2010 Oregon Water Coalition event ‘a good show!’
Since the formation of the Oregon Water Coalition in 1992, an annual meeting has been held in January each year to elect officers and board members.
Luke Maynard was elected 2010 Oregon Water Coalition president. Maynard is a forest manager at the Boardman Tree Farm, a hybrid Poplar tree plantation owned and operated by GreenWood Resources, Inc.
Nate Rivera, community relations manager for Umatilla Electric Cooperative, was elected vice president.
Tammie Williams, owner of Desert Spring Bottled Water Company of Echo, was elected Secretary/Treasurer for another term.
Members elected to the 2010 OWC board of directors included Ken Johnson of Umatilla Electric Cooperative; Mike Wick, manager of Westland Irrigation District; Bill Porfily, a water rights consultant in Stanfield; Ray Kopacz, manager of Stanfield Irrigation District; and Greg Juul, a partner of G-2 Farming of Hermiston.
In addition to election of officers, this year’s event featured a water conference attended by about 70 people. Speakers included water law attorneys David Filippi of the firm Stoel Rives and Steve Shropshire of the firm Jordan Schrader Ramis, both of Portland.
Filippi and Shropshire presented a two hour seminar discussing the current State Budget crisis and what it means to the Oregon Water Resources Department and its customers, plus 2009 legislation regarding water rights bills, and status of Federal legislative and rule making efforts.
Also speaking at the Water Conference was Phil Ward, Director of the Oregon Water Resources Department.
Two special awards were presented to former leaders of OWC. Honored were Bob Hoeffel, the original consultant and executive director and Matt Doherty, past president.
Funds sought for Walla Walla-Columbia water exchange
Now in the 11th hour of an eight-year, $8 million study, the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, along with the states of Oregon and Washington, local officials and the farm community, have started working with congressional leaders and the Obama Administration to secure funding for a $300 million project that would guarantee a source of water to irrigate crops while leaving flows in the Walla Walla River for migrating salmon and steelhead.
The project, modeled after the successful Umatilla Basin Project, calls for delivery of Columbia River water to the Walla Walla basin in exchange for irrigators leaving an equal amount of water in the river that would support fish before returning to the Columbia River.
The same concept in the Umatilla River has protected the agricultural economy in the Hermiston area while providing sufficient flows for the return of thousands of spring chinook salmon that had been extinct from the river for more than 70 years.
The Walla Walla River basin is within the homeland of the confederated tribes. Mill Creek, located in the basin, is where the CTUIR’s Treaty of 1855 was signed, which ceded to the United States 6.4 million acres of the tribes’ lands, but also reserved tribal treaty rights, which include the tribes’ right to fish at all usual and accustomed areas.
For nearly a century, the Walla Walla River near Milton-Freewater in northeastern Oregon, and at lower stretches in Washington, ran dry, prohibiting the restoration of salmon in what is considered pristine headwaters.
Gary James, the manager of the CTUIR Fisheries Program, said that with the additional flows from the Columbia River the Walla Walla basin could produce even more spring chinook than the Umatilla River.
Every year since 2000 when the tribes reintroduced 300 adult spring chinook to the upper Walla Walla River, returns have increased in record numbers. In 2009, nearly 800 spring chinook (600 adults and 167 jacks) returned. This represents the highest count since adults began returning in 2004.
“We annually release a few hundred adults and last year about a quarter million smolts from the Carson Hatchery and each year we break our own record for returns,” James said. “It’s kind of exciting. When we complete the localized Walla Walla spring chinook hatchery above Milton-Freewater with a half million smolts released annually we’ll expect even better returns.
“Although some salmon reintroduction success has been realized from various local cooperative efforts, the larger flow project will be essential to annually meet total fishery and agricultural needs in the Walla Walla basin,” James said.
The study, which was supposed to have been completed in 2007, looked at two basic options — the Columbia River exchange and a new dam and reservoir at Pine Creek north of Weston. Additionally, the study identified a number of other complementary alternatives, including irrigation efficiencies, the purchase of water rights from willing sellers and an aquifer recharge. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will make the final decision, but the region’s players are confident they will agree that the Columbia River exchange is the best alternative.
The CTUIR, as the main project sponsor, selected the Columbia River exchange as the preferred alternative with the support of Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski, Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire, Walla Walla Basin irrigators and the region’s elected officials.
Also on board are U.S. Reps. Greg Walden, R-Oregon, and Cathy McMorris-Rodgers, R-Washington, who represent constituents in the basin, which includes land in both states.
