Join us on March 16th at 10:30 as Deschutes River Alliance’s Executive Director Sarah Cloud and Board Member and resident bug expert Rick Hafele dive into the current conditions of the lower Deschutes River and highlight the critical work of the Deschutes River Alliance (DRA). They will examine the importance of this iconic river, its ecological significance, and its role as a recreational hotspot. The DRA's mission to safeguard the river's health will be explored, along with their projects, collaborative efforts, and policy advocacy. They will also delve into the professional, scientific approaches employed by the DRA, including robust data collection, thorough research and analysis, and community engagement. Join us to discover the proactive steps being taken to preserve and restore the lower Deschutes River, ensuring its vitality and beauty for future generations.
At one of the stakeholders' meetings, DRA directly requested that PGE use a Night Blend scenario for three years to determine if it would benefit the lower Deschutes River. When the DRA made this request, all other stakeholders (Native Fish Society, Trout Unlimited, etc.) remained silent, including those who committed to support the request. That made it easy for PGE to refuse the proposal.
The Night Blend scenario would be the quickest, most straightforward way to address these vexing water quality troubles. We can all agree that Night Blend 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, except 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.
This seems like a common-sense solution that deserves consideration.
“People often ask, will increasing the amount of bottom water released from Lake Billy Chinook really help the lower Deschutes River? Well, the DRA has documented many times that when bottom water releases increase, water quality is almost immediately improved, as shown in the graph of pH above. pH goes down when bottom water releases are increased. The night blend would extend this benefit through 9 months of the year.”
Rick Hafele
This presentation will be held in the shop from 10:30 until noon.
