The Plain Facts What s happening on the Deschutes River
The Deschutes River system is an Oregon icon, treasured for its scenic beauty, the life-giving water it brings to the high desert, and its world-class salmon, steelhead and trout fisheries. But the river and its tributaries are more than that: They re sacred to the people of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon and an integral part of the culture and economy of the region. As co-owners of the Pelton Round Butte Hydroelectric Project, no one pays closer attention to the health of the river than Portland General Electric and the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs. We know that recent changes on the Deschutes some good, some potentially troubling have raised questions among river users in the region, so we want to share what we know about what s happening on the Deschutes. This pamphlet addresses some of the concerns we ve heard recently. There is more information at PortlandGeneral.com/Deschutes, and we welcome questions at Deschutes.Passage@pgn.com or 541-325-0960. 2
The lower Deschutes River is in a state of rapid decline. The lower Deschutes River is not in decline. Seasonal river temperatures are returning to their historic, natural levels. Salmon are migrating and returning more successfully than any time since the 1960s. The redband trout population remains robust as does the wide variety of insects that provide much of their food. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife s recent study confirmed that trout continue to primarily eat the same bugs they have consumed historically, and in the same amounts. Finally, the latest Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife angler creel surveys have shown excellent catch rates. PGE is acting on its own, making changes to the Deschutes River. The Pelton Round Butte project is a partnership. These hydro facilities are co-owned and co-managed by the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs and PGE. Ten years ago, when we took another look at ways to restore fish migration and improve water quality, the Tribes and PGE proposed a solution: the Selective Water Withdrawal (SWW) system. SWW is a state-of-the-art way to manage seasonal temperatures and support healthy salmon, steelhead and trout populations on the Deschutes River. Together, with more than 10 natural resource agencies and five environmental non-profit groups, the Tribes and PGE agreed to implement the SWW, launch a reintroduction program, and focus long term on monitoring and working to improve the health of the lower Deschutes River. It s time to stop and turn the clock back to the previous river conditions that favored certain fish. The fish passage and seasonal temperature management system was put in place to solve a serious problem: Historic fish runs had been cut off in the Deschutes basin and seasonal temperatures were being artificially disrupted. This situation was hurting the Tribes heritage, culture and survival. Doing nothing or returning to the previous conditions would only solve one problem for one group of anglers. We are seeking solutions for the overall health of the river for the fish, the Tribes and for all Oregonians, now and into the future. Implementing the new system is an adaptive process that is constantly evolving as we study and learn the best way to move juveniles out of the reservoirs and manage water quality in the lower river. It s too soon to judge the project and its results. We need valid, scientific results and analysis over time to tell us how it s working because we know that following the best science is the best path to success. We must also consider the natural evolution of the river. Like any living organism, the river adapts and changes over time. To simply say return it to what it was is not taking into account weather and climate conditions, river adaptation and more. The right solution is to honor the river by following the science and to remain focused on long-term solutions, not short-term results or concerns. 3
PGE should simply flip the switch off and stop using the Selective Water Withdrawal system. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, NOAA Fisheries, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality and the Warm Springs Tribal Water & Soil Department would all need to change their requirements in the federal license before PGE and Tribal Hydro could go back to total bottom-water withdrawal. There was a lengthy, thorough and public process that led PGE and the Tribes to implement the Selective Water Withdrawal system. And remember, the system was put in place to solve an existing problem. If we turn it off we respond to one concern, but the original problem affecting the Tribes and the health of the fish will resurface. And the prospect of a historic diversity of native fish not returning to the basin is much more damaging for the long-term health and vitality of the river. We are committed to learning from the science and adjusting our approach so that the Deschutes River can be a valuable resource for all Oregonians, for generations to come. Algae are taking over the lower Deschutes River. The filamentous algae found in some areas of the lower Deschutes River can be found in many waters in the Pacific Northwest. Across our region, low runoff and warm spring temperatures can allow algae to become established in the shallows of a river. The condition can persist from year to year until scour flows occur, which hasn t happened on the Deschutes in the past decade. PGE s new Water Quality Study is tasked with analyzing any effect that surface releases from Round Butte might be having on downstream algae. Once we have a better fix on what s allowing the algae to take hold, we ll know if there s any impact from the SWW, and determine appropriate strategies. 4 There is a problem with ph levels on the Lower Deschutes. There s no evidence that ph levels in the lower river are harming fish or other aquatic life. As part of its ongoing monitoring program, PGE continually tests water quality including ph levels at sites selected in consultation with DEQ and the Warm Springs Water Control Board to be as representative of the water leaving the Project as possible. These reliable, year-round, hourly readings of ph, temperature and dissolved oxygen contribute to the data we collect to help us evaluate water quality in the river and the factors that influence it. Those factors include, in the case of temperature and ph levels, weather events that are well outside human control. It s important not just to measure ph levels, but to interpret the results using the best available science and looking at the whole picture. That s part of what we re doing now in a multi-year study of water quality above and below the Pelton Round Butte Hydroelectric Project. Results, analysis and modeling tools developed as part of the study will become available in 2018.
