flow depletions and barriers, among other things, but steelhead and spring chinook still utilize the lower 1½ miles of the creek. This project will enable Reclamation to assess Manastash Creek and possible projects or measures that will enhance instream flows and protect and restore essential anadromous fish habitat in the Manastash Creek Basin. |
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Sponsor: Fish and Wildlife, Washington Department of Project Name: Wilson Creek Riparian Protection Project Benefit: Salmon Restoration Summary: Project overlies Wilson Creek, which has documented summer steelhead and high densities of trout. Juvenile spring chinook have been captured upstream of this site and are common in the lower reach where passage is not impaired. Area is privately owned and used for grazing sheep. This project would protect and restore the riparian, floodplain and wetland habitat on this section of Wilson Creek through acquisition of approximately 30 acres of private agricultural land. |
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Sponsor: Bureau of Reclamation, United States Project Name: Taneum Creek Steelhead Supplementation Benefit: Water Supply Reliability/Salmon Restoration Summary: The Yakima River Basin Water Enhancement Project authorizes the Bureau to conduct a study concerning the measures that can be implemented to enhance water supplies for fish, wildlife and irrigation proposed for Taneum Creek, a tributary to the Yakima River located near Ellensburg, Washington. These measures include steelhead supplementation, riparian and habitat improvements, water and land acquisition, water conservation and evaluation of existing fish screens. |
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Sponsor: Kittitas Reclamation District (KRD) Project Name: KRD Water Quality Improvements in the Kittitas Valley Benefit: Water Quality Improvements Summary: This project will enhance water quality of agricultural return flows and thereby the Yakima River by a program to identify and correct excessive agricultural runoff and associated erosion and sediment entering drainages and the river. The water quality improvements will be achieved through a four step program which will include an inventory of sediment sources using aerial photography and field verification, prioritization of problem areas, operation of a pilot technical assistance program, followed by full scale implementation. The Kittitas Reclamation District (KRD) service area contains more than 50,000 acres of irrigable farmlands. Due to the slope of the land and predominant irrigation practices (flood and rill), erosion has been a problem in some areas of the district. This project will promote improved water management, which may include conversion to sprinkler or drip irrigation, improved irrigation scheduling and modified cultivation techniques. The proposed improvements to the quality of return flows from irrigated lands will have many positive effects, including reduced loss of soil from fields, reduced drain channel maintenance costs through reduced sediment loads, water quality of water entering the Yakima River will be improved. |
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Project Name: Irrigation District Delivery System Enhancements Cost: To be determined in the future – estimated range of $10M-$20M Benefit: Water Supply Reliability/Water Quality Improvement/Salmon Restoration Summary: Utilizing information developed through the Kittitas water quality project, and through the analysis of the Kittitas tributary programs, a comprehensive irrigation district delivery system enhancements program will be developed. These projects would reduce delivery system water losses, while still providing land-holders with water equivalent to their water rights, where funded by BOR, or by applying the formulas in the YRBWEP. Conserved water could be used to enhance overall water supply and/or be made available for in-stream uses. These projects would assist in providing additional enclosed conduit piping, canal lining, metering and other delivery system enhancements to participating irrigation districts and companies in the Kittitas County. This could also enhance water quality by minimizing sediment entrainment in flowing (unpiped) water. These projects will include engineering, materials and installation. Some planning for system improvements has been done and each irrigation water provider has determined a preliminary priority for delivery system improvements. |
