A Common Sense Solution
One Issue—One Request
Conservation battles tend to be long. Among the hazards of fighting the good fight is the tendency at times for patience and persistence to wear thin. The collective memory of good alternatives can sometimes feel like it’s grown dim.
To fight this kind of campaign fatigue, good allies are a necessity. And so is good information. Currently the DRA seems to be going one for two on acquiring these two vital assets.
We have plenty of good information. We know there’s a common sense solution to the issues facing the lower Deschutes River that PGE and stakeholders are choosing to ignore. This solution can be found in PGE’s own water quality report from 2019: the Night Blend Scenario.
As a science-based advocacy organization, the DRA submits records requests to DEQ to receive the blends used in operation of the Selective Water Withdrawal Tower. These records have shown that PGE releases 100% surface water for nearly eight months out of the year. For a short time during the summer, usually beginning in July, blends based on a flawed temperature model (which uses maximum daily river temperatures rather than average or minimum) keep the river dangerously warm. And just as importantly, pH levels are so high, they violate state law nearly every day from April through October (107 out of 108 days at our Maupin monitoring station this past season, 132 out of 157 at our Warm Springs station.)
Introducing the Night Blend
The Night Blend scenario would be the quickest, easiest way to address these vexing water quality troubles. Night Blend, we can all agree, is not what current operations are—but it’s what they should be. It would release the maximum amount of bottom water (60%) 365 days a year, with the exception of March 15 to June 15, during the night, when 100% surface water would be released to facilitate the surface current in the reservoir needed to attract juvenile fish out migrating during this time to the collection facility at the tower.
Good science tells us the Night Blend is our best shot in the short term for providing cooler cleaner water in the lower Deschutes. But honestly, we’re short on allies needed to make it happen.
PGE convened a stakeholder process, which began nearly two years ago under the guise of participating in a forum to “to identify cold water release scenarios that could be modeled for the lower river.” Stakeholders included NGOs, state agencies, and a few individuals.
At one of the meetings, DRA made a direct request of PGE that the Night Blend be used for 3 years to determine if it would benefit the lower Deschutes River. When this request was made, all other stakeholders—including one who committed to support the request—remained silent. That made it easy for PGE to refuse the proposal. At the stakeholder group meetings, PGE deemed the Night Blend scenario “not recommended at this time,” with very little explanation as to why they would not move forward with it and no indication of when they might consider it.
We Need Others to Stand With Us
Environmental advocacy is a little like showing up for church on Sunday. It’s one thing to say you care, it’s quite another to get up, get dressed, and put your rear end in the pew. It is time for all NGOs claiming to care about the Deschutes to show up. Our message to them is a simple request: support operational changes of the Selective Water Withdrawal Tower. The DRA is convinced that the Night Blend will be a major step in the right direction for the future of the lower Deschutes River, and could be implemented without major costs or negatively affecting the reintroduction effort.
Alone, we can’t convince PGE that this is the right solution. We’ll need the passionate commitment of everyone who cares about the river to raise their voices. NGOs and every other constituency that cares about the lower Deschutes River can help make this change happen.
As the Executive Director of the DRA, if there’s another solution worth investigating—technical, political, or otherwise—I’d sure like to know about it. Give me a call or drop me a line.
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