Grant PUD gauges state group's support on raising river

MOSES LAKE - Grant County PUD is waiting to hear back from members of the Columbia River Water Resources Program Policy Advisory Group about their views on raising a portion of the Columbia River.

The water raise would provide 70,000 acre-feet for new water storage to be used for municipalities and agriculture, said Grant PUD senior policy advisor Joe Lucas.

The proposal is in response to the 2006 Columbia River Initiative, which directs the state Department of Ecology to aggressively purse new water supplies, Lucas said.

An affected area is Crescent Bar island, which is on the river and located on the upper end of the Wanapum Reservoir. Part of a trailer park on the island would be flooded if the water was raised 3.5 feet, he added.

There are reportedly 1,600 people living on the island during the summer and about 250 people residing there full time.

A lease between the PUD and the Port of Quincy allows people to live on the island, which expires in 2012. Residents are aware of the proposal to raise the water and met with the PUD earlier this year.

Lucas said the issue of the RV park remains because of the expiring lease, even if the extended pool raise for extra water storage doesn't happen.

Representatives from a variety of tribes, county commissioners, farm bureaus and environmental groups are members of the policy advisory group, including Grant County Commissioner Richard Stevens.

At a Sept. 25 policy advisory group meeting in Moses Lake, Stevens said Grant County commissioners need to be part of the issue because they will hear about it from residents.

Although a contact person for Crescent Bar homeowners knew about Lucas' presentation, no one spoke at the meeting, Lucas said.

In July, Crescent Bar North Park Homeowner's Association President JoAnn Hanson told the Columbia Basin Herald a great deal of revenue would be lost in Grant County and nearby Quincy if the island was vacated.

But for the water to be raised on a longer basis, the PUD must amend its recently approved federal license for the Priest Rapids Hydroelectric Project, Lucas said. The license allows the utility to own and operate its Columbia River dams.

If the license was changed, the PUD could operate a portion of the river - also known as the Wanapum Reservoir - at 575 feet for an extended period of time, Lucas said.

The FERC license currently allows the water raise, but the amendment could allow the reservoir be raised and used as the normal maximum from October to April and in June and July, he added.

So there would be eight months when the reservoir would be operating at a higher elevation.

The PUD would receive between four to seven megawatts a year of extra power, which translates to $1.5 million in power value, Lucas said.

Lucas asked members to write letters for or against the proposal.

The PUD is trying to learn if it has enough support to move forward with the license amendment process, which would include a public hearing, Lucas said.

If the PUD has enough support from the advisory group, the PUD will ask for roughly $30 million to $50 million from the state's Columbia River Basin Water Supply Development Account.

The money would pay for extensions and modifications to Wanapum Dam's spillway, he noted.

Letters can be mailed to Grant County PUD at P.O. Box 878, Ephrata, WA 98823.