Columbia River levels discussed at PUD meetings

EPHRATA — The ups and downs of Columbia River flow and power generation, and its impact on recreation along the river, was the subject of a short discussion at the Grant County PUD meeting Tuesday.

Commissioners Tom Flint and Larry Schaapman said they each received an email saying the river was low behind Wanapum Dam over the weekend, low enough that some boats were stranded. “They were asking about a website that they could go to, to see where the flow is at – the level – and I guess that’s fine, but that doesn’t show what’s going to happen,” Schaapman said.

“Projections – we don’t have any kind of reliable projection of conditions changing on the power system,” said PUD general manager Kevin Nordt, but the PUD’s website does have information about current and past river levels. The Bonneville Power Administration tracks river levels by the hour at all hydroelectric projects along the Columbia River, and that information is available on the BPA website, he said.

River levels did drop over the weekend. “That’s basically the result of demands on the power system,” Nordt said.

As the summer progresses there’s less water in the tributaries that flow into the river below Chief Joseph Dam and above Wanapum Dam. (Those tributaries are the Methow, Okanogan and Wenatchee rivers, with a little water from the Entiat River.) Grand Coulee Dam is the major influence on river levels, Nordt said.

Less water is coming into the Columbia above Chief Joseph Dam, so the operators at Chief Joe are keeping back some of the water above the dam to meet their customer demand. Coupled with the fact less water is coming into the Columbia between the Okanogan River confluence and Wanapum Dam, Wanapum operators had to use more water to meet demand. As a result river levels dropped.

“Bonneville (Power Administration) gives us estimates what they need at Chief Joe, but then they need to adapt” to power demands, Nordt said.

The good news for recreational users, he said, is that the upgraded recreation facilities operated by the PUD were designed to be easier to use during low water. Operators of hydropower projects do try to work together to facilitate recreation along the river during Memorial Day and Labor Day weekends and during the July 4 holiday, he said.