skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Fish passage and protective facilities, Yakima River basin, Washington: Environmental assessment

Technical Report ·
OSTI ID:5190855

The Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) and Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), propose to administer the construction of fish passage and protective facilities at 20 existing irrigation and/or hydroelectric diversions in the Yakima River basin, Washington, for the improvement of anadromous fish populations. This action would implement the Northwest Power Planning Council's Columbia River Basin Fish and Wildlife Program for natural propagation activities to mitigate hydroelectric impacts in the Yakima basin and to provide offsite enhancement to compensate for fish and wildlife losses caused by hydroelectric project development and operations throughout the Columbia River basin. The Yakima River basin is located in south-central Washington (see frontispiece map) and drains an area of about 6000 square miles. The basin centers around the city of Yakima and includes most of Yakima, Kittitas, and Benton Counties. The Yakima River heads near the eastern crest of the Cascade Range and flows generally southeastward for over 200 miles to its confluence with the Columbia River near Richland. Major tributaries include the Kachess, Cle Elum, and Teanaway Rivers and the Naches River, which has several major tributaries of its own--the Bumping, American, and Tieton Rivers. Ahtanum, Toppenish, and Satus Creeks join the Yakima River in the lower part of the basin. Natural runoff for the basin above Parker (Sunnyside Diversion Dam) averaged about 3.5 million acre-feet annually for the period 1940-1976. 21 refs., 6 figs., 1 tab.

Research Organization:
Bureau of Reclamation, Boise, ID (USA). Pacific Northwest Region
OSTI ID:
5190855
Report Number(s):
DOE/EA-0250; ON: DE88008264
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English