BPA Fish and Wildlife FY 1997 Proposal

Section 1. Administrative
Section 2. Narrative
Section 3. Budget

see CBFWA and BPA funding recommendations

Section 1. Administrative

Title of project
Yakima Phase 2 Screen Fabrication

BPA project number   9105700

Business name of agency, institution or organization requesting funding
WDFW

Sponsor type   WA-State/Local Agency

Proposal contact person or principal investigator

BPA technical contact   Jodi Stroklund, EWN 503/230-4512

Biological opinion ID   None

NWPPC Program number   7.11B.1, 7.11B.3

Short description
Fabricate fish screens to divert anadromous salmonids from Yakima tributary irrigation canals.

Project start year   1991    End year   2001

Start of operation and/or maintenance   1998

Project development phase   Implementation

Section 2. Narrative

Related projects
9107500: mandatory linkage to screen civil works construction; 9200900: O&M of completed projects;
8506200: evaluation of completed fish screen facilities

Project history
Completion of shop fabrication, delivery and field installation of fish screens, fish bypass control systems, lifting gantries and miscell. metalwork for 18 Phase 2 diversions since FY91. Project ongoing (two new facilities being fabricated). Correct historic obligations for the Yakima portion of this project in FY92 and FY93 are $453,989 and $444,281, respectively, because funding for Umatilla River screens and for portable screens for Oregon and Idaho were also provided under this project number. The obligation for Umatilla River (Stanfield) was $125,369 in FY1992, and the amount for modular screens for Oregon and Idaho was $203,000 in FY1993. Total obligation for Yakima Phase 2 screen fabrication to date is $1,462,115.

Biological results achieved
Biological evaluation of Phase 2 fish screens and bypass systems by BPA's contractor, Pacific Northwest Labs (Battelle), has shown juvenile salmonid survival and guidance rates approaching 100% (range: 95-99%). Survival/guidance rates at the pre-Phase 2, Wapatox Diversion (Naches R. circa 1936) were 60-75% for yearling smolts and less than 10% for age 0 steelhead and spring chinook salmon based on studies conducted by the diversion owner, PacifiCorp.

Annual reports and technical papers
Not Applicable--biological evaluation technical reports by others.

Management implications
Not Applicable.

Specific measureable objectives
Complete replacement or upgrade of all obsolete fish screen facilities in the Yakima Basin by the end of FY 2001. Most of these screens date from the late 1940's, 50's and 60's, however several facilities still in operation were constructed in the mid-1930's.

Testable hypothesis
Not Applicable

Underlying assumptions or critical constraints
Progress in completing Phase 2 screen construction assumes that funding for both this project and our "companion" project (#9107500, civil works construction) continues.

Methods
Not Applicable

Brief schedule of activities
FY 97: Fabricate Phase 2 screens, associated mechanical components and/or miscellaneous steel for six diversions identified by the Yakima Basin Fish Passage Technical Work Group (Fogarty, Bull, Ellensburg Mill, Clark, Lindsey and Upper WIP).

Biological need
Obsolete fish screen facilities dating from the 1930's, 40's, 50's and 60's need to be replaced or updated to comply with current regional fish screening protection criteria adopted by CBFWA's Fish Screening Oversight Comm. (FSOC). The current criteria objective is to provide protection approaching 100% for all species and life stages of anadromous salmonids. Old screens in the Yakima sub-basin, and elsewhere in the Columbia Basin, provide fair protection for yearling smolts, but poor protection for fry and fingerling life stages. Premature "cropping" of fry and fingerlings by irrigation diversions reduces subsequent smolt production and interferes with efforts to restore depressed salmon and steelhead populations through natural production or hatchery supplementation.

Critical uncertainties
None

Summary of expected outcome
Emergent fry, fingerling and smolt survival/production should increase as a result of new fish screen fabrication that replaces functionally obsolete facilities.

Dependencies/opportunities for cooperation
Project accomplishments and budget expenditures are linked to progress on Proj. # 9107500. Delays in screen civil works construction due to bottlenecks in design, property acquisition (r-o-w or easements) or funding constraints affect the amount of shop fabrication completed each year. WDFW attempts to predict the amount of civil construction that will be accomplished in a budget cycle and adjusts shop fabrication to match. Delays in civil works construction may result in deferring shop fabrication and carrying over funds to the next fiscal year.

Risks
None--juvenile fish survival can only be improved by employing current biological protection criteria in designing and constructing replacement fish screens at water diversions.

Monitoring activity
Monitoring and evaluation of new fish screen performance is accomplished by Pacific Northwest Laboratories (Battelle) under contract with BPA (Proj. # 8506200).

Section 3. Budget

* For most projects, Authorized is the amount recommended by CBFWA and the Council. Planned is amount currently allocated. Contracted is the amount obligated to date of printout.

Funding recommendations

CBFWA funding review group   Bonneville Dam - Priest Rapids Dam

Recommendation    Tier 1 - fund

Recommended funding level   $300,000

BPA 1997 authorized budget (approved start-of-year budget)   $214,000