Groups raise concerns about planned Yakima Valley reservoir

YAKIMA – Several environmental and taxpayer groups have raised concerns about a proposed reservoir for the drought-gripped Yakima Valley, in part due to the escalating costs of the project.

In a letter to Gov. Christine Gregoire, 10 groups said the renewed push for Black Rock reservoir east of Yakima is overshadowing other, cheaper solutions to meet the needs of farmers and fish.

The proposed Black Rock reservoir would store as much as 1.3 million acre-feet of water, drawn from the Columbia River, behind a 760-foot-tall dam. The reservoir, estimated to cost as much as $4 billion, would deliver water to irrigators in the lower Yakima Valley, leaving more water in the Yakima River for fish. An acre foot is the amount of water needed to cover an acre to a depth of one foot.

If built, the reservoir would be the first new water storage in the Yakima basin in more than 75 years.

Backers of the proposal said many of the concerns in the May 13 letter will be considered as an assessment study of the project progresses.

“Let’s get the answers,” said Sid Morrison, chairman of the Yakima Basin Storage Alliance. “If it is based on good science, that will determine if we go ahead or don’t. Our view is we shouldn’t eliminate Black Rock on the basis of cost because we haven’t looked at the benefits.”

A smaller, 800,000-acre-foot reservoir proposal also is being reviewed. The Bureau of Reclamation is expected to decide later this year whether Black Rock remains part of a larger study of expanded storage in the basin. That decision will be made in conjunction with state officials, the Yakama Nation and irrigators who would be asked to use the transferred water.

In addition to Black Rock’s “enormous cost,” the letter cites concerns about the lack of year-round instream flows for the Hanford Reach, which would be affected by withdrawals for the proposed reservoir.

The groups also raised health and safety concerns about groundwater contamination from the nearby Hanford Nuclear Reservation and potential earthquake hazards at the proposed dam site.

The letter was signed by American Rivers, the Center for Environmental Law and Policy, Washington Trout, Washington Environmental Council, Yakima Valley Audubon Society, Taxpayers for Common Sense, and the regional offices of Sierra Club, National Wildlife Federation, The Audubon Society and Trout Unlimited.