2020 Lower Deschutes River Water Quality Report Released

The DRA is pleased to announce the release of our 2020 Lower Deschutes River water quality report. It is available on our Reports webpage. Monitoring of the lower Deschutes River through the 2020 season again showed consistent inadequacies in the water quality released from the Project:

• Water quality in the lower Deschutes continued to violate temperature, pH, and DO standards throughout the 2020 monitoring season. 
• The spawning period set to protect the spawning of resident trout do not adequately reflect fish behavior in the lower Deschutes River. Spawning extended for months past the designated “spawning period” deemed to end annually on June 15^th.
• Nutrient pollution from the Crooked River continued to exacerbate poor water quality conditions in Lake Billy Chinook and in the lower Deschutes River by intensifying nuisance algae growth, which results in pH and dissolved oxygen exceedances. 
• PGE continues to lack a plan for managing pH in the lower Deschutes River, even though it is an important step as outlined in the Water Quality Management and Monitoring Plan for their Selective Water Withdrawal Tower operations.

While the 2020 lower Deschutes River monitoring season echoed water quality findings from previous years, sustained examination of the changing health in the lower Deschutes River has led to the discovery of more factors influencing fish populations and health. Benthic sampling conducted by the DRA in 2016 showed a large increase in the abundance of polychaete worms below the Project since the installment and implementation of the Tower in 2009. Changes in benthic communities result from declining water quality which also impacts the success of anadromous fish reintroduction through increased susceptibility to lethal pathogens. Benthic sampling results from 2020-2021 are awaiting analysis.

We will continue monitoring water quality in the lower Deschutes River in 2021 and document the impacts of Tower operations on the health of the lower Deschutes River.