Walden and McMorris-Rogers have been asked to carry the basin’s request for some $300 million to the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee to authorize construction of the project in the Water Resources Development Act.
The Water Resources Development Act requires that the sponsoring agent, which up to this point has been the Confederated Tribes, pony up 35 percent — or more than $100 million — for construction costs.
However, the CTUIR, while seeking sponsoring partnerships with the states, will argue that the federal government, because it has not lived up to the obligations outlined in the Treaty of 1855, should cover at least a major portion of that percentage.
“It is important for everyone to remember that when the tribes managed the basin we managed for the next seven generations,” said N. Kathryn Brigham, secretary of the Confederated Tribes and a member of the CTUIR Fish & Wildlife Committee.
“This did not occur when non-Indians took over the management and that is why the river went dry for 100 years and salmon runs were destroyed or reduced so much they were put on the federal ESA list,” Brigham said. “That is why CTUIR has taken the position that the federal agencies need to step up and help us protect the in-stream flows in the Walla Walla basin.”
It is ironic that, said Rick George, manager of the tribes’ Environmental Planning and Rights Protection Program, the treaty negotiated in 1855 required the United States to protect streamflows to protect the tribes’ right to fish.
“As the trustee, the United States did not make good on that legal obligation,” he said. Instead, the federal government did not intervene as Oregon and Washington issued water rights to non-Indian irrigators, nor in the early 1900s when each state “decreed” those water rights to farmers.
Over the ensuing decades, rights were issued for more water than was actually available in the rivers, which drained the river dry each summer and destroyed spring chinook salmon runs. On top of that the federal government subsidized channeling and diking on the mainstem Walla Walla River which added injury to hurt for a river already desiccated by overappropriation.
Brigham said the tribes have a legal right to fish in the Walla Walla River where they once harvested salmon.
“We have put a lot of work into the Walla Walla Basin to bring fish back to make this happen again,” she said. “We and others know you cannot have fish without water, therefore in-stream flows are very important and need to be protected.”
Proponents of the project say this is an opportunity for the United States to remedy a century-old violation of the treaty to help both fish and farms.
Ron Brown of E. Brown & Sons, and orchardist in the Milton-Freewater area and president of the Walla Walla Watershed Alliance, said the federal government needs to fund the project.
“I’m confident because we’ve built such a reputation for working together,” he said. “It’s a model for the rest of the United States to see how we’ve worked together.”
The use of all the water in the river became an issue of political concern once bull trout were listed in 1998 and steelhead in 1999 as threatened species in the Walla Walla River under the Endangered Species Act.
In 2000, three irrigation districts pledged to keep a minimum water flow in the river and signed an agreement to this effect with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. In 2001, with 18 cubic feet per second of water left in the river, the Walla Walla did not run dry. This was the first time since irrigation began that the river did not run dry and biologists did not have to rescue fish stranded in potholes.
Brown said members of the Walla Walla Irrigation District are proud of the relationship they’ve forged with the Confederated Tribes over the last 10 years. Those efforts have seen a return of bull trout, steelhead and spring chinook salmon while keeping the agricultural economy viable.
“Saying that, it’s really important that we move ahead with a bigger project that allows us to supplement the 30 percent we’ve put back in the river,” Brown said. “As far as ag people, we feel it’s a real necessity to make it better than what it is. We could probably do it now, but there will be drought years and it’s important to get that additional water from the Columbia to supplement low flow years.”
NOAA fisheries vessel to study sea life, ocean conditions
NOAA has taken delivery of Bell M. Shimada, the agency’s newest high-tech fisheries survey vessel.
Bell M. Shimada’s primary mission will be to study, monitor and collect data on a wide range of sea life and ocean conditions, primarily in U.S. waters from Washington state to southern California.
The ship will also observe environmental conditions, conduct habitat assessments and survey marine mammal, sea turtle and marine bird populations.
The vessel is the fourth of a new class of ships designed to meet the NOAA Fisheries Service’s specific data collection requirements and the International Council for Exploration of the Seas’ new standards for a low acoustic signature.
“Bell M. Shimada represents a significant achievement in the agency’s efforts to modernize its fleet of fisheries, oceanographic and hydrographic survey ships,” said Rear Adm. Jonathan Bailey, director of the NOAA Office of Marine and Aviation Operations and the NOAA Corps. “This highly capable ship will play a key role in supporting NOAA’s mission.”
