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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Dam talks focus on falls, lakes

Mild, rainy weather is creating spring thaw-like conditions in the mountains of North Idaho. On Friday, a torrent of snowmelt and rain roared through downtown Spokane’s river channel.

The roiling blue and green water could be seen from the conference room where scientists, government officials and Avista Utilities executives gathered to discuss plans to boost summer river flows over waterfalls in downtown Spokane and Post Falls.

In hot, dry summer months, the flow over the falls typically slows to a trickle. Avista is now being asked to send more water over the falls, purely as eye candy for tourists, artists and river lovers. The proposal is one of many being raised during Avista’s process to secure a new long-term federal license to operate its Spokane River dam system.

The utility must submit an application by July 1 for a new 30- to 50-year license. The permit is expected to have profound impacts on everything from lake recreation and fish health to municipal drinking water supplies and aesthetic flows through downtown Spokane. More than 120 individuals, governments and groups have weighed in on how the flows should be managed, said Avista spokesman Hugh Imhof.

The groups have been meeting for more than two years to try to find consensus, but Imhof said certain issues appear to be at an impasse, including establishing a late-summer lake level for Lake Coeur d’Alene. Even the topic of the downtown waterfall has sparked serious debate.

Most groups have agreed with the idea of sending at least 200 cubic feet per second of water through the north and middle channels below the Upper Falls Dam, Imhof said. About 13,000 cubic feet per second flowed through downtown Friday, which is more than twice the average flow in the past. The water would be diverted over the falls on summer weekend days from 10 a.m. until a half-hour after sunset. The Sierra Club, however, remains skeptical that enough water is included in the proposal.

“The waterfalls are just a signature feature of Spokane,” said Rachael Osborn. “Our goal is to have water in the river during all days in the summertime so that visitors in the park can enjoy the park.”

Because of lower river flows, downtown’s north channel typically dries up by the end of July. The channel of bedrock basalt has been blown up, gouged, chipped away and fractured over the past 125 years or more to divert water to power early-day riverside factories. This means the channel will probably need some work before the water can be diverted and enjoyed, Imhof said.

The proposal also calls for 46 cubic feet per second of water to be released from two gates at the Post Falls Dam during summer weekend afternoons.

The diversion would mean less water to generate electricity. Avista would lose about $1,660 each year in electricity at the Post Falls Dam, $33,000 at the Upper Falls Dam and $75,000 at the Monroe Street Dam, according to information from Avista. The costs would be passed on to ratepayers.

The summer lake level for Lake Coeur d’Alene remains the largest point of contention during the relicensing talks, Imhof said. Currently, the utility begins lowering the lake level the week after Labor Day to create more space in the lake to hold spring runoff.

A coalition of Idaho property owners, state government agencies and local governments is asking Avista to keep lake levels higher until the end of September. The longer season of higher water will allow more property owners to use their boat docks, according to the proposal presented in November by John Barlow, a representative of the Coeur d’Alene-based Hagadone Corp.

Greg Delavan, a marina owner and president of the Coeur d’Alene Lakeshore Owners Association, said Friday the proposal was backed by a broad coalition, not just Hagadone Corp. He also said it was an attempt to reach an elusive consensus during the final days before a draft application is due.

Jim Hollingsworth, with the Spokane-based Lands Council, said the proposal was an “end run” and bypassed the usual negotiation process.

“This is not the right way to negotiate these things,” Hollingsworth told Delavan at Friday’s gathering. “Back off. … You’re shoving it down our throats. I resent that.”

Property owners and boaters on Lake Spokane, which is downstream from Lake Coeur d’Alene, are also concerned about a longer season of high water, said Terry Brown, a member of the Lake Spokane Protection Association. Lake Spokane has burgeoning algae and exotic milfoil infestations in late summer. Lake Spokane advocates want more water sent to the lake at the end of August to flush sediment and algae into deeper water, Brown said. The group also wants a sustained drawdown during the coldest months to help freeze milfoil roots.

Brown said the milfoil problem is based in Lake Spokane, but fragments of the weeds are carried on boats and trailers to other nearby lakes.

“We’re not only creating a problem in our lake, it’s helping to contaminate other lakes as well,” Brown said.

Avista will release a draft relicense application in early February. The public will have 90 days to comment on the proposal before it is submitted to federal regulators for review.