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Benefit: Salmon Restoration Summary: This project will assist in protecting listed species in the Kittitas Valley by providing an accurate survey of unscreened diversions and fish passage barriers. The objective will be to identify, characterize (size, configuration, existing structures, etc) and map these structures which could then be prioritized for proper screening and removal of barriers. In addition, it will aid in more accurately determining the scope of work such that a budget could be prepared to support a project to provide screens and remove barriers. Other entities have done some work toward surveying diversions and barriers in Kittitas County. This effort could dovetail with another project or carry on where a previous effort ended. The Kittitas County Conservation District is working with approximately 50 landowners interested in enhancing their diversions. This effort would expand on and complement their efforts. The Yakama Nation and Ecology may also have additional information. |
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Sponsor: Kittitas County Conservation District Project Name: Kittitas Valley Irrigation Diversion Screens Benefit: Salmon Restoration Summary: Project implementation will result in design and implementation of 50 fish screens on the highest priority irrigation diversions in the Kittitas Valley. By screening these diversions, salmon fry will be able to migrate to the ocean and provide breeding stock for the next generation of fish. |
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Sponsor: Kittitas Reclamation District (KRD) and Kittitas County Water Purveyors (KCWP) Project Name: Upper Yakima Tributary Diversion Screening/Barrier Removal Project Benefit: Salmon Restoration Summary: The first phase of this project will be to refine the cost estimates and install initial screens. The second phase would be to screen and address passage barriers on approximately 40-60 diversions. This project will assist in protecting listed species in the Kittitas Valley by screening unscreened diversions from tributaries and remove associated fish passage barriers. Unscreened or improperly screened diversions are a risk for salmonids for entrapment in irrigation delivery systems. Their associated fish passage barriers prevent access to potential habitat. Correcting these two issues has the potential to provide access to many more miles of safer habitat. In addition, properly screened diversions are listed under the Endangered Species Act, Section 4(d) as a limitation to take prohibitions and will afford landowners with certain protections. Proper screening is essential for both endangered species and for local citizens. |
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Sponsor: Kittitas County Water Purveyors (KCWP) / Kittitas Reclamation District (KRD) Cost: $80K annually for 5 years or $400K Benefit: Water Supply Reliability/Water Quality Improvement/Salmon Restoration Summary: This project will enhance water delivery reliability and efficiency, protect listed fish species, and potentially enhance water quality by providing rapid, in-house engineering services for fish passage, screening, and delivery system enhancements for irrigation water providers and other KCWP members. An environmental engineer can afford the KRD members and the KCWP and its membership with skills to increase delivery reliability and efficiency (O/M support and for lining, conduit work, etc), protect fish (screen design, installation and O/M), assist in barrier removal, evaluate hydraulic considerations, and provide pre-design for sedimentation ponds or other mechanisms for reducing total suspended solids in canals, tailwater or drainages. An in-house engineer would reduce overhead and response time compared to contracting out on a project-by-project basis or relying on federal engineering assistance. Nearly all other available engineering services are located outside Kittitas County. There is potential to share certain engineering services with city and county public works related to fish passage barriers. |
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Sponsor: Kittitas County Conservation District Project Name: Kittitas Valley Irrigation System Efficiency Improvements Benefit: Water Quality/Water Supply Reliability/Salmon Restoration Summary: Project implementation will result in design and implementation of improved irrigation systems. At least 240 acres of rill irrigated land will be converted to pressurized systems preventing 6,000 tons of sediment from reaching the Yakima River. By increasing irrigation efficiencies, the farmers will improve water quality, reduce sediment delivery to the Yakima River, provide cooler temperatures and possibly increase stream flows on some reaches of the river and tributaries. |