Launched in September 2008, the 208-ft. Bell M. Shimada was built for NOAA by VT Halter Marine Inc., in Moss Point, Miss., as part of the NOAA’s fleet replacement strategy to provide world-class platforms for scientists.
Bell M. Shimada’s state-of-the-art design allows for quieter operation and movement of the vessel through the water, giving scientists the ability to study fish and marine mammals without significantly altering their behavior.
The ship’s comprehensive environmental sampling capabilities will also enable researchers to gather a broad suite of marine life data with unprecedented accuracy.
“As one of the quietest research vessels in the world, Bell M. Shimada produces so little background noise that we can count fish and assess the health and behavior of marine species with highly sensitive acoustic devices,” said Jim Balsiger, acting assistant administrator for NOAA’s Fisheries Service.
“The vessel will support ecosystem research that is essential to sustaining and rebuilding fisheries.”
Bell M. Shimada was named by a team of students from Marina High School in Monterey, Calif., who won a regional NOAA contest to name the vessel.
The ship’s namesake served with the Bureau of Fisheries and Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission, and was known for his contributions to the study of tropical Pacific tuna stocks, which were important to the development of West Coast commercial fisheries following World War II. Bell M. Shimada’s son, Allen, is a fisheries scientist with NOAA’s Fisheries Service.
The NOAA fleet of ships and aircraft is operated, managed and maintained by the NOAA Office of Marine and Aviation Operations, which includes commissioned officers of the NOAA Corps and civilian wage mariners.
Researchers observe increased White Sturgeon predation
Ever-increasing levels of predation by Steller sea lions, and to some degree California sea lions, on white sturgeon appears to be a trend that is continuing upward in the waters below the lower Columbia River’s Bonneville Dam.
Through January, sea lions have been observed taking more than 300 white sturgeon below the dam, said Robert Stansell of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which operates the dam.
Stansell heads up research at the dam aimed at evaluating the impact that preying pinnipeds (sea lions and seals) have on salmon and steelhead that are headed upstream past Bonneville to spawn. The migrating fish include numerous stocks that are protected under the Endangered Species Act. Researchers began observations from the top of the dam Jan. 8 five days per week and are seeing a few steelhead and a lot of sturgeon being snatched by the pinnipeds.
“We’re ahead of the curve,” Stansell said of an observed sturgeon death toll that is already nearly halfway to last year’s record total, 758. Last year’s total was tallied during observations from Jan. 13 into early May. California sea lions were seen taking 37 of the sturgeon with Steller sea lions taking the rest, mostly by the end of March.
The sturgeon taken last year were estimated to be from 2 to 7 feet long but most, 79.4 percent were fish 4 feet long or shorter, according to the study’s final 2009 report.
“We’ve got February and March to go,” Stansell said. Much of the feeding frenzy shifts to spring chinook salmon when the numbers of spawning fish begin to swell in later March and April. The Steller and California sea lions typically have left the area below Bonneville by the end of May.
The Steller sea lions have in recent years begun to congregate below the dam, which is at the head of the lower river’s primary sturgeon spawning grounds. Bonneville Dam is located about 146 river miles upstream from the mouth of the river and the Pacific Ocean.
The Corps research began in 2002 to, primarily, chart the eating behaviors of California sea lions. In the first year of the study, no Steller sea lions were seen at the dam. But the number has grown over time with 17 Stellers in 2008 setting a record that was broken last year with the appearance of 26 Steller sea lions at the dam.
Already 16 Stellers have settled in below the dam this year. Observers have also seen five different California sea lions visiting the dam so far this year, but no more than two on any given day. The number of California sea lions visiting the dam grows as spring chinook run builds each year.
The high count since 2002 was 104 individual California sea lions in 2003, but the tally settled in the 70-80 range from 2005-2008 before falling to 54 last year. The 2009 season marked the first prolonged effort to trap and remove California sea lions from below the dam. Four were trapped and relocated to aquariums and 10 were trapped and euthanized.
The removals by the states of Oregon and Washington have been federally approved as a means of controlling impacts on listed salmon and steelhead stocks. In 2008 11 sea lions were effectively removed from the area. The authority was granted under Section 120 of the Marine Mammal Protection Act, which allows the removal of individually identifiable pinnipeds that are having a significant impact on listed salmon.
The white sturgeon are not ESA listed, but are also not in the greatest shape. Surveys indicate white sturgeon are declining in number, prompting state fishery managers in Washington and Oregon to consider reducing this year’s harvest by 20 percent to 50 percent. The Oregon and Washington fish and wildlife commissions both take up the topic at week’s end.
