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Commentaries and editorials

Flow Augmentation for Salmon
on the Lower Snake River

Provided by Bill Ondrechen
Idaho Department of Water Resources: 1987 - 2010

Flow Augmentation provided to speed flow through Lower Snake Reservoirs
(units in 1000 acre feet)
Year Upper Snake River Basin Boise River Basin Payette River Basin Oregon Rivers into Snake Total Augmentation above Brownlee Idaho Power Company Brownlee Dworshak on Clearwater Total Snake River Augmentation
1987 150       150   300 450
1988 50       50   300 350
1989 100       100 50 280 430
1990 63       63 87 379 529
1991 50   50   100 174 1,106 1,380
1992 49   140   189 110 900 1,199
1993 272 23 130   425 277 1,042 1,744
1994 330 36 62   428 327 1,900 2,655
1995 255 27 145   427 235 1,400 2,062
1996 218 38 151 20 427 269 1,867 2,563
1997 214 40 155 18 427 244 1,639 2,310
1998 223 41 145 18 427 363 1,253 2,043
1999 208 41 160 18 427 270 1,108 1,805
2000 223 41 145 18 427 286 1,205 1,918
2001 41 0 30 18 89 0 1,005 1,094
2002 37* 60 160 18 275 0 1,220 1,495
2003 43* 59 160 18 280 0 1,230 1,510
2004 116* 42 166 18 342 0 1,230 1,572
2005 239 44 130 18 431 0 1,230 1,661
2006 278 44 157 18 495 0 1,230 1,725
2007 210 59 141 18 427 0 0 427
2008 241 50 180 18 488 0 0 488
2009 260 43 166 18 487 0 0 487
2010 259 43 160 25 487 0 0 487
2011 268 42 160 18 487 0 0 487
2012 250 52 168 18 487 0 0 487
2013 215 19 176 18 427 0 0 427
2014 253 46 170 18 487 0 0 487

Notes:
Columbia River Water Mgt Reports used to identify Brownlee and Dworshak contributions for the 1987-1992 period.
Upper Snake contributions from WD-01.
*In 2002-04, Upper Snake River water was provided exclusively by high lift pumps which were bought out of use during energy 'crisis'.

The quantities are in thousands of acre feet. This enables a comparison to the amount of storage space in various reservoirs. For example Dworshak Reservoir has an active capacity of just over 2 million acre feet. The conversion to flow rate depends on the time period over which the volume is spread: 100,000 acre feet over a 31 day month averages to 1626 cubic feet per second (cfs).

Related Pages:
Review of Lower Snake River Flow Augmentation Studies by Independent Science Advisory Board, April 27, 2001
Sending Water Downstream for Fish, by Jennifer Sandmann, Times-News 9/6/3

Related Sites:
House Bill 153, RESOURCES AND CONSERVATION WATER RENTAL - FLOW AUGMENTATION January 1, 2005
PROVIDE A LIMITATION RELATING TO THE AMOUNT OF NATURAL CONSUMPTIVE FLOW WATER January 1, 2005
House Bill 383, RELATING TO RENTAL OF STORAGE WATER TO AUGMENT RIVER FLOWS January 1, 2001


Provided by Bill Ondrechen and Liz Cresto, Hydrologist Idaho Department of Water Resources (208) 287-4833
Flow Augmentation for Salmon on the Lower Snake River
Idaho Department of Water Resources

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