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Sponsor: Bureau of Reclamation Project Name: Lower Swauk Creek Watershed Protection Project Benefit: Salmon Restoration/ Water Quality Improvement Summary: This project will enable Reclamation to conduct a study, assess possible projects, and implement measures that will enhance instream flows and protect and restore essential anadromous fish habitat in the Swauk Creek Basin. Possible measures include, but are not limited to, water use efficiency improvements, leasing or purchasing land and/or water rights, providing fish screens for irrigation diversions, and providing measuring/monitoring devices for diversions, etc. Increasing instream flows by leasing or buying water rights and protecting them as instream flows will help improve water quality/quantity in Swauk Creek. Providing water conservation/water efficiency improvements will help firm up water supply reliability. Acquiring and restoring riparian lands, wetlands, and floodplains will help provide essential anadromous fish habitat for endangered or threatened fish. |
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Sponsor: Fish and Wildlife, Washington Department of Benefit: Salmon Restoration Summary: Crystal Springs wetlands are adjacent and attached to the Yakima River, approximately one mile downstream from Keechelus Dam. It is the uppermost high quality rearing habitat for salmonids on the anadromous fish bearing portion of the Yakima River. Easton wetlands are 96 acres of pristine wetlands and bottom-land cottonwood forest, with pockets of cedar and fir. Spring chinook, bull trout and coho salmon use the area for off-channel rearing. Both of these parcels represent some of the last undeveloped refuges for salmonid rearing in the upper Yakima River, and have been identified by both WDFW and the Yakama Nation as high priorities for acquisition. |
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Sponsor: Fish and Wildlife, Washington Department of Project Name: Big Creek Passage and Screening Benefit: Salmon Restoration Summary: A concrete dam in Big Creek at creek mile 2.1 essentially blocks upstream passage for all fish in this approximately 28 square mile watershed. The dam diverts irrigation water to two unscreened ditches—one on each side of the stream. This project would provide fish passage over the concrete dam with a series of weirs in combination with a short fishway. The unscreened diversions would be reconfigured and equipped with self-cleaning fish screens suitable for remote sites. |
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Sponsor: Kittitas County Water Purveyors (KCWP) / Kittitas Reclamation District (KRD) Project Name: Improved Water Quality Measures in the Kittitas Valley Cost: $275K over 5 years (Note: these projects
are included in Project #) Benefit: Water Quality Improvements Summary: This project will enhance water quality by providing for a collaborative effort between the Kittitas County Water Purveyors and the Kittitas Reclamation District to: 1) Characterize and prioritize nonpoint source contributions to water quality impairments in Kittitas County ($100K). Characterize and prioritize nonpoint source contributions to water quality impairments in Kittitas County ($100K). This project will monitor runoff water from land and return flows to creeks and canals in the Upper Yakima River Watershed. This project will increase the ability to characterize land uses, on-site water management techniques, topography and soil types that influence runoff water quality and quantity. This effort will prioritize public outreach and technical assistance efforts of KCWP and others like the Kittitas County Conservation District, Washington Grazing Lands Initiative. 2) Improve water quality monitoring capabilities ($175K over 5 years). Improve water quality monitoring capabilities ($175K over 5 years). This project will support improvements to water quality by the KRD and help target efforts for the most effective use of resources. This will assist in enhancing the KRD’s existing, but limited water quality monitoring program. |
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Sponsor: Ecology, Washington Department of Project Name: Teanaway River Riparian Habitat Improvement and TMDL Early Implementation Benefit: Water Quality Improvement/Salmon Restoration Summary: Implement actions for improving stream temperatures to meet water quality standards such as tree planting, bank stabilization and road improvements. |
