Water Quality – Don Osler
New members of the Water Quality Committee are Toni Hardesty from Wyoming and John Wagner from Idaho.
The Bear River Commission Water Quality Committee was formed as a result of the public input at meeting held to review potential amendment to the Bear River Compact in 1998. The committee is about 3 years old.
The Bear River Water Quality Task Force was asked to explore ways to keep the TMDL data compiled by CIRRUS up to date, to discuss the concept of a basin wide water quality effort (currently work groups decide priorities) and then report back to the Commission and to discuss the desirability/ feasibility of a Bear Lake Water Quality symposium this fall.
Idaho’s TMDLs have been sent to Boise and will be out for public comment in mid May.
Wyoming’s watershed groups have 2 yrs to formulate a plan and then 4 years to implement it. Once a group is formed, the state’s priority on that stream is reduced.

Records & Public Involvement
Last years stream gauging budget was $50,000 – bare bones. There is considerable work being done to automate stream gauging and diversions. The project on the Sevier River has resulted in 20% water savings. Wyoming is trying to automate from Woodruff Narrows downstream. This should also produce a better hydrograph. There are also efforts underway in Utah to automate.
Claudia Cottle represented the Commission at a USGS meeting held in Denver concerning Bear Lake. Her report indicates that all the USGS studies on Bear Lake during the last several years to investigate global warming have hit a puzzling snag. Because of the complexity of the Lake, they’re not sure they can gain further information about their climate studies. The Commission hopes to have their studies summarized and made public. USGS will be asked to present any new information and any water quality data at the proposed Fall water quality symposium.

Operations Committee
Because of the Lake level, only pre-Compact and Compact storage is allowed. There is no Amended Compact storage allowed. It was a historic and tragic March for lack of precipitation and snow pack loss.
Diversions have started around Border so there will be no more water going downstream toward Stewart Dam. The present inflow to the Lake is 1100 cfs. 100 cfs from Stewart Dam and about 1000 from the lakes tributaries and ground water.

PacifiCorp’s plans for Bear Lake operation are:
No dredging is anticipated.
Close cooperation between PacifiCorp and the Irrigators will insure the most efficient use of the 85,000 acre feet of storage water to be pumped.
Pump capacity is reduced to 1100 cfs and will only be 500 cfs later on.
Forecast low is 5902.

General Commission meeting
If an emergency is declared in the Lower Division, the BR Commission will not regulate or restrict ground water use, but it may in the future. Idaho has been forced to shut down some ground water irrigators in the Snake River Basin because springs were drying up..

Bear River Bird Refuge – Al Trout
The Refuge deals with wildly fluctuating water supplies that has peaks in May – June and almost no water in Aug – Sept. It has prioritized the species using the refuge and the different areas so that in extremely tough years it can keep operating. For 2004, only 2 of the 26 units will have water in the late summer.

Water Supply –
The March snow pack went from near normal on 3/1 to new record lows by April 1st. This is the 7th consecutive year for below normal April 1st snow packs. Stream flow forecasts are at record lows. The drought is categorized “exceptional” is is forecast to persist.

Management Committee
The Commissions Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) will pursue automating diversions, if possible without using Commission money.
Idaho has formed legislative groups to study ground water in each basin
Twin Lake Canal Co. has obtained $100,000 for a feasibility study of a new dam in the Onieda Narrows.
Utah has formed task forces that are looking into ground water use.

The next Bear River Commission Meeting will be in Boise, Nov. 16th 2004 at the new Water Center.