The Selective Water Withdrawal system isn t working as intended, and the lower Deschutes River is too warm. By blending the surface and deep reservoir waters we are restoring the natural seasonal temperature regime that would occur if the dams and reservoirs weren t there. The water released since building the SWW matches up much closer to the historic temperature patterns (comparisons of pre- and post-dam data prove this). The fact is, for many decades, the lower Deschutes River ran artificially cold during spring and early summer, and artificially warm in late summer and fall. This restored, historic temperature regime helps juvenile salmon emerge from their spawning gravel earlier. For fall Chinook, this allows the juveniles to grow larger before they leave the river, so they have higher survival rates when they enter the ocean. Dechutes River at RM 100.1 (Madras Gauge, USGS No. 14092500) 16 7 day mean maximum temperature C 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 Jan. a b d c e f g h i Feb. Mar. Apr. May June July Aug. Sep. Oct. Nov. Scheduled % bottom water 0% 15% 30% 40% 50% 0% j 2006-2009 observed 7-day average max temperatures, before selective water withdrawal 2017 calculated 7-day average max temperature if the dams weren t there 2017 observed 7-day average max temperatures Total % bottom water a 15 % (May 19) b 10 % (May 26) c 15 % (May 31) d 20 % (June 3) e 25 % (June 8) f 30 % (June 9) g 35 % (June 15) h 25 % (June 20) i 20 % (June 23) j 30 % (July 8) Comparison of the actual water temperature at the Madras USGS gauge during 2017 with the calculated temperature that would occur at the gauge if the dams were not there, and the average temperature during the last four years of bottom withdrawal, 2006 2009. Dec. The Deschutes ran cold, clear and clean for thousands of years but in 2009, it all changed. The Deschutes runs clearer now than it did before the dams were built. The dams created settling basins for the alluvial colloidal clays that are a natural part of the runoff from the basin. If you ask an angler who fished the lower Deschutes River before 1962, they can tell you about the Deschutes turbid conditions and cloudy water from spring runoff. The silt from the upper Crooked River would persist into the fishing season, making the lower Deschutes often too turbid to be fishable. 5
High ph levels in Lake Billy Chinook are spoiling the downstream migration of juvenile fish. Summer high ph levels in Lake Billy Chinook are not keeping fish from entering the juvenile migrant collection system record-high downstream migration of juveniles in 2017 shows that the system is working. Our monitoring shows no indication that migrating fish change their behavior as ph levels rise through the spring. Additionally, most of the out-migrating juvenile salmon have already left the reservoir before the ph goes up in the summer months. Fish on the Deschutes are in trouble. Fish on the Deschutes are on the rebound. One of the most remarkable changes in the lower river since the new system was implemented has been the impressive number of fall Chinook spawning upstream of Sherar s Falls. The majority of the fall Chinook spawning above Sherar s Falls are Deschutes River stock, while below the falls are a mixed stock. In the years since PGE and the Tribes restored seasonal temperature management to the lower river, average fall Chinook runs below the dams have more than doubled! The return of sockeye salmon is also something to be excited about. In the fall of 2016, 536 adult sockeye salmon returned to the Deschutes River, the largest number since the dams were constructed in the early 1960s. Genetic testing revealed that over 92% of these fish were native to the Deschutes Basin and migrated through the Selective Water Withdrawal system as juveniles. This shows the collection of juvenile salmon utilizing the Selective Water Withdrawal system is working. Additionally, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife s latest reports show healthy numbers of redband trout, healthy amounts of insects for the trout to feed upon and excellent catch rates by anglers. Trout creel results show that catch rates are favorable to other blue-ribbon trout streams in the West. Since the changes to the system, black spot has appeared in Deschutes River fish. Black spot is a parasitic infestation found on freshwater fish across the United States and Canada. It has been in many Oregon rivers for years, including the Deschutes both upstream and downstream of the dams. It is caused by trematodes that involve three host species: snails, fish and fish-eating birds. Once the larvae leave the snail, the larvae then infect fish with cysts just under the skin. Lastly, fish-eating birds consume infected fish and the larvae mature and lay eggs in the birds. It has not been documented to affect the survival of fish, and, importantly, fish with this condition remain safe for human consumption. 6
Steelhead in the Deschutes River are in trouble. Much of the change in the Deschutes steelhead returns can be tracked to changes in the Columbia River conditions and hatchery operations, not changes in Deschutes conditions. The reduction in out-of-basin stray steelhead entering the Deschutes in recent years is actually a good thing for our native population of wild, Deschutes River steelhead. The size of the Deschutes River summer steelhead run is highly variable as it is in all Oregon rivers. Run sizes are often influenced by ocean conditions as much as freshwater conditions. The lower Deschutes River is turning into a smallmouth bass pond. Smallmouth bass have been documented in the lower Deschutes since 1996 well before the Selective Water Withdrawal system. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife is keeping an eye on this, but there s no evidence of successful spawning by smallmouth bass in the Deschutes River; they appear to drop back into the Columbia River in the winter. The insects the redband trout depend upon are in decline. The timing of the salmon fly hatch in the lower Deschutes River has shifted, but the size of the hatch hasn t decreased. This hatch occurs approximately two weeks earlier in response to warmer spring water temperatures, but the hatch numbers continue to be strong and support an impressive trout fishery as measured by Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. ODFW electrofishing sampling in 2015 2016 indicates the abundance, growth, diet and condition of redband trout is very comparable to pre-sww samples. Independent water quality reports show the Deschutes is in trouble. Scientifically sound studies are customarily reviewed by other scientists and organizations to ensure the integrity of the study and delivered results. That hasn t been the case for anecdotal reports and studies we ve seen that claim to prove the river is in trouble. PGE believes in following the science and operates with a high level of review and oversight. All of our study designs and reports are vetted through the Deschutes Fish Committee (10 natural resources agencies and five environmental non-profit groups) before implementation. This transparent approach also extends to our water quality monitoring program. 7
Visit PortlandGeneral.com/Deschutes for more information. We welcome questions at Deschutes.Passage@pgn.com and 541-325-0960.