“We’re a little concerned” about the impact that sea lions may be having on the overall status of the lower Columbia white sturgeon population, Rick Hargrave of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife said.
The state agencies last month started hazing the sea lions from boats in hope of reducing the predation activities.
Lethal removal of Steller sea lions is not an option, since they are protected under both the ESA and the MMPA. The eastern population of Steller sea lions, of which the Columbia River pinnipeds are a part, are listed as threatened under the ESA.
But a recovery plan completed in 2008 for both the eastern and endangered western populations says that perhaps ESA protections may no longer be necessary for the eastern group, which has been growing at a rate of about 3 percent in recent years.
“The primary action in the plan is to initiate a status review for the eastern DPS and consider removing it from the federal List of Endangered Wildlife and Plants,” according to the recovery plan completed by NOAA Fisheries Service’s Alaska Region.
“We expect to initiate a review under Section 4 of the Endangered Species Act of the status of the eastern distinct population segment of Steller sea lions in the very near future,” Lisa Rotterman, Steller sea lion coordinator for the Alaska Region, said this week. Such a review is called a “5-year review.”
“We will begin this process with the publication of a Federal Register notice notifying the public of the initiation of the 5-year review and requesting relevant, new information on the listed species, and threats to that species,” she said.
The states meanwhile took an early opportunity to test their trapping skills. In May of last year a California sea lion was seen hitching a ride on a tug boat through Bonneville Dam’s navigation lock and has spent the summer, fall and early winter above the dam.
“C697 was subsequently observed on many days after that either in the near dam forebay near the Bradford Island fishway exit, the Bridge of the Gods, Stevenson, and even up at The Dalles Dam spillway area. As of the date of this report, the last reported sighting upstream of Bonneville was on October 19,” according to the 2009 final report.
State officials did manage to trap the marine mammal recently and transport him down to the river mouth.
Greg Walden to serve as house GOP leadership chairman
House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) has announced the appointment of Rep. Greg Walden (R-OR) to join the House Republican leadership team as Chairman of the Republican Leadership, a leadership position previously held by former GOP Reps. Bob Walker (R-PA), Bill Paxon (R-NY), and Rob Portman (R-OH). Rep. Walden will immediately assume the post.
Boehner made the announcement at his weekly press briefing February 4.
“Greg Walden is a proven leader and a champion for smaller, more accountable government. We need him at the leadership table as we enter this critical year for our country, and I deeply appreciate his willingness to serve as our leadership chairman,” Boehner said.
As Republican Leadership Chairman, Walden will participate in regular GOP leadership strategy meetings and direct key projects such as the House GOP Congressional Transparency Initiative, a reform project aimed at making the House more open and accountable to the American people. Walden will also continue to serve as a deputy whip and deputy chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC).
“I am humbled by Leader Boehner’s trust to serve in this leadership capacity,” Rep. Walden said. “Having been a small business owner through both good times and bad, I look forward to using that experience at the leadership table to help continue to push the Republican case for common sense policies that create more jobs, not bigger government and more reckless spending.”
“The American people expect Republicans to develop sound policy alternatives, and I am eager to help contribute to the good work already being done in that area.”
Rep. Walden and his wife owned and operated radio stations in the Columbia River Gorge region in Oregon for more than 21 years. Now in his sixth term in Congress, Walden will go on temporary leave from his seat on the House Energy & Commerce Committee, but will retain his full seniority on the panel.
Rep. Bob Walker (R-PA) served as Republican leadership chairman during the 104th Congress under Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA). After Rep. Walker’s retirement at the end of 1996, Rep. Bill Paxon (R-NY) was tapped by Speaker Gingrich to serve in the post. In 2001, Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-GA) appointed Rep. Rob Portman (R-OH) to serve as leadership chairman. Rep. Portman served in the post until 2005, when he was appointed U.S. Trade Representative under President George W. Bush.
January warm spell makes for low Cascade snowpack
Oregon has experienced an unusually long warm spell this January, contributing to low snowpack—especially in the lower elevations of the Cascade Mountains—that could create problems for farmers and others dependent on summer stream flows.
Low “snow water equivalent” levels in January aren’t necessarily a cause for alarm, scientists point out, but this winter’s El Niño conditions may make it difficult to recover.
“From past experience, we know the chance of rebounding from early snowpack deficits during an El Niño year are pretty small,” said Philip Mote, director of the Oregon Climate Change Research Institute based at Oregon State University and an OSU atmospheric scientist.