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Sponsor: Tri-County Water Resource Agency Project Name: Yakima Watershed Planning and Level II Assessment Benefit: Water Supply Reliability/Water Quality Improvement Summary: Provide information to fill existing data gaps that will limit the ability of the watershed planning unit to develop a comprehensive phase 3 watershed plan. The data needs address a wide range of planning areas including surface and ground water, habitat and water quality. Data needs include: 1) Refine ground water rights estimates through review of individual water right files, with particular emphasis on improving estimates of primary vs. supplemental rights ($100,000); 2) water quality needs including improved definition of cause-effect relationships for critical water quality parameters, rigorous review of locally-collected water quality monitoring data and comparison with basin-wide monitoring results available from USGS, incorporating results of new USGS water quality monitoring in 2001, and technical evaluation of State Surface Water Quality Standards for critical parameters ($250,000); 3) include results of surface water rights under Aquavella as they become available ($10,000); and 4) incorporate upcoming results of habitat-related research into the planning activity ($50,000). |
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Sponsor: Washington Grazing Lands Conservation Initiative Project Name: Washington WEST (Watershed Ecology, Science and Technology) Benefit: Water Quality Improvement/Salmon Restoration Summary: Washington WEST is a landowner-led, peer education program which brings the classroom to the landowner. Washington WEST would positively impact a large Yakima Watershed Land base by educating private landowners to make sound watershed management decisions. At present, area landowners can request watershed information from extension or agency personnel, but no current program is dedicated to meeting their on-site needs within a given watershed. Washington WEST would benefit the Yakima Watershed’s endangered species and water quality by empowering workshop participants to monitor water quality, control noxious weeds and manage riparian vegetation. |
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Sponsor: Yakama Nation and Central Washington University Project Name: Salmon Habitat Metrics Project Benefit: Salmon Restoration Summary: Detailed measurements of salmon habitat are not available for WRIA 37, 38, and 39, specifically the Yakima River Basin. However, through the efforts of the Yakima Reaches Project (Central Washington University), the opportunity exists to greatly enhance the accuracy and knowledge of salmon habitat dynamics. This enhanced tool is essential for resource managers concerned with issues related to fish, water, and land use dynamics. The Salmon Habitat Metrics Project will utilize existing maps, air photography and other remotely sensed data, newly available LYDAR data, field observation and measurement to provide the best possible metrics for the key habitats required for implementation of the EDT model. |
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Project Name: Improvements to Irrigation Diversion Bypass Outfalls and Wastewater Returns Cost: $150K for Initial Pilot Test Benefit: Salmon Restoration Summary: This project would conduct a pilot test to do two things: it would develop and test structures that would re-introduce smolts to the river at irrigation diversion bypass systems over a wide area and in such a way as to avoid disorienting the bypassed fish; and 2) it would install screened barriers at the mouths of irrigation canal return flow effluents to prevent adults from being lured into the wasteways by the odor of water from their natal areas. An initial EDT analysis, as well as the professional opinion of most or all local fisheries biologists, suggests that one of the major factors limiting production of anadromous fish (including the ESA-listed Mid-Columbia ESU summer steelhead) in the Yakima Basin is mortalities occurring in the immediate vacinity of juvenile bypass outfalls at irrigation dams. The observation of congregations of gulls, herons, bass and pikeminnow at bypass outfalls in the Yakima and the Columbia mainstem supports the hypothesis that these bypass-related moralities are mainly attributable to predation. If the pilot test is successful, $350K should be provided to complete the project. |
