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Water Infrastructure Needs in the Columbia River Basin · Columbia River Basin Legislative Council...
Transcript of Water Infrastructure Needs in the Columbia River Basin · Columbia River Basin Legislative Council...
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Water Infrastructure Needs in the
Columbia River Basin Legislative Council on River Governance
August 21, 2012
Bryan Horsburgh, Deputy Manager, Resource and Technical Services
Pacific Northwest Region
Outline
• Introduction to the Bureau of Reclamation
• Climate Change Projections
• Water Conservations Strategies
• Infrastructure Case Studies
– Yakima River Integrated Water Resource
Management Plan
– Henry’s Fork Basin Study
http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/wr/cwp/YBIP.html
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Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation)
• Assist in meeting the
increasing water
demands of the
West while
protecting the
environment and the
public's investment
Bureau of Reclamation
• Provides one out of
five Western farmers
with irrigation water
for an estimated 10
million acres of
farmland
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Bureau of Reclamation
• Second largest producer
of hydroelectric power in
the western United States
– 58 power plants annually
provide more than 40
billion kilowatt hours
– Generate nearly a billion
dollars in power revenues
and produce enough
electricity to serve 3.5
million homes.
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Climate Change
In 2009 the SECURE Water Act was enacted
Coordination LCCs, Reclamation Inter- and intra-agency Coordination, Secure
Climate Change Workshop
Climate Change
Science WaterSMART Grants to Develop Climate Analysis Tools, CSCs,
WWCRAs, R&D Climate Science Research , Collaboration with
CSCs, NOAA, RISAs NCAR and other research agencies
Assessing Risks /
Impacts Develop
Adaptation Options
Basin Studies, WWCRAs, Feasibility Studies (NEPA
Integration); Report to Congress
Adaptation /
Mitigation
Secure Feasibility Studies, Dam Safety Program Integration,
Reservoir Operations and Planning, WaterSMART Grants, Title
XVI, WCFSP
Monitoring / Other Monitoring with NRCS, USGS, NOAA, LCCs, state water
agencies, HPPG for Climate Change, HPPG for Water
Conservation
Climate Change
• River Management Joint Operating Committee
climate change study completed in 2011
– Joint study by Reclamation, Bonneville Power
Administration, and the Corps of Engineers
– Climate and Hydrology conditions for future years
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Climate Change Projections
• Increased winter runoff, less spring/summer
runoff…..resulting in:
– Increased storage needs in the spring, greater
drawdown in summer months
– Increased reliance on stored water vs. natural flow
O N D J F M A M J J A S0
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10
15
20
25
30
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Monthly Mean Volume @
COLUMBIA RIVER AT THE DALLES (HD 2020s)
Volu
me,
MA
F
2000L
LW/W
MW/W
MC
C
LW/D
MW/D
O N D J F M A M J J A S0
5
10
15
20
25
30
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Monthly Mean Volume @
COLUMBIA RIVER AT THE DALLES (HD 2040s)
Volu
me,
MA
F
2000L
LW/W
MW/W
MC
C
LW/D
MW/D
Increased
volumes earlier
in the year than
historical
Peak timing
shifted by one
month in some
projections
All observations
from 2020 are more
pronounced in the
2040s
Less volume in the
summer months –
increased reliance
on storage
Baseline
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Climate Change – Impacts on Power
70 Yr Avg Federal Generation
-
1,000
2,000
3,000
4,000
5,000
6,000
7,000
8,000
9,000
10,000
11,000
12,000
Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr I Apr II May Jun Jul Aug I Aug II Sep
Gen
(aM
W)
Study 21: Base Study 26 C: 2020s Study 32 C: 2040s
Study 24 LW/W: 2020s Study 34: MW/W: 2040s
Climate Change – Next Steps
• Continue to use refined data to better
understand impacts of climate change
• Continue to coordinate and share climate
change information with other Federal agencies
and regional stakeholders
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Meeting Infrastructure Needs
through Water Conservation
• WaterSMART (Sustain and Manage America’s Resources for
Tomorrow)
– Water & Energy
Efficiency Grants
• Water Conservation
Field Services Program
WaterSMART - Water & Energy
Efficiency Grants
50/50 Cost-sharing for water
conservation infrastructure
projects
In the Northwest
• FY11 $8.34 million for 19 grants
• FY12 $4.19 million for 11 grants
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Water Conservation Field Services
Program
FY11 $1.32M for 29 grants to
Reclamation districts, estimated to
conserve 26,000 a-f annually
Yakima Basin Integrated Water
Resource Management Plan (YBIP)
• June 2009 – Yakima River Basin Water
Enhancement Project (YRBWEP) Working
Group was formed:
– Reclamation
– WA Dept of Ecology
– Yakama Nation
– Irrigation Districts
– Environmental Organizations
– Federal, State, County, and City governments
http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/wr/cwp/YBIP.html
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YRBWEP Working Group
• Formed to help develop a consensus-based
solution to the Yakima basin’s water resource
needs
• Developed the Yakima River Basin Integrated
Water Resource Management Plan (Plan)
Climate Change – Yakima River Basin
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Yakima Basin Integrated Water
Resource Management Plan (YBIP)
• The Plan includes the following elements:
– Fish Passage
– Structural and Operational Changes
– Surface Water Storage
– Habitat and Watershed Protection
– Groundwater Storage
– Enhanced Water Conservation
– Market-Based Reallocation
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Fish Passage
• Restore access to habitat
above all basin reservoirs
• Provide upstream and
downstream passage to
salmon, bull trout, and
other fish
• Benefits of restoring fish passage:
– Increases anadromous species abundance
throughout the system
– Allows reintroduction of sockeye runs
– Provides greater genetic interchange for bull trout
and other native fish
– Helps fish cope with climate change impacts by
providing access to high quality habitat at higher
elevations
Fish Passage
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• Modify existing structures and operations to
improve flows, fish bypass, and smolt
outmigration:
– Keechelus to Kachess Pipeline
– Pipe selected irrigation laterals within
Kittitas Reclamation District
– Construct a re-regulation reservoir to
capture operational spills at Manastash
Creek
Structural & Operational Changes
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• Reduce diversions for power generation at
Roza and Chandler Dams to provide instream
flows for fish outmigration
• Wapatox Canal – pipe or replace lining;
consolidate diversions
• Raise maximum water level of Cle Elum Lake
by 3 feet to add 14,600 acre-feet and improve
instream flows
Structural & Operational Changes
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• Wymer Dam and Pump Station
– Construct a new dam and 162,500 a-f reservoir
– Provide fish flows, drought relief benefits
• Lake Kachess Inactive Storage - Pump
additional 200,000 acre-feet from inactive
storage for drought years
Surface Storage
• Bumping Lake Enlargement
– Construct new dam downstream from existing dam
for an additional 164,500 a-f storage.
