Fish Passage EXEMPTION Application

Transcription

1 OREGON DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND WILDLIFE Fish Passage EXEMPTION Application Use this form if a waiver has already been granted for the artificial obstruction for which an Exemption is being requested, fish passage mitigation has already been provided for the artificial obstruction, or if there would be no appreciable benefit for native migratory fish if passage were provided at the artificial obstruction. Use the "Fish Passage WAIVER Application" if providing fish passage at the artificial obstruction would benefit native migratory fish. If you unlock and re-lock this Form, information already entered may be lost in certain versions of MS Word. APPLICANT INFORMATION The Applicant must be the owner or operator of the artificial obstruction for which an Exemption is sought. ORGANIZATION/APPLICANT: Farmers Irrigation District CONTACT: Les Perkins TITLE: District Manager ADDRESS: 1985 Country Club Road CITY: Hood River STATE: OR ZIP: PHONE: FAX: ADDRESS: les@fidhr.org SIGNATURE: DATE: OWNER (if different than Applicant): CONTACT: TITLE: ADDRESS: CITY: STATE: ZIP: PHONE: FAX: ADDRESS: SIGNATURE: Signature indicates that you understand and do not dispute this request. DATE: APPLICATION COMPLETED BY (if different than Applicant): TITLE: consultant ORGANIZATION: Vaivoda Consulting ADDRESS: Alexis Vaivoda th Street CITY: Hood River STATE: OR ZIP: PHONE: FAX: N/A ADDRESS: Vaivoda@gorge.net SIGNATURE: APPLICATION #: To Be Completed by ODFW Fish Passage Coordinator DATE RECEIVED: DATE: FILE NAME: APPROVED SIGNATURE: DATE: DENIED TITLE: 1

2 ARTIFICIAL OBSTRUCTION (for which an Exemption is being requested) 1. TYPE OF ARTIFICIAL OBSTRUCTION: Dam New Culvert/Bridge Existing Tidegate Other (describe): 2. PLEASE PROVIDE A BACKGROUND AND DESCRIPTION OF THE PROPOSED ACTION TRIGGERING THE NEED TO ADDRESS FISH PASSAGE: Project Area: Kingsley Reservoir located at the uppermost end of Ditch Creek. Ditch Creek is a tributary to the Hood River and is located in the Odell Creek- Hood River Subwatershed (12-digit Hydrologic Unit Code: ). Proposed Action: Kingsley Reservoir is owned and operated by Farmers Irrigation District (FID) and is located at the uppermost end of the Ditch Creek. Kingsley Reservoir is fed by FID s Stanley Smith Pipeline which is a 5.5-mile pipe that transfers water from Gate, Cabin, and Rainy Creeks to Kingsley Reservoir year-round. The diversions on Gate, Cabin, and Rainy Creeks have functioning fish screens to exclude fish from entering the pipeline and the diversions do not utilize dams or other structures that block fish passage. Kingsley Reservoir is at the uppermost part of the watershed and there are no stream channels upstream of the reservoir. FID currently uses Kingsley Reservoir to store irrigation water which irrigates approximately1,200 acres of pear, cherry, blueberry/grape, hay, and apple orchards in the upper portion of FID in the Hood River Valley. The vast majority of commercial crops grown in FID are permanent crops that require consistent irrigation water. Inadequate water for one year will affect yield and crop quality for as many as 7 years. The availability of irrigation water is frequently limited to the FID upper district patrons in late summer due to low reservoir levels. This results in three distinct challenges. First, the lack of water in Kingsley Reservoir results in an increased need to take live streamflow from Green Point Creek during the late summer months. Taking water from Green Point Creek is not a preferred alternative because Green Point Creek is a high priority stream with no fish passage barriers and Green Point Creek supports populations of steelhead, salmon, cutthroat trout, and rainbow trout. Second, the remaining water in Kingsley reservoir increases water temperatures in Ditch Creek downstream of the reservoir. Third, FID patrons typically have limited water available to irrigate permanent crops. The Stanley Smith Pipeline has a maximum capacity of approximately 14 cfs of water but varies due to season. There are several water rights from the three sources that include primary irrigation, supplemental irrigation, frost/spray water, and hydro with priority dates ranging from 1899 to The sum total of the various rights exceeds the capacity of the Stanley Smith Pipeline. There will be no changes to any of the diversions or the Stanley Smith Pipeline so total diversion capacity will not change. Instead, FID will simply direct the flow to storage for a greater duration rather than sending it to the hydropower operations. Depending on the time of the year, FID can be storing water, providing spray/frost water, and providing water for the hydropower operations, all from the three water sources feeding the Stanley Smith Pipeline. FID has been working with the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (ODEQ), the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW), the Hood River Watershed Group, and the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs to optimize the reservoir operations. This has culminated through developing a Seasonally Varying Flow Model (SVF). The SVF describes the best use of water resources to increase fish habitat, increase water quality, and decrease the anthropormorphic pressure on Ditch, Green Point, Gate, Cabin, and Rainy Creeks. More specifically, once water enters Kingsley Reservoir the 2

