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Editorial: Washington needs to get river flows set, and get markers right

Sun., Nov. 2, 2014

The Spokane River on Thursday was flowing through the gorge below the Monroe Street Bridge at the rate of 2,140 cubic feet per second.

If the Washington Department of Ecology approves its preliminary rules for in-stream flows, about 20 percent of that water could be withdrawn from the river at this time of year by individuals or businesses. Even more would be available before Oct. 1, when as little as 850 cfs is all that is required, mostly to keep the fish wet.

In the stretch through the Spokane Valley, as little as 500 cfs would be needed.

Some river users – fishermen and outfitters, to name two groups – say the in-stream allocations shortchange the fish and recreationalists. The Bowl and Pitcher and Devil’s Toenail, which can be challenging rapids at spring flows, become boney hazards to anything inflated at the minimum flows.

Fish are forced to cluster in deeper pools, where they become easier targets.

Vulnerable or not, the health of the fish populations was the marker set by Ecology, and the flow levels were those the Department of Fish and Wildlife determined would assure the survival of two critical species: redband trout and whitefish. Those levels also square with the levels approved when Avista Utilities relicensed the Post Falls dam, which regulates the level of Lake Coeur d’Alene and downstream river flows.

Before the dam was constructed, uncontrolled flows out of the lake probably receded to as little as 200 cfs by the end of the summer.

But it’s the potential for more withdrawals if today’s minimum flows are set too low that has the river’s defenders on edge. DOE has not processed any water rights applications for several years. Once the flows are established, the application process will be restarted.

They want flow levels set as high as 3,000 cfs, which would make the awarding of new rights all but impossible.

Ecology says flows that high would be legally indefensible should those who want water take the department to court.

There’s also the potential for a fight over water with Idaho, which is moving rapidly toward adjudication of water rights on its portion of the basin. The state of Washington is poorly positioned to defend its share of the Spokane’s waters because the in-stream allocation and right applications remain incomplete.

Ideally, representatives of the two states will meet to negotiate a split of the water once their respective reviews are completed. Washington would have a stronger hand if water rights had been sorted out on this side of the border, but our shortsighted legislators refuse to appropriate the necessary funds.

The river and the Spokane Valley-Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer will be subject to increasing demands as more people and businesses move into the area. The city of Spokane, for one, has rights to twice the water consumed today.

Washington should set in-stream flows that provide a margin of error for the fish and the future, when the climate may push the resource to the limit.