– Provide carryover storage for irrigation, instream
flows, flood control
Surface Storage
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• Mainstem Enhancements: – Flow restoration through irrigation system improvements
– Fish barrier removal; restore fish passage in tributaries
– Screening of diversions
– Reconnect side channels and off-channel habitat to stream
channels
– Mainstem floodplain improvements – channel and habitat
restoration
– Toppenish Creek Corridor Restoration Project
Habitat / Watershed Protection &
Enhancement
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• Target key off-channel areas for land
acquisition actions for habitat enhancement
• Consider potential Wilderness and Wild and
Scenic River designations
Habitat / Watershed Protection &
Enhancement
• Use surface water to recharge aquifers and
store water for later use
– Aquifer Storage and Recovery - New aquifer
storage and recovery facility for City of Yakima
– Shallow Aquifer Recharge
• Diverts water into designed ground infiltration systems
(ponds, canals) during periods of excess runoff
• Proposed pilot-testing in Kittitas Reclamation District and
Wapato Irrigation Project (1-2 acres)
Groundwater Storage
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• Agricultural Conservation - up to 170,000 acre-
feet
– Line or pipe existing canals or laterals
– Construct re-regulation reservoirs
– Install higher efficiency sprinklers
– Reduce seepage, evaporation, and spills
Enhanced Water Conservation
• Municipal and Domestic Conservation
– Assess opportunities to improve efficiency for
residential, commercial, industrial, and urban
recreational uses
– Promote efficient landscape irrigation practices
– Expand education, incentives, and other measures
to encourage voluntary efficiency
– Establish best practice standards for accessing
new water supplies
Enhanced Water Conservation
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• Ecology and Reclamation issued a
Programmatic Environmental Impact (PEIS)
for the Plan March 2, 2012
• The PEIS serves as a framework for the plan.
Individual projects will each receive a more
specific environmental review
Status
Questions so far?
Study Manager – Wendy Christensen
Columbia/Cascades Area Office
Yakima, WA
509-575-5848
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• Reclamation and the Idaho Water Resources
Board signed an MOA in March 2011
• Study Framework
– Water Supply
– Water Management
– Environmental Quality
Henrys Fork (Snake River) Basin
Study
• Identifies and defines options for meeting
future water demands
• Considers the impacts of climate change
Basin Study – Definition
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• Four key components:
– Projections of future supply and demand
– Analysis of how the basin’s existing water and
power operations and infrastructure will perform in
the face of changing water realities (e.g. climate
change)
– Options to improve operations and infrastructure to
supply adequate water in the future
– Recommendations on how to optimize operations
and infrastructure
Basin Study – Components
• Evaluate water resources in the Henry’s Fork
basin to develop alternatives for improving
water supply conditions in the Eastern Snake
River Plain aquifer and Upper Snake basin
• Selected alternatives moved forward for a
reconnaissance level evaluation and more
comprehensive scoping and analysis
Henrys Fork Basin Study
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Henrys Fork Watershed Council
40+ Brainstorm Ideas
17 Reconnaissance Alternatives
Appraisal Alternative(s)
Recommendation(s)
Current Status
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• Existing and New Surface Storage
Opportunities
• Managed Groundwater Recharge
• Agricultural Conservation
• Municipal & Industrial Conservation
• Market Based Alternatives
Reconnaissance Alternatives
New Surface Storage Opportunities
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• Dam location sited in accordance with past
studies
• Storage volume ranges reflect water supply
source limitations
Storage Volumes
Locations of Dam Raise Alternatives
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• Two Recharge Alternatives
– Egin Lakes
– Teton Island
Managed Groundwater Recharge
• Canal Automation
• Demand Reduction
• Lining and Piping of
Canals
• Recharge Using
Existing Canals
• Conversion from Flood
to Sprinkler
Agricultural Conservation
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• Interim Report Due – October 2012 – Process & Stakeholder Involvement
– Water Needs
– Analysis of Reconnaissance Alternatives (Technical Memos)
– Selection of Reconnaissance Alternatives
– Formulation and Selection of Appraisal Alternatives
Henry’s Fork Basin Study – Next
Steps
Additional Questions?
Study Manager – Bob Schattin
Pacific Northwest Region
Boise, ID
208-378-5090