The Ask
In the dog days of a very hot summer, the DRA is taking the plunge in asking state agencies to get Portland General Electric to manage the lower Deschutes River in a way that maximizes the river’s health. Photo courtesy of Chris Corbin.
Coldest Water Possible, Please
What is the ask that the Deschutes River Alliance is making to correct the issues facing the lower Deschutes River?
The DRA and its thousands of supporters are asking for the maximum amount of cold water to be released from the depths of Lake Billy Chinook. Maximum bottom draw would occur for nine months out of the year, from the middle of June until the middle of March the following year. The three month exception would take place from March 15th to June 15th, when water would be released from the surface of Lake Billy Chinook to facilitate juvenile salmon migration.
Who is the DRA asking to make these changes? How can I help?
The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, (ODEQ) has the power to enforce state water quality laws. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife is also responsible for the health and welfare of trout, salmon and steelhead on the lower Deschutes River. Portland General Electric has the leeway under its federal permit to operate the Pelton Round Butte Project to quickly change operations, especially when biological goals are not being met. Unfortunately, the company has steadfastly refused to make these changes. You can help by writing a letter. The DRA is currently spearheading a letter-writing campaign to Oregon Governor Tina Kotek’s office. The online portal to contribute your opinion is available on the DRA’s website here.
How will this improve conditions in-river?
The DRA prides itself on being a science-based advocacy organization. Our data has shown that when cold, clean water is released from the depths of Lake Billy Chinook, the persistent water quality violations that have occurred since the Selective Water Withdrawal Tower came into operation, particularly in the warmer months of the year, can be brought into compliance. Temperature violations tell only part of the story. The pH standard is vital to the health of salmonids. On the lower Deschutes, the pH standard has been violated every day in 2024 that the DRA’s monitoring station in Maupin has been taking readings, beginning in early April.
How is this proposed scenario different from the way Portland General Electric currently operates river flow out of Lake Billy Chinook?
The scenario outlined above is in many ways the opposite of how PGE is currently operating flows from Lake Billy Chinook. Currently, warm water from the surface of Lake Billy Chinook is released into the lower river for eight months out of the year, from October through the end of the following June. Even when PGE begins to move more cold water out of the reservoir, with rare exceptions, it does not release the maximum proportion of cold water, which is 60-65% from the depths of the reservoir, and 35-40% from the surface.
Does the current management scheme provide any quantifiable biological benefit?
Extensive research by the DRA’s science team, in particular, by DRA board member and retired Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife biologist Steve Pribyl, has found no biological benefit to current operation of the Pelton Round Butte Project. On the contrary, significant potential biological harm is present under the current regime, due to ongoing violations of state and federal water quality laws.
Then why does PGE continue to stick to current operations?
As yet, we don’t have a good answer to this question. According to the company’s own website, PGE can change the operation of the Selective Water Withdrawal Tower without compromising power production or revenue. As we’ve seen during the hottest July in Oregon on record, PGE will cool the lower Deschutes when dire weather conditions merit such a move. In an era when dire conditions, especially in summer, are starting to look like the norm, cooler, cleaner water for the bulk of the year sure looks to the DRA like the best course of action to preserve the national treasure that is the lower Deschutes River.
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