“In 2005, we had about 50 percent less precipitation than normal and the snowpack was 80 percent less than average in some areas because much of that precipitation fell as rain,” said Mote, who also directs the Oregon Climate Services office at OSU. “Luckily, it turned cold and wet that year in late March and a series of storms came through, essentially rescuing the farmers in most counties. But this year, we are experiencing the strongest El Niño since 1998.”
Typically, when snowpack is low in February, the snowpack doesn’t recover completely, agrees Jon Lea, state hydrologist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service. But there may still be hope, he added.
“There have been a few times where we had very timely spring and summer rains, which really helped the state’s water supply in the absence of a good snowpack,” Lea said. “This year, the snowpack is well-below average in the Willamette and in the northern Oregon Cascades. Elsewhere in the state, it has been slowly—very slowly—improving, though it’s still below average.”
Lea was expected to do his next snow survey Thursday, Jan. 28. More information on Oregon’s water situation is at or.nrcs.usda.gov.
This January has been one of the warmest on record in Oregon and, in fact, some parts of the state could notch their warmest January ever. Through Jan. 26, Medford’s average temperature in January was 45.8 degrees, which is nearly eight degrees above normal and higher than the 45.13 record average for the month, set in 1995.
Eugene (45.9 degrees) and Salem (46.4) are within a degree of their warmest January, both set in 1953—and roughly seven degrees higher than normal. Portland is 5.4 degrees warmer than normal, though its average January temperature of 44.9 is well below its 1953 record of 47.31 degrees.
The impact of the warm temperatures, along with a cold, dry January, has created snowpack levels that are about 50 to 70 percent of normal, according to the Natural Resources Conservation Service. The easternmost part of Oregon is in the best shape, closer to 80 percent.
“What is of particular concern is that the high January temperatures have taken a whack out of the lower-elevation snowpacks,” Mote said, “and that low-elevation storage is critical to water supplies later in the year. If you ask skiers about the snow, they’ll say it hasn’t been that bad this winter. But there hasn’t been much snow at the 2,000- to 3,000-foot levels and that could create problems.”
Kathie Dello, a research assistant with the Oregon Climate Change Research Institute, said that the state’s near-record temperatures this month aren’t because of extraordinarily warm weather.
“It’s not that it’s been warm, shirt-sleeve weather,” Dello said, “it’s just that it hasn’t been very cold.”
Mote and Dello point out that Oregon typically sees 5-9 days periods of warm and cool weather patterns in the winter, but those cooler periods just haven’t materialized since a 10-day cold snap in December.
“If you look at the next few weeks, the predictions are for generally warmer weather,” he said.
The current El Niño is classified as “strong,” by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Sea surface temperatures in the El Niño region of the tropical Pacific Ocean were more than 1.8 degrees celsius above normal, the highest since early 1998, Mote said. OSU oceanographer Kipp Shearman said local sea surface temperatures this January at the Stonewall Bank buoy 20 miles offshore have ranged from 10.3 to 11.2 degrees celsisus—slightly above the long-term average for January of 10.2 degrees, though far short of the powerful El Niño of the late 1990s.
Research looks at Cascade snowpack trends since 1930
A new study has been published showing snowpack trends in the Cascade Mountains from 1930 to 2007.
“A New Look At Snowpack Trends In the Cascade Mountains” examined the changes in Cascade Mountain spring snowpack since 1930. Authors are Mark T. Stoelinga, Mark D. Albright, and Clifford F. Mass of the Department of Atmospheric Sciences, University of Washington.
According to the abstract: “Three new time series facilitate this analysis: a water-balance estimate of Cascade snowpack from 1930-2007 that extends the observational record 20 years earlier than standard snowpack measurements; a radiosonde-based time series of lower-tropospheric temperature during onshore flow, to which Cascade snowpack is well correlated; and a new index of the north Pacific sea-level pressure pattern that encapsulates modes of variability to which Cascade spring snowpack is particularly sensitive.”
“Cascade spring snowpack declined 23 percent during 1930-2007,” according to the abstract. “This loss is nearly statistically significant at the 5 percent level. The snowpack increased 19 percent during the recent period of most rapid global warming (1976–2007), though this change is not statistically significant due to large annual variability. “From 1950-1997, a large and statistically significant decline of 48 percent occurred. However, 80 percent of this decline is connected to changes in the circulation patterns over the north Pacific Ocean that vary naturally on annual to interdecadal time scales.
