2021 Water Management Plan
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2021 WATER MANAGEMENT PLAN North Fork Clearwater Watershed Snowline June 1st, 2020 Photo by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Bonneville Power Administration U.S. Bureau of Reclamation U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 2021 Water Management Plan December 31, 2020 Table of Contents 1. Introduction ............................................................................................................... 1 2. Governing Documents .............................................................................................. 1 2.1 Biological Assessments (BA) ................................................................................... 2 2.2 BiOps ………………………………………………………………………………2 2.3 Additional Governing Documents ............................................................................ 3 2.4 Other Key Documents............................................................................................... 3 3. WMP Implementation Process ................................................................................ 4 3.1 Technical Management Team (TMT) ...................................................................... 4 3.2 Preparation of the WMP .......................................................................................... 5 3.3 Fish Passage Plan (FPP) .......................................................................................... 5 3.4 Non-ESA-Listed Fish and Wildlife Conservation Operations................................. 6 4. Columbia River System Operations ........................................................................ 6 4.1 Priorities ................................................................................................................... 6 4.2 Conflicts ................................................................................................................... 8 4.3 Emergencies ........................................................................................................... 10 4.4 Fish Research ......................................................................................................... 11 4.5 FRM Shifts ............................................................................................................. 11 5. Decision Points and Water Supply Forecasts ....................................................... 11 5.1 Water Management Decisions and Actions ........................................................... 11 5.2 Water Supply Forecasts (WSF) ............................................................................. 14 6. Project Operations .................................................................................................. 16 6.1 Hugh Keenleyside Dam (Arrow Canadian Project)............................................... 20 6.2 Hungry Horse Dam ................................................................................................ 20 6.3 Albeni Falls Dam ................................................................................................... 24 6.4 Libby Dam ............................................................................................................. 25 6.5 Grand Coulee Dam ................................................................................................ 31 6.6 Chief Joseph Dam .................................................................................................. 35 6.7 Priest Rapids Dam.................................................................................................. 35 6.8 Dworshak Dam ...................................................................................................... 36 6.9 Brownlee Dam ....................................................................................................... 37 6.10 Lower Snake River Dams (Lower Granite, Little Goose, Lower Monumental, Ice Harbor) ……………………………………………………………………………..37 6.11 Lower Columbia River Dams (McNary, John Day, The Dalles, Bonneville) ..... 39 7. Specific Operations ................................................................................................. 41 7.1 Canadian Storage for Flow Augmentation ............................................................ 41 7.2 Upper Snake River Reservoir Operation for Flow Augmentation......................... 42 7.3 Bonneville Chum Operations ................................................................................. 43 7.4 Description of Variable Draft Limits ..................................................................... 47 7.5 Lake Roosevelt Incremental Storage Release Project of the Washington State Department of Ecology, Columbia River Water Management Program ...................... 48 7.6 Public Coordination ............................................................................................... 49 8. Water Quality .......................................................................................................... 49 8.1 Water Quality Plans ................................................................................................ 49 9. Dry Water Year Operations .................................................................................. 50 ii 2021 Water Management Plan December 31, 2020 1. Introduction The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps), Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation), and Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), collectively referred to as the Action Agencies (AAs), have consulted with the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), collectively referred to as the Services, on the effects of operating the 14 Federal multi-purpose projects in the Columbia River System (CRS) on species listed as endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). These consultations resulted in biological opinions (2020 CRS BiOps) from the Services that concluded that operations and maintenance of the CRS as proposed by the AAs in the Biological Assessment of Effects of the Operations and Maintenance of the Federal Columbia River System (January 2020) (2020 CRS BA) and the Clarification and Additional Information to the Biological Assessment of Effects of the Operations and Maintenance of the Columbia River System on ESA-listed Species transmitted to the Services on January 23, 2020 (April 1, 2020) (2020 BA Clarification Letter), as well as actions in the Incidental Take Statements in the 2020 CRS BiOps are not likely to jeopardize the continued existence or adversely modify designated critical habitat of ESA-listed species. The AAs are currently operating in accordance with the 2020 CRS BiOps from the Services as well as other governing documents that are described below in greater detail in Section 2. The 2021 Water Management Plan (WMP) describes the AAs’ plan for the 2021 water year (October 1, 2020 through September 30, 2021) for implementing the specific storage project and reservoir operations as detailed in the Proposed Action in the AAs’ 2020 CRS BA and 2020 BA Clarification Letter and analyzed in the 2020 NMFS CRS BiOp (2020 NMFS BiOp) and the 2020 USFWS CRS BiOp (2020 USFWS BiOp). The AAs selected the Preferred Alternative from the 2020 Columbia River System Operations Environmental Impact Statement (CRSO EIS), which was the basis of the Proposed Action in the 2020 CRS BA, as the Selected Alternative for implementation in the Record of Decision (ROD), dated September 28, 2020. The ROD also incorporated the requirements outlined in the Incidental Take Statements contained in the 2020 CRS BiOps. The AAs are the final authorities on the content of the WMP after coordination with the sovereign inter-agency Technical Management Team (TMT) to solicit their review, comment, and recommendations for consideration during preparation of the WMP. The WMP is consistent with the adaptive management provisions considered in the CRSO EIS and ROD, as well as the 2020 CRS BiOps. System operations contained in the WMP may be adjusted in-season in coordination with the TMT. The AAs prepare seasonal updates to the 2021 WMP in coordination with the TMT and will post any updates on the following website: http://pweb.crohms.org/tmt/documents/wmp/ 2. Governing Documents Information regarding operations described in the WMP may be found in the following governing documents. 1 2021 Water Management Plan December 31, 2020 2.1 Biological Assessments (BA) 2007 BA on the Upper Snake (Reclamation) Reclamation submitted a BA to NMFS in August 2007 that described actions involving operations and routine maintenance at 12 Federal projects located upstream of Brownlee Reservoir and evaluated the effects of those actions on ESA-listed fish species. The BA is available on the following website: http://www.usbr.gov/pn/programs/esa/uppersnake/index.html 2020 CRS BA (BPA, Reclamation, and Corps) The Corps, on behalf of the AAs, submitted a BA to the Services on January 23, 2020, titled, “Biological Assessment of Effects of the Operations and Maintenance of the Federal Columbia River System on ESA-Listed Species” (2020 CRS BA). The 2020 CRS BA described the operation and maintenance of the 14 Federal multiple use dam and reservoir projects in the CRS for formal consultation under Section 7 of the ESA and Essential Fish Habitat consultation under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. The 2020 CRS BA described the operations and maintenance of the 14 CRS dams and associated effects of those actions on ESA-listed species. The 2020 CRS BA citation throughout this WMP incorporates by reference the April 1, 2020, letter from the Corps