Letters for Wednesday, Feb. 11

We need new water management

Recent torrential rains flooded the Pacific Northwest and washed away the snowpack in the Cascades and Rockies. The Spokane River going dry last summer combines with those winter floods to compel us to recognize that global warming requires new water management.

The region needs high mountain reservoirs to replace snow storage of water, and Spokane needs to revive the Hawk Creek Reservoir as a water source for Spokane, as the Spokane River is a depleted resource.

High mountain water-retention dams will protect us from winter floods, and those dams will supplement snow to store water for summer.

Storage dams have bottom gates to keep creeks flowing all year with cool water from the depths of the reservoirs during hot summers. Deep water releases from the bottoms of the storage dams in other parts of the country have turned warm water fisheries into trout rivers due to the cold water releases out of bottom gates (e.g., Bull Shoals, Greers Ferry and Norfolk dams).

For Spokane, the Hawk Creek Reservoir – proposed 20 years ago to provide extra water for Columbia Basin irrigation – now seems necessary for Spokane to have water during the summer without further imperiling the Spokane River (and to allow for growth).

Water pulled from the Columbia during high flow periods could also be used to recharge the West Plains aquifers, as they are dropping quickly, stalling growth west of Spokane.

We need “snow replacement” water retention, flood control and more replenishable water for the Spokane area.

Reality has come knocking.

Craig A. Mason

Spokane

Proposed dock on the Spokane River

The Ruby River Hotel in downtown Spokane is proposing to build a 2,000-square-foot floating dock that would extend 90 feet into the Spokane River from the north shore. The hotel owners insist this would be a “public dock” open to nonmotorized watercraft, yet the hotel would control access to the dock, and anyone wanting to use it would have to pass through the hotel’s private property. Why would a hotel go to the trouble and expense of building a “public” dock unless it sees this to get through the permitting process with the ultimate goal of converting it to a private facility for hotel guests?

A large floating dock just upstream from Division Street bridge and the Avista Upper Falls Dam presents significant safety concerns, which no doubt the Ruby River Hotel will address by restricting access.

In addition, there are significant environmental and aesthetic concerns. Yet the city has prematurely anticipated issuing a “finding of nonsignificance.” Under the Growth Management Act, Spokane is currently in the process of revising its comprehensive management plan, and yet here is significant development on our river that will have significant visual, safety, traffic and environmental impacts. Given the issues and rushed process, the public deserves a full Environmental Impact Statement.

The city will accept public comments on this proposal until Feb. 23.

For more information visit my.spokanecity.org/projects/ruby-river-recreational-dock.

Greg Gordon

Spokane

Trump social media post

Last week, the first week of Black History Month, the president posted on his social media platform a picture of Barack and Michelle Obama as apes. He also is holding up funding for the rail tunnel in New York, insisting that Penn Station be named after him.

What is it that will finally convince Michael Baumgartner that this man is not fit to be the president of the United States. How can he in good conscience defend him for anything he does? Is he not embarrassed to claim to be in the same political party as this malevolent, incompetent person, who proves, on a daily basis that he should not be running this country. Michael, ask your children what they think.

Daniel J. Schaffer

Spokane