Streamflow, fish, and habitat projects

Along with developing water supply for communities and farms, the Legislature directed us to develop water supplies to benefit instream uses. Resulting projects range from the 27,500 acre-feet of instream flow water provided by drawing down Lake Roosevelt another foot behind Grand Coulee Dam on the Columbia River, to the 6,436 acre-feet of water for streamflows acquired by making diversion efficiency improvements at Barker Ranch along the Yakima River.

Two key elements of the Yakima Basin Integrated Water Management Plan address fish passage and habitat, and watershed protection and enhancement at reservoirs and important tributaries. Projects range from protecting the upper Yakima watershed by acquiring and creating the 50,241-acre Teanaway Community Forest to increasing floodplain habitat near the city of Yakima.

Columbia River Instream Atlas inventories fish priorities

We use the Columbia River Instream Atlas (Atlas) to help us determine which potential projects will provide the best benefit for fish per dollar spent. Developed with the help of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Atlas ranks stream reaches in 12 fish-critical basins.