3 residence time in the reservoir varies depending on the season. In the spring the reservoir is filled to capacity, and over the course of the summer the reservoir is drawn down to provide farmers with irrigation water. In the late fall, winter, and early spring, the reservoir passes water through from the interbasin transfer for hydropower operations. FID is proposing to increase the size of Kingsley Reservoir because there is net benefit to the surrounding resources. The proposed project will address water shortages in FID without changing the amount of flow diverted for consumptive use. FID is not proposing to increase the rate of diversion or the duty in any given year, but instead will use more of the flow in the Stanley Smith Pipeline as storage rather than running it through the hydro projects. The downstream impacts will not change as the diversion rates will not change, except late in the season when stored water will be used to meet demand rather than live streamflow. The project will return water to Green Point, Gate, Cabin, and Rainy Creeks and has the potential to improve water quality by lowering stream temperatures, and reducing sedimentation. Diminished streamflow has been identified as a key limiting factor in the recovery of ESA fish throughout the Hood River Basin. Irrigation withdrawals for agriculture have been identified as the main contributing factor to summer low flows. Through the implementation of this proposed project, it is estimated that 1.5 cfs would be saved instream in Green Point Creek during the summer months, when the stream needs it the most. This project is triggering the need to address fish passage because the FID is seeking to increase the storage capacity of Kingsley Reservoir. FID is requesting a fish passage exemption because there is no fish habitat upstream of the dam and reservoir. There is no stream channel that exists upstream of Kingsley Reservoir and fish passage would provide no appreciable benefit to fish. Furthermore, there are no stream channels providing flow to the reservoir other than the Stanley Smith Pipeline flow. This project provides a net benefit to fish habitat and water quality by providing more water instream in Green Point Creek. ODFW stocks Kingsley Reservoir with rainbow trout each spring. Cutthroat trout may be present in Kingsley Reservoir, but due to the type of habitat, they are more likely found in the reaches below the dam. There is no fish habitat upstream of Kingsley Reservoir. This project involves a lot of stakeholders and includes a complete re-location and re-build of the campground at Kingsley Reservoir. FID is working with all stakeholders to create a project that has many benefits. In addition to a greatly improved campground with expanded fishing opportunities, the access roads around both reservoirs will be re-surfaced to minimize erosion. FID is also working with Hood River County to install gates on roads that have historically been torn up by off-road vehicles, causing sediment issues in Ditch Creek. Additionally, FID is working with the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs to provide stream restoration logs. The newly inundated area will be logged in the spring of 2018 and a portion of those logs will be removed with the root wad attached for planned restoration projects in the Hood River basin. 3. PASSAGE WILL NOT BE PROVIDED FOR THE FOLLOWING REASON(S): Already Mitigated** Already Granted a Waiver** No Appreciable Benefit for Native Migratory Fish ** Attach supporting documentation, a description of mitigation, and past ODFW approvals. The description of mitigation should include information detailed in the "Fish Passage WAIVER Application". 3