The residual time series of Cascade snowpack after Pacific variability is removed displays a relatively steady loss rate of 2.0 percent per decade, yielding a loss of 16 percent from 1930-2007. This loss is very nearly statistically significant, and includes the possible impacts of anthropogenic global warming.
“The dates of maximum snowpack and 90 percent melt-out have shifted 5 days earlier since 1930. Both shifts are statistically insignificant. A new estimate of the sensitivity of Cascade spring snowpack to temperature of—11 percent per degree Celsius, when combined with climate model projections of 850 hPa temperatures offshore of the Pacific Northwest, yields a projected 8 percent loss of Cascade spring snowpack due to anthropogenic global warming between 1985 and 2025.”
New technique to manage Columbia hydropower, climate
Civil engineers at the University of Washington and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Seattle office have taken a first look at how dams in the Columbia River basin, the nation’s largest hydropower system, could be managed for a different climate.
They developed a new technique to determine when to empty reservoirs in the winter for flood control and when to refill them in the spring to provide storage for the coming year.
Computer simulations showed that switching to the new management system under a warmer future climate would lessen summer losses in hydropower due to climate change by about a quarter. It would also bolster flows for fish by filling reservoirs more reliably. At the same time the approach reduced the risk of flooding.
The findings are published in the Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management at ascelibrary.aip.org.
“Anticipated future temperature changes in the mountainous U.S. Pacific Northwest will cause reduced spring snowpack, earlier melt, earlier spring peak flow and lower summer flow in transient rain-snow and snowmelt dominant river basins,” says the paper’s abstract. “In the context of managed flood control, these systematic changes are likely to disrupt the balance between flood control and reservoir refill in existing reservoir systems. To adapt to these hydrologic changes, refill timing and evacuation requirements for flood control need to be modified. This work poses a significant systems engineering problem, especially for large, multi-objective water systems.
“An existing optimization/simulation procedure is refined for rebalancing flood control and refill objectives for the Columbia River Basin for anticipated global warming. To calibrate the optimization model for the 20th century flow, the objective function is tuned to reproduce the current reliability of reservoir refill, while providing comparable levels of flood control to those produced by current flood control practices.
“After the optimization model is calibrated using the 20th century flow the same objective function is used to develop flood control curves for a global warming scenario which assumes an approximately 2 degrees C increase in air temperature. Robust decreases in system storage deficits are simulated for the climate change scenario when optimized flood rule curves replace the current flood control curves, without increasing monthly flood risks,” says the abstract.
“There are anticipated dramatic changes in the snowpack which ultimately will affect when the water comes into the Columbia’s reservoirs,” said co-author Alan Hamlet, a UW research assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering who works in the UW’s Climate Impacts Group. “We were trying to develop new tools and procedures for changing flood control operating rules in response to these changes in hydrology, and to test how well they work in practice.”
“Changes in flood control operations constitute only one climate-change adaptation strategy,” Hamlet said, “but our study shows that incorporating climate change in flood management plans can improve the performance of existing water systems in future climates.”
Predicted hydrologic changes for the Pacific Northwest, and other mountain regions, include less springtime snowpack, earlier snow melt, earlier peaks in river flow and lower summer flows. Water managers currently use a system based on historical streamflow records to gauge when to open and close the floodgates as part of a legally binding system that seeks to balance hydropower generation, flood risks, irrigation and other needs between regions.
The authors created a computer program that uses long-term forecasts rather than historical records to recalculate when to begin filling and emptying the major storage reservoirs in the Columbia River basin in a warmer climate. They compared historical conditions with the scenario where temperatures are 2 degrees C higher on average than today, a change expected in the Pacific Northwest by the second half of this century.
The simulations suggested water managers could successfully deal with warmer conditions by refilling the system’s reservoirs as much as one month earlier in the spring.
“For some locations, due to the reduced snowpack and spring peak flow we don’t need to worry as much about the floods during the springtime,” said lead author Se-Yeun Lee, who did the work for her doctorate at the UW and is now a UW postdoctoral researcher. “With reduced flood risk we can release less water and refill earlier. As a result we can supply more hydropower in summer and more storage for other needs like fish flows.”
The project aims to help regional water managers develop methods to deal with changes in the hydrological cycle.
“In talking to water resource managers, they often feel stymied because currently there are no established analytical procedures that can be used to rebalance their system for a different climate,” Hamlet said. “They see the problem, but the tools to deal with the problem are not in place.”
