No current ideas worth pursuing from water study

YAKIMA, Wash. — One door is closing.

Will another open to solve the elusive, decades-long search for answers to Yakima River Basin water needs?

That's the question now before farmers, the Yakama Nation, biologists and others after the federal Bureau of Reclamation announced Friday an end to a five-year study of several potential new water storage projects.

The $18 million study concluded none of the ideas reviewed -- such as a small reservoir off the Yakima River to the massive Black Rock reservoir -- are worth pursuing. Friday's announcement finalizes a decision the agency reached in December.

"The important thing is just because the storage study is done, we aren't done," said Jerry Kelso, area manager for the bureau in Yakima. "Certainly, some solution to the problem that involves storage is definitely on the table."

Kelso said all groups now must work together to remedy water shortages, restore fish and meet future water demands by cities without embarking on another expensive, drawn-out study.

Any new effort will have to go beyond water storage to include more conservation and fish habitat, better fish passage at dams, and storage on a less expansive scale than the 1.6 million acre-foot Black Rock.

The state Department of Ecology already is studying ways to use those elements in a plan agreeable to all basin interests.

And one such effort already is under way, involving irrigators, tribal interests, the state and county commissioners from the drought-prone three-county basin.

The basin has experienced two major droughts in the last eight years, and climate studies suggest droughts could occur more regularly in the next half-century and beyond.

Yakima County Commissioner Mike Leita, who has led county efforts on water issues, indicated commissioners have met with interest groups and state representatives to reach the consensus to which Kelso alluded.

He would not be more specific, but said he appreciated the cooperation shown so far by the interest groups.

Kelso said the federal study and the ongoing state effort will provide the information needed to fashion a plan.

"After Ecology gets done, we will have all the pieces to the puzzle," he said. "We just need to fit them together."

Ecology Department Director Jay Manning said he and Gov. Chris Gregoire are committed to finding a solution to water shortages.

"It will take time. It won't be cheap, but it can be sequenced over a period of time. It is affordable and can be done," he said.

U.S. Rep. Doc Hastings, R-Pasco, said Friday he's seeking funding for the Bureau of Reclamation to help create a plan everyone can agree with.

Any plan must include new storage, he said.

For several months, a new approach without Black Rock's spectacular costs has been advocated by some irrigators and the Yakama Nation.

A local organization that pushed strongly for Black Rock found some good news in Friday's announcement.

It doesn't preclude additional storage, said Sid Morrison, chairman of the Yakima Basin Storage Alliance.

The federal government isn't saying no action is needed, he said.

The Alliance still believes Black Rock is the best answer, but it wants to be part of the discussion about restoring threatened fish species and reducing the threat of drought in the basin where agriculture generates hundreds of millions of dollars annually, Morrison said.

"Everyone will have to be at the table. While as a group we don't have much standing except our political effort, I'm confident we will be part of the discussion. Right now, we have the only long-term answer," said Morrison, referring to Black Rock.

The controversial Black Rock plan would draw water from the Columbia River, pump it uphill and store it behind a 600 foot-high dam near the intersection of State Routes 24 and 241, about 30 miles east of Yakima.

The water would supply Lower Valley farmers, leaving Yakima River reservoir water to provide flows for fish. Irrigators would receive no less than a 70 percent supply of water each year if Black Rock were in place.

But the bureau concluded Black Rock would return only 13 cents on each dollar invested, a figure disputed by dam supporters.

Kelso said the federal study concluded that more water alone won't solve the fish problem. Fish passage at dams and improved river habitat -- such as more side channels and broader flood plains where fish can rest and feed -- will do more to help restore fish life.

Another problem for Black Rock is its potential effect on radioactive waste under the Hanford nuclear reservation to the east. Seepage from the huge lake could speed pollutants to the Columbia River.

That threat, the huge costs and a dislike for storage drove conservation groups to oppose Black Rock.

Michael Garrity of Seattle, Washington conservation director for American Rivers, said the group welcomed the Bureau's announcement.

"The cost and environmental risk associated with Black Rock were just too high and we think looking at other alternatives on both the fish and general river health and water management sides are the way to go," Garrity said.

He said American Rivers also wants to be part of efforts to find a solution.

Studies to improve steady irrigation and aid fish have been conducted in the basin for 40 years without success. Federal authorization for a program to help irrigators be more efficient and purchase land and water rights for instream flows has helped. The program, called the Yakima River Basin Water Enhancement Project, may be a vehicle to help resolve basin issues.

Kelso said the basin doesn't need another round of studies.

"What I'm trying to avoid is going through another cycle of all this," he said. "Since the 1980s there's been no end to this stuff. There needs to be an end."

* David Lester can be reached at 577-7674 or dlester@yakimaherald.com.