4 4. DATE THE TRIGGER ACTION IS SCHEDULED TO BEGIN (a minimum of one month should be planned for the exemption process after ODFW receives your application; requests that require detailed ODFW review or must go before the Commission will take longer): April 1, LOCATION COUNTY: Hood River County ROAD CROSSING (if applicable): N/A RIVER/STREAM: Ditch Creek TRIBUTARY OF: West Fork Hood River BASIN: Hood River COORDINATES a : Longitude: W Latitude: N a Geographic projection using NAD_83 and formatted as decimal degrees to at least 4 places. 6. STREAM DESCRIPTION 6A. BARRIER TABLE (please provide the following information for barriers, which will help determine the benefit of providing passage at the Artificial Obstruction; indicate measurement units if applicable): DOWNSTREAM UPSTREAM Locations 3 C/N 2 1 AO 1 2 E example Type C D D C Length 25 ft 150 ft 200 ft 80 ft Distance 5 miles 0.75 mile 0.5 mile 0 ft 1,200 ft Level Type = C (culvert/bridge), D (dam), T (tide gate), N (natural; describe below), O (other; describe below) Length = length of the barrier in the stream (e.g., culvert's length, dam's width/footprint) Distance = distance from the Artificial Obstruction (to closest point of other barriers) Level = amount of passage at the barrier using the following codes: 5 - barrier to all native migratory fish 4 - barrier to some native migratory fish adults and/or species 3 - barrier to some native migratory fish adults and/or species for only part of migration period 2 - barrier to all native migratory fish juveniles 1 - barrier to some native migratory fish juveniles and/or for only part of migration period LOCATIONS: AO = the existing or proposed Artificial Obstruction 1,2 = other barriers in the same stream as the Artificial Obstruction 3 = downstream barrier outside the immediate stream in which the Artificial Obstruction is located (only needed if C/N is a confluence rather than a complete natural barrier) E = end of historic native migratory fish use, including all tributaries (i.e., potential range without any artificial barriers in place) C/N = first downstream confluence or complete natural barrier, whichever comes first NOTE: The example indicates that there is culvert which is 80 feet long, is located 1,200 feet from the Artificial Obstruction in question, and is a complete fish passage barrier. PLEASE PROVIDE ADDITIONAL DESCRIPTIONS FOR THOSE BARRIERS INCLUDED IN THE BARRIER TABLE OR FOR OTHER BARRIERS AFFECTING NATIVE MIGRATORY FISH MOVEMENT TO OR FROM THE ARTIFICIAL OBSTRUCTION: AO (Kingsley Dam): Kingsley Dam is an earthen dam approximately 30 feet high, 1,010 feet long, and 200 feet across (Photo 1). It was built in 1937 to provide FID with 4

5 irrigation water. The Kingsley Dam is located at the very upstream end of Ditch Creek (Photo 2). There is a pipe that runs from the bottom of the reservoir, under the dam, and daylights to Ditch Creek (Photo 3). There is also an overflow channel that runs on the west side of the dam and connects Kingsley Reservoir to Ditch Creek depending on the pool height of the reservoir and precipitation amounts. Kingsley Reservoir is stocked with rainbow trout for a sport fishery. Ditch Creek downstream of Kingsley Dam has cutthroat trout and rainbow trout (per. comm. R. French, 2017). There is no fish habitat upstream of Kingsley Reservoir, it is at the most upstream end of Ditch Creek. Upstream of Kingsley Reservoir: There are no barriers upstream of the Kingsley dam because there are no waterbodies or fish habitat upstream of Kingsley Reservoir. Downstream of Kingsley Reservoir: 1- The first fish passage barrier downstream of Kingsley is the Lower Reservoir (Photos 4, 5, and 6). It is 0.75 miles downstream of Kingsley Dam. Similar to the Kingsley Dam it is an earthen dam which acts as a very similar passage barrier to the dam that backs up Kingsley Reservoir. The Lower Reservoir Dam is a bit smaller than the Kingsley Dam. The Lower Dam has a very similar overflow channel to Kingsley Dam and the fish passage scenario is very similar to Kingsley Dam, although the Lower Reservoir is not stocked with fish. 2- This is a culvert under Forest Road It is a 25-foot long, 36-inch diameter, corrugated steel culvert. There is no drop off the downstream side but the slope of the culvert is steep. There are several culvert crossings and a bridge on Ditch Creek downstream of this culvert which are also fish passage barriers to all native migratory fish (Photos 8 and 9). 3- C/N- Near the confluence with the Hood River, Ditch Creek is very steep and has a natural waterfall that is a natural barrier to all anadromous fish. 6B. SUMMARY TABLE (please provide the following information relative to the Artificial Obstruction, which will help determine the benefit of providing passage at it): DOWNSTREAM UPSTREAM NMF Species Present Currently rainbow trout (O. mykiss) cutthroat trout (O. clarki) ODFW stocks hatchery rainbow trout in Kingsley Reservoir NMF Species Present Historically rainbow trout (O. mykiss) cutthroat trout (O. clarki) Unknown, due to the fact that it is unclear where the actual headwaters would form if there wasn t an input of water from FID. Habitat Quality Good No fish habitat exists upstream Flows Controlled by FID based upon Ditch Creek needs instream, irrigation needs, hydropower generation, and water rights. The stream flow in Ditch Interbasin transfer of water from an irrigation supply pipeline (Rainy, Gate, and Cabin Creeks). No surface flow upstream of the reservoir. Creek is augmented by an interbasin transfer of water from Rainy, Gate, and Cabin Creeks. Water Quality Good (elevated temperatures from residence time in the reservoir and increased sedimentation from off-road vehicle use) none 5