It likely will be years before these management practices are formally changed, the authors said, but this study is a first step in that direction.
“We need to develop the tools to be able to handle a changing climate now, so we’re not rushing when it becomes a problem,” said co-author Stephen Burges, a UW professor of civil and environmental engineering.
Carolyn Fitzgerald, a UW graduate who is now works for the Corps in Seattle, also is a co-author. Research funding was provided by the Climate Impacts Group. Study partners were Washington Department of Ecology, Bonneville Power Administration, Northwest Power and Conservation Council, Oregon Department of Water Resources and the British Columbia Ministry of Environment.
DOE: Draft EIS on Hanford cleanup proposals
Significant long-term environmental impacts possible at Hanford from proposed actions
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) prepared a draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) that evaluates major proposed actions related to three aspects of the Hanford cleanup:
Treatment (immobilization) of 53 million gallons of high-level radioactive waste stored in 177 aging underground tanks, as well as closure of the oldest 149 tanks once the waste has been treated.
Continued disposal of solid waste generated during on-going cleanup activities at Hanford, along with possibly disposing of waste at Hanford from other DOE sites around the nation.
Decommissioning of Hanford’s Fast Flux Test Facility (FFTF), a nuclear reactor that operated during the 1980s.
The EIS is required by law to assess the potential environmental impacts of the proposed actions and of reasonable alternatives.
Hanford background
The Hanford nuclear site, located in southeast Washington state along the Columbia River, was used to produce plutonium for America’s nuclear weapons program. Plutonium production occurred from 1944 through 1988. The processes used to create plutonium generated huge amounts of radioactive and chemically hazardous wastes. Since 1989, cleanup of these wastes has been underway at Hanford. Cleanup is not expected to be complete until at least the year 2050. Hanford is the world’s largest and most complex environmental cleanup project.
Tank waste treatment and closure
The EIS defined and evaluated eleven different alternatives related to Hanford’s tank waste. These include various proposals for continued waste storage; retrieval of waste from the tanks; treatment; permanent disposal of the treated waste; and final closure of the tank farms (tank farms are groups of tanks). Retrieval options analyzed include no retrieval, and retrieval of 90, 99, and 99.9 percent of the waste from the tanks.
Treatment options range from no treatment to treating all of the tank waste using a variety of different technologies. Disposal options for treated waste include on and off-site disposal. Tank farm closure options range from no closure (do nothing), to completely closing the tank farm system under a landfill option (tanks would be filled with grout and remain in the ground) or clean-closure option (tanks and surrounding contamination would be removed), or a combination of landfill and clean-closure.
Rather than select a specific preferred alternative for retrieval or treatment of the tank waste, DOE identified a range of preferred alternatives. These include: retrieval of at least 99 percent of the waste from each of the tanks and separation of the tank waste before treatment so the most radioactive portion of the waste to allow treatment and management of the separated waste streams. DOE prefers landfill closure of all the tanks.
Waste management
Three alternatives were evaluated to assess impacts from onsite storage and disposal of solid waste from Hanford and other DOE sites, and closure of the disposal facilities. Options include continuing use of existing disposal facilities, expanding existing facilities, or building new facilities.
DOE’s preferred alternative is to dispose of onsite-generated waste in a single, existing landfill. A new disposal facility would be constructed for waste that is not highly contaminated that will come from the tank farms. As part of the resolution of litigation, DOE has committed not to accept offsite waste for disposal prior to 2022. The preferred alternative reflects that commitment, but is silent beyond 2022.
FFTF decommissioning
The EIS evaluated three separate alternatives related to the decommissioning of the FFTF. Options range from leaving the reactor and associated facilities in place (it has been deactivated and is not operating), or to remove some or all of the structures.
DOE’s preferred alternative is entombment, which would remove all above-grade structures, including the reactor building. Below-grade structures, along with the reactor vessel and piping, would remain in place and be filled with grout to immobilize the remaining radioactive and chemical constituents.
What the analysis shows
Because of past actions at Hanford, primarily involving the disposal of billions of gallons of liquid waste to the soil, the EIS shows persistent contamination in Hanford’s groundwater for thousands of years – before even accounting for additional waste disposal and cleanup activities considered in this EIS. Much of this contaminated groundwater would likely reach the Columbia River.
Not surprisingly, options that include more extensive cleanup are projected to result in reduced contamination of groundwater and (eventually) the Columbia River. Options that include less extensive cleanup would add to the groundwater contamination. For example, past leaks from an estimated 67 of Hanford’s tanks are major contributors to potential additional long-term groundwater impacts.
