RSSBlack Rock alternatives get closer look
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The state Department of Ecology announced Monday that it will begin a fast-track review of alternatives to the proposed Black Rock reservoir, another indication the huge project is in political trouble and could further polarize basin interests.
Black Rock, a proposed 1.6 million acre-foot reservoir that would draw Columbia River water, has been promoted by several local agricultural and political leaders as the optimum solution to supply Lower Valley irrigation needs and help restore migratory fish.
Lingering questions about whether the reservoir would solve future water and fishery needs have prompted state officials to consider a broader look at alternatives, said Derek Sandison, Ecology's regional director in Yakima.
The study is seen as a way to get all the basin interests back to the table.
Sandison said the state will immediately begin reviewing smaller water storage alternatives, fish passage, improved habitat and upgraded irrigation facilities. Many of the alternatives, including possible expansion of Bumping Lake, northwest of Yakima near Chinook Pass, have been discussed for decades.
Assuring a firmer water supply for irrigators and for future municipal and industrial needs has taken on a greater urgency with the specter of climate change reducing mountain snowpacks and causing more frequent droughts. Snow is the largest source of water for irrigation in the three-county basin, an essential ingredient for the area's largest industry.
The state's environmental review is expected to be completed next spring, about the time the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation issues a final decision on its five-year study of new water storage.
Sandison said the federal law that authorized the storage study restricted the bureau to looking solely at storage. He said Ecology will remain a partner in the storage study, but wants to consider other solutions.
"We have said all along the state will work to find the best solutions out there. We are still working toward that end. When we reach the end of this process, we want the most information for decision makers to make decisions," Sandison said.
It is unclear exactly how the state's separate study will tie in with the federal storage study and what route Ecology officials will follow to seek funding.
The new study, one that will rely heavily on work already completed within the basin, received the immediate endorsement of two major basin players on water issues.
A representative of the Yakama Nation, which along with the Roza Irrigation District has criticized the storage study as too narrow in focus, said Monday the state's new study has a better chance to lead to improvements for all basin interests.
Ric Valicoff , a fruit grower and chairman of the board for the 72,000-acre Roza district, echoed that stance.
"We have worked hard over the last few months to put something together," Valicoff said. "It is not trying to shoot down any efforts by others. Any storage we can get is important. We need to make it affordable and cover all the bases and everyone's concerns."
The largest supporter of the Black Rock concept was more reserved in reacting to Ecology's plan.
Sid Morrison of Zillah, chair of the Yakima Basin Storage Alliance, said the issues raised in public comments on the storage study deserve to be answered.
But Morrison, a former five-term congressman, said the alliance and its 40,000 supporters continue to see Black Rock as the best solution.
"We still believe and we think the more you look at it, the more you realize the water exchange is the only way to go to solve the major problems," he said.
Michael Garrity of Seattle, associate director for the conservation group American Rivers, said the organization favors review that considers more than just adding water storage.
"It is heartening to see the state take this approach. We are hopeful it will get the public the information to make a smart choice in response to the Black Rock-focused study the Bureau of Reclamation did," Garrity said.
Sandison said Ecology will look at work underway by a variety of local, state and federal agencies on salmon and habitat restoration and incorporate that information in its environmental review.
That work includes the locally produced salmon recovery, watershed and flood hazard management plans. In addition, projects funded by the Bonneville Power Administration that seek to recover salmon and steelhead also will be included.
Expanding Bumping Lake near Chinook Pass, the basin's smallest storage reservoir, was eliminated by the Bureau of Reclamation as an option earlier in its study as not meeting the goals as outlined by Congress.
The proposed Wymer reservoir, 15 miles north of Yakima, would be formed by building a dam on Lmuma Creek and filled by pumping water from the Yakima River. The reservoir is in the federal-state study. But Sandison said Ecology wants to consider whether the reservoir could be filled by gravity flow rather than the more costly pumping option.
Another storage alternative is Pine Hollow in the Ahtanum Creek drainage west of Yakima. The state has been studying Pine Hollow for several years.
Another major facet of the state study is providing fish passage at all five basin dams -- lakes Keechelus, Cle Elum, Kachess, Bumping, and Rimrock. A separate three-year study that looks at the chances of having fish passage at Lake Cle Elum, the basin's largest storage lake at 436,000 acre-feet, will conclude this year. The Bureau of Reclamation will issue a final report in September that will look at the costs of having permanent facilities to release fish from the lake. None of the five lakes currently has fish passage.
"It is a complex basin, and a lot of factors go into the water supply problem," Sandison said. "Ecology wants to make sure that when decisions are made, we have as much information as we can on a whole suite of projects."
* David Lester can be reached at 577-7674 or dlester@yakimaherald.com.
EDITOR'S NOTE: An earlier online version of this story said the state's decision to begin preparing a supplement to the Yakima River Basin Storage Feasibility Study was, in part, a response to concerns over Black Rock's estimated $6.7 billion cost. The cost was not a factor in the state's decision.
Open house, comments
n Two open houses are scheduled for July 21 at the Yakima Convention Center, 10 N. Eighth St., for the public to provide comments to Ecology officials on the study elements. They will be conducted from 2-4 p.m. and from 6-8 p.m.
n The deadline for comments for the state study is July 30. Comments can be mailed to Derek Sandison, Ecology regional director, at 15 W. Yakima Ave., Suite 200, Yakima WA 98902-3452.
Comments can also be e-mailed to dsan461@ecy.wa.gov. Please write "Yakima River scoping comments" in the subject line.
State officials hope to have Ecology's draft report out for public review by Thanksgiving.
Water study specifics
A state Ecology Department study of water-supply improvements will cover three areas:
1. Fish passage at the five basin storage dams.
2. Storage and changes in current Yakima Irrigation Project operations:
n Enlargement of Bumping Lake.
n Filling the proposed Wymer reservoir in the Yakima River Canyon without pumping.
n Construction of the Pine Hollow reservoir, west of Yakima.
n Supplying water to the Kennewick Irrigation District from the Columbia River.
n A pumping plant and canal modifications for the Kittitas Reclamation District.
3. Improved habitat in the Yakima and Naches rivers and on the Teanaway River, Taneum, Manastash, Swauk and Wilson/Cherry creeks in Kittitas County and Ahtanum, Wapato and Toppenish creeks in Yakima County.