6 Water Right Availability None FID has a 5 cfs primary irrigation water right from Gate and Cabin Creeks and a 1.87 cfs primary irrigation water right from Rainy Creek. A supplemental storage water right to fill Kingsley Reservoir for 8.75 cfs or 700 acre-feet. A hydropower water right from Gate and Cabin Creeks for 5 cfs which is utilized when the reservoir is not being filled for irrigation. Also, there is a frost and spray water right for Gate and Cabin Creeks for 0.76 cfs. Land Use/Zoning Hood River County and private Hood River County NMF = native migratory fish PLEASE PROVIDE ADDITIONAL DETAILS REGARDING THE INFORMATION PROVIDED IN THE SUMMARY TABLE (such as species listed under the state or federal ESA and descriptions of the stream channel and riparian habitat): Downstream of Kingsley Reservoir- Historically and currently there are no anadromous fish in Ditch Creek due to a waterfall near the confluence with the Hood River. Ditch Creek has rainbow and cutthroat trout populations (pers. comm. R. French 2017). The habitat is considered in good condition because there is very little human development adjacent to Ditch Creek, however there are a total of eight man-made passage barriers on the 5.5-mile stream. All but one of these function as a fish passage barrier to some degree. The flows in Ditch Creek are controlled by FID and the interbasin transfer of water from Rainy, Gate, and Cabin Creeks. This has been the case since The water quality is good, but temperature does get artificially elevated as a result of being held in the two reservoirs and sedimentation is increased due to off road vehicle use around the reservoirs. An additional aspect of this project includes improvement of road surfaces around both reservoirs to minimize future sediment issues as well as installation of gates to minimize access to sensitive areas. Upstream of Kingsley Reservoir- ODFW stocks rainbow trout in Kingsley Reservoir for sport anglers. It is anticipated that historically there were no fish in the area where the reservoir is located because prior to the dam being constructed there was no water supply from Rainy, Gate, and Cabin Creeks. There isn t a defined channel and the valley form is very wide and broad indicating that perennial flow didn t start until downstream of the Lower Reservoir. 6C. PROVIDE THE SOURCE FOR INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THE BARRIER AND SUMMARY TABLES: Barrier Table- dam dimensions came from engineering design drawings and site visits on 6/24/2017. Summary Table- species presence/absence information came from Rod French (ODFW). Water right availability information came from FID. 6

7 MAP(S) Please attach one or more maps indicating the Artificial Obstruction, the stream on which it is located, and other barriers in the stream. A 7.5 minute USGS quad map is sufficient. -- Map(s) included PHOTOS Please include photographs of the following (.JPG files are preferred): -- Artificial Obstruction -- up- and downstream habitat at the Artificial Obstruction -- other barriers up- and downstream of the Artificial Obstruction Please submit this application electronically to the ODFW Fish Passage Coordinator at greg.d.apke@state.or.us and send one signed original paper copy of the application to the ODFW Fish Passage Coordinator at 4034 Fairview Industrial Dr. SE, Salem, OR

8 For ODFW Use Only PRELIMINARY BENEFIT ANALYSIS 1. The information contained in this application is accurate: 2. State or federal ESA-listed fish species can NOT currently access the site: 3. One or more of the following situations exist for the site (check those that apply): a. a complete downstream barrier (artificial or natural) prevents access to the site and there are no resident native migratory fish which currently have access to the site: b. a complete downstream barrier (artificial or natural) prevents access to the site and is within 100 feet of the site: c. total distance of habitat (including tributaries) upstream of the site to another complete barrier (artificial or natural) or up to the end of historic fish use is less than 100 feet in length: d. all habitat upstream of the site will not be utilized by any native migratory fish because of its poor or degraded condition: 4. The artificial obstruction (absent passage) will NOT preclude access to any "Habitat Category I" (as defined in OAR (1)) habitat for native migratory fish: 5. Based on distances with which you concur in 6A. BARRIER TABLE, one of the following is true: a. the distance "E" is less than 1 mile from the artificial obstruction, or b. if "C/N" is a complete natural barrier, the distance to it is less than 1 mile from the artificial obstruction True False If all answers are "True", this suffices as the Final Benefit Analysis when filled in below. If any answers are "False" or you wish to provide further information, please provide a full Benefit Analysis and do not fill in below. Electronically return this form and a full Benefit Analysis, if needed, to the Fish Passage Coordinator when completed. By filling in the following information, I determine that under the current conditions there is "no appreciable benefit" for native migratory fish by providing passage at this Artificial Obstruction. NAME: TITLE: ODFW OFFICE: DATE: 8

9

10

11