The EIS analysis shows that retrieval of 99.9 percent of tank waste and clean closure of the tanks, including removal of soil with leaked wastes, would reduce that impact. Conversely, under DOE’s preferred alternatives, none of that leaked material would be retrieved and eventually, some of it would move into the groundwater and the river.
DOE’s preferred alternative for landfill closure of cribs and trenches adjacent to the tank farms would result in additional amounts of contamination reaching the groundwater and the river.
Receipt of off-site waste, especially if it contains (as would be expected) mobile long-lived radioactive materials, such as technetium 99 or iodine 129, is projected to have significant adverse long-term impacts on the groundwater.
The analysis shows little environmental impact associated with the decommissioning of the FFTF under any of the alternatives.
Comment period
DOE has provided a 140 day comment period on the draft EIS. The comment period closes March 19, 2010. For more information, contact:
Ken Niles, Assistant Director
Nuclear Safety Division, Oregon Department of Energy
ken.niles@state.or.us
503-378-4906
Study to decontaminate boats with Quagga-Zebra Mussels
The U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Pacific and Mountain-Prairie regions, collaborating with other partners, have provided funding to enhance regional efforts to detect and prevent the spread of invasive mussels.
These projects are aimed at implementing the new Quagga-Zebra Mussel Action Plan for Western U.S. Waters (QZAP) recently approved by the national Aquatic Nuisance Species Task Force.
In collaboration with the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission, the USFWS is supporting a University of Nevada Las Vegas study that aims to improve the ability of national parks, states and other jurisdictions to decontaminate boats infested with settled or larval mussels.
Although many voluntary and mandatory watercraft inspection and cleaning programs have surfaced in the West since the 2007 appearance of quagga mussels, most based on application of heated pressurized water, evidence of incomplete decontamination continues to haunt program managers.
The UNLV project, led by David Wong, will systematically evaluate the efficacy of high-temperature spray water under a variety of real-world conditions to determine how 100 percent mortality can best be achieved.
“This research will be especially helpful for state and local agencies in their efforts to properly decontaminate watercraft using hot pressure wash,” said Stephen Phillips, PSMFC’s aquatic invasive species senior program manager. “With pressure wash being widely utilized in the Western U.S., it is critical we are using the best science tested treatment methods available.”
Early detection and rapid response are critical back-up strategies for preventing the spread of mussels, and the USFWS is also funding a project designed to improve how laboratories detect microscopic mussel larvae within water samples. Three primary larval detection methods are currently used in the West: visual identification using a microscope, visual detection using a computer-aided camera system, and chemical detection of the genetic fingerprint unique to quagga and zebra mussels.
The Bureau of Reclamation, led by Dr. Kevin Kelly working in collaboration with Marc Frischer from the Skidaway Institute of Oceanography and Sandra Nierzwicki-Bauer from the Darrin Freshwater Institute, will coordinate a study that evaluates and compares these methods.
The study team will prepare samples “spiked” with known quantities of mussel larvae and then distribute those samples “blindly” to over 20 participating laboratories. The resulting measurement of accuracy will help refine methods to minimize errors and help guide investment in expanding analysis capacity in the West.
“Detecting invasive mussels is a needle-in-the-haystack challenge, made particularly difficult when you are looking for a microscopic organism in large bodies of water,” Kelly said. “This study will give us critical information to help refine sample analysis techniques for the upcoming water sampling season.”
These two new projects fall within an existing cooperative program to reduce the threat of non-native mussels and other aquatic invasive species under the national 100th Meridian Initiative. In fiscal year 2010, Congress added $2 million dollars to the USFWS’ budget to enhance quagga and zebra mussel efforts.
“We are incredibly excited about the additional support to combat this economic and environmental problem. Quagga and zebra mussel prevention and control are imperative given that these pests are costing the U.S. billions of dollars annually not to mention the significant impact they are having on our native mussels and aquatic ecosystems,” said Robyn Thorson, director of the agency’s Pacific Region.
The USFWS and its partners are using a three-pronged approach to maximize the impact of these additional dollars.
A portion of the funds will be directed toward inspection and decontamination stations on roads leading to Lake Tahoe in an effort to control the spread of these mussels.
Another portion will support specific quagga and zebra mussel activities addressed in ANSTF-approved state and interstate ANS plans. The federal agency will also direct the remaining funds toward projects directly supporting the highest priority actions in QZAP.