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61 |
Project Name: Additional Flows for Fish —Yakima River Benefit: Salmon Restoration/Water Quality Improvement Summary: Opportunity remains to improve irrigation delivery, water supply and crop yield while simultaneously improving flows for ESA-listed fish. This project would provide matching funds for those growers who want to negotiate an arrangement to improve instream flows and water quality. |
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62 |
Sponsor: Fish and Wildlife, Washington Department of Project Name: Yakima Basin Inventory and Assessment—SSHIAP Benefit: Salmon Restoration Summary: Provide a detailed assessment of salmon habitat conditions within WRIAs 37, 38, and 39 by acquiring relevant physical data and integrating information from other relevant data partners. |
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63 |
Sponsor: Yakima Valley Conference of Governments Benefit: Water Quality Improvement/Salmon Restoration Summary: The Yakima Valley Conference of Governments proposes to prepare a model shoreline program designed for rural communities in conformance with state requirements and growth management policy. The proposed model program would be tailored to small town capacity and ability to administrate. The model would be finalized with ample time for small towns and cities to conduct a public review and adoption process by the deadline for adoption of new shoreline programs. |
Funding Recommendations for Water Investments in the Yakima Basin
|
Pro-ject No. |
Name |
Sponsor |
Funding Recommen-dation |
Timeline |
Funding Sources |
Comments |
|
27 |
Ahtanum Irrigation District Salmon Recovery Program |
Ahtanum Irrigation District (AID)/North Yakima Conservation District (NYCD) |
$900K |
2001-2002 |
Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) |
|
|
3 |
Water Quality Improvement (Lower Yakima Basin) |
Benton Conservation District |
$2.45 Million |
2001-2002 |
Federal and State Water Quality |
|
|
44 |
Taneum Creek Steelhead Supplementation |
Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) |
$100K |
2000-2002 |
BOR |
|
|
42 |
Lower Manastash Creek Project |
BOR |
$150K |
2001-2002 |
BOR |
|
|
52 |
Lower Swauk Creek Watershed Protection |
BOR |
$1.3 Million |
2001-2004 |
BOR |
|
|
36 |
Wapatox Power Plant Purchase |
BOR |
Under Negotiation |
2000-2001 |
BOR and BPA |
|
|
21 |
Alternatives to Gravel Mining within Yakima River Floodplains |
BOR |
To be negotiated |
2000-2002 |
BOR, BPA, State
|
|
|
6 |
Grandview Comprehensive Drainage Program |
City and Port of Grandview, Yakima County Sunnyside Valley Irrigation District (SVID) |
$150K |
2001-2002 |
State and Federal Water Quality |
|
|
40 |
Ellensburg Replacement Well Study |
City of Ellensburg |
$45K |
2001 |
Ecology |
|
|
39 |
Ellensburg Storm Drain Outfall Treatment |
City of Ellensburg |
$1 Million |
2001-2002 |
State and Federal Water Quality |
|
|
38 |
Ellensburg Treatment Plant Outfall Modifications |
City of Ellensburg |
$150K |
2001-2003 |
State and Federal Water Quality |
|
|
41 |
Ellensburg Stream Inventory for Fisheries Actions |
City of Ellensburg |
$55K |
2001 |
BPA |
|
|
7 |
Sunnyside Drainage Improvement Project |
City of Sunnyside |
$100K |
2001-2002 |
State – Water Quality |
|
|
8 |
Sunnyside Wastewater Plant Improvement Project |
City of Sunnyside |
$650K $11.4 Million |
2001-2002 2003-2004 |
State and Federal Water Quality |
|
|
29 |
Aquifer Storage and Recovery |
City of Yakima |
$125K |
2001 |
State (Ecology) and BOR |
|
|
26 |
Critical Lands Protection – City of Yakima |
City of Yakima |
$2.2 Million |
2001-2002 |
State and BPA |
|
|
30 |
Fruitvale Power Canal Intake Relocation and Habitat Restoration |
City of Yakima |
$6 Million |
2001-2003 |
State and BPA |
|
|
24 |
Water Quality Improvement – Water Quality Ponds |
City of Yakima |
$3.2 Million |
2001-2003 |
State and Federal Water Quality |
|
|
34 |
Water Treatment Plant Intake Modification |
City of Yakima |
$550K |
2002 |
State |
|
|
25 |
Yakima Regional Wastewater Treatment Facility – Water Quality Protection |
City of Yakima |
$3.5 Million |
Commence implemen-tation 2001 |
State and Federal |
Funding to protect groundwater and recognize current water quality improvement actions |
|
56 |
Teanaway Riparian & TMDL Project |
Ecology |
$200K |
2001-2003 |
BPA |
|
|
28 |
Ahtanum Watershed Study -- IFIM Study |
Ecology/AID with fish agencies |
$400K |
2001-2002 |
Ecology and Salmon Recovery Funding Board (SRFB) |
|
|
48 |
Kittitas Valley Irrigation Diversion Screens |
Kittitas County Conservation District (KCCD) |
