Bear River Commission Meeting
Tues., April 16th, 2002
The following are notes from the Operations Meeting and the General
Meeting of the Bear River Commission.
Reports:
Overview of Water Supply - Jack Barnett
One word - BLEAK! The Spring runoff is already over. While the final
numbers will depend upon how wet and cool the spring is, the April 1st
streamflow forecast is bleak. The stream flows in the Bear River Drainage
are forecast to be between 25% to 48% of normal. Diversions upstream
of Bear Lake for irrigation have already begun.
PacifiCorp - Kelly Holt
We are entering the 4th year of a drought in the Bear River Basin. Due
to the warm, dry Fall, evaporation in 2001 exceeded the inflows!
Last year, the Bear River Compact allotted 245,000 acre ft. of water
for downstream irrigation. This year, due to the low Lake elevation,
only 215,000 acre ft. is allocated.
LAKE ELEVATIONS
| 2001 High elevation (April 21, 2001) |
5916.71' |
| Sept 30, 2001 (end of pumping) |
5911.60' |
| Low elevation (October 31, 2001) |
5911.15' |
| Present level (April 16, 2002) |
5911.93' |
| Projected high |
5912.00' |
| Projected low for 2002 |
5906.50' |
DREDGING PERMIT STATUS - To date, no permit has
been issued. The Corps of Engineers had 15 prerequisits for issuing
the dredging permit. PacifiCorp has answered several AIRs (Additional
Information Requests). Idaho Dept. of Water Resources and Dept. of Water
Quality are ready to approve the state permits. PacifiCorp is asking
for a 5 year permit from the Corps of Engineers.
They hope to obtain the permit within 2-3 weeks and begin dredging about
June 1st. They will dredge only during daylight hours and must first
work out a solution for the Cutthroat Trout spawning in the St. Charles
Creek channel. Two to four feet will be removed. There are not yet any
plans to dredge in the Fall.
FERC RELICENSING OF POWERPLANTS - PacifiCorp
is working with a mediator to facilitate a solution with the environmental
and recreational groups.
Water Quality
There is continued good progess towards reaching the goals set forth
when the Water Quality Committee was formed.
The EPA grant money to coordinate the TDML studies within the three
states is progressing. Cirrus Ecological Solutions of Logan has been
hired to collect data. They should have their report ready in 1 year.
There is some confusion over the intent of a TDML. The states intend
TDML to mean"a plan". The environmental groups have intrepreted
it to be a regulation. Idaho is litigating this issue.
Water Emergencies - J. Barnett
Central Division - will probably enter a water emergency within two
weeks.
Bear River Commission
The Bear Lake Regional Commission will sponsor a meeting during the
summer along the lines of the Symposium held several years ago - a collection
of scientific reports on Lake studies. Dates to be announced by the
Bear Lake Regional Commission. Due to the potential water crisis, there
was considerable discussion about Bjear River Commission involvement
and financial contribution.
The next meeting will be held Nov. 18th, 2002 at 1pm.