$3 Million |
2001-2004 |
BPA |
50 fish screens |
|
51 |
Kittitas Valley Irrigation System Efficiency Improvements |
KCCD |
$300K |
2001-2003 |
State and Federal Water Quality |
|
|
49 |
Upper Yakima Diversion Screening/Fish Passage Improvements |
Kittitas County Water Purveyors (KCWP), Kittitas Reclamation District (KRD) |
$4 Million |
2001-2005 |
BPA |
|
|
50 |
Technical Support for Screening & Delivery System |
KCWP, KRD |
$400K |
2001-2005 |
State and Federal Appropriations |
$80K per year -- 5 years |
|
47 |
Survey of Unscreened Diversions and Fish Passage Barriers in Upper Yakima |
KCWP, KRD, KCCD |
$30K |
2001-2002 |
BPA |
|
|
2 |
Kennewick Irrigation District Pump Exchange |
Kennewick Irrigation District /BOR |
$50 Million estimated capital |
2001-2003 2004-2006 |
BOR – Immediate State (5% capital cost) – Long-term BOR and BPA |
|
|
45 & 55 |
Improved Water Quality Measures in the Kittitas Valley |
KCWP, KRD |
$375K |
2001-2006 |
State and Federal Water Quality |
|
|
46 |
Irrigation District Delivery System Enhancements |
KRD and KCWP |
Estimated range $10-$20 Million |
2002-2005 |
BOR, BPA, State and Federal |
|
|
14 |
Sedimentation Basins |
Roza Sunnyside Joint Board |
$400K |
2001-2003 |
State and Federal Water Quality |
|
|
5 |
Sulphur Creek Habitat |
Roza Sunnyside Joint Board |
$50K |
2001-2003 |
BPA and SRFB |
|
|
16 |
Enclosed Conduit and Grainger Drain |
Roza Sunnyside Joint Board |
$1.3 Million |
2001-2003 |
State and Federal Water Quality |
|
|
9 |
Buffer Zones – Yakima River |
Roza Sunnyside Joint Board |
$375K |
2001-2003 |
BPA |
|
|
12 |
Mainstem Lower Yakima – BMPS – Water Quality Project |
South Yakima Conservation District |
$400K |
2001-2004 |
State and Federal Water Quality |
|
|
1 |
Habitat Restoration and Protection |
Tapteal Greenway Association |
$200K |
2001-2002 |
BPA and State |
|
|
33 |
Selah Spray-Field – Yakima River Restoration |
TreeTop, Inc. |
$105K |
2001-2002 |
SRFB -- $92K |
|
|
57 |
Yakima Watershed Planning – Level II Assessment |
Tri-County Water Resources Agency |
$410K |
2001-2002 |
State (Ecology) |
|
|
53 |
Cle Elum Reach – Purchase of Habitat |
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) |
$4 Million |
2001 |
BPA |
|
|
19 |
Union Gap Reach – Purchase of Habitat |
WDFW |
$45K |
2001 |
BPA and SRFB |
|
|
35 |
Lower Naches Reach – Habitat Project |
WDFW |
$1 Million |
2001-2002 |
BPA and SRFB |
|
|
32 |
Buckskin Slough – Habitat Restoration |
WDFW |
$77K |
2001-2002 |
SRFB and BPA |
|
|
20 |
Spring Creek Passage and Habitat Restoration |
WDFW |
$25K |
2001 |
SRFB |
|
|
54 |
Big Creek – Passage and Screening |
WDFW |
$70K |
2001-2003 |
SRFB or BPA |
|
|
23 |
Wide Hollow Creek – Passage and Floodplain Restoration |
WDFW |
$1 Million |
2001-2004 |
BPA and SRFB |
|
|
43 |
Wilson Creek/Matoon Lake – Protection and Acquisition |
WDFW |
$150K |
2001 |
BPA |
|
|
62 |
Yakima Basin Inventory and Assessment – SSHIAP |
WDFW |
$125K |
2001-2002 |
BPA |
|
|
37 |
Umtanum Creek |
WDFW |
$160K |
2001 |
BPA |
|
|
58 |
Washington WEST (Watershed Ecology, Science and Technology) |
Washington Grazing Lands Conservation Initiative |
$5K |
2001 |
State (Ecology) |
|
|
61 |
Water Acquisition to Enhance Critical Flows – Yakima River |
Yakama Nation |
$800K |
2001-2005 |
BPA |
|
|
17 |
Wapato Irrigation Project – Measurement and BMP |
Yakama Nation |
$2 Million |
2001-2005 |
USDA – EQUIP and BIA |
|
|
15 |
Culvert Replacement – Yakama Reservation |
Yakama Nation |
$2.5 Million |
2001-2005 |
BPA and BIA |
|
|
10 |
Toppenish Creek Dike Removal |
Yakama Nation |
$180K |
2001-2003 |
BPA |
|
|
11 |
Fish Habitat Acquisition -- Yakama Reservation |
Yakama Nation |
$1 Million |
2001-2004 |
BPA |
|
|
4 |
Satus Creek Revegetation – Native Bunch Grass |
Yakama Nation |
$60K |
2001-2002 |
BPA |
|
|
22 |
Floodplain Gravel Mining Relocation |
Yakama Nation |
$75k |
2001-2002 |
BPA |
|
|
59 |
Salmon Habitat Metrics Project |
Yakama Nation and Central Washington University |
$200K |
2001-2003 |
BPA |
|
|
18 |
Critical Habitat Acquisition / Mid-Yakima River |
Yakama Nation Fisheries |
$500K |
2001-2003 |
BPA |
|
|
13 |
Prioritization Plan for Toppenish and Simcoe Creeks |
Yakama Nation Fisheries |
$100K |
2001-2002 |
BPA and SRFB |
|
|
60 |
Irrigation Diversion Bypass -- Outfalls and Wastewater returns |
Yakama Nation Fisheries |
$150K |
2001-2003 |
BPA |
Program design and pilots |
|
31 |
Cowiche Watershed Passage, Restoration and Screening |
Yakama Nation/WDFW |
$150K |
2001-2002 |
BPA and SRFB |
|
|
63 |
Rural Community Shoreline Program |
Yakima Valley Conference of Governments |
$50K |
2001 |
State |