2010 Spring Planning Meeting
The 2010 Spring Planning Meeting in Lovell didn't have many surprises. While the inflow forecast still looks pretty bleak, its much better than a month ago. In fact, Reclamation is now expecting the reservoir to fill. (Good thing you didn't bet me, Tim). The highlight of the meeting was a presentation provided by Western Area Power Administration, who clearly described the convoluted juggling act they must perform with regards to selling power and fulfilling power contracts. They really don't like spilling water not only because its so wasteful, but it robs them of the ability to take advantage of the peaking ability of Yellowtail Dam. Gordon Aycock spoke about the rule curves he's developed, and many of us were happy to see he's planned for lake elevations dropping below 3,620 during high water years. Gordon deserves a lot of credit for his honest, hard work on his rule curves.
The Issues Group meeting was abbreviated, but Reclamation did have enough time to recap the status of the three ongoing studies. Firstly, the sedimentation study being done on the south end of the lake appears to be complete. Unfortunately, there are very, very few alternatives for dealing with the silt, and certainly none that are even close to be considered economically feasible. For the first time at any of these meetings, Reclamation made mention that the day Horseshoe Bend must be abandoned is not far off. Secondly, the reservoir re-allocation study is still ongoing. This study is looking at the possibility of raising the bottom of the flood pool 3 to 5 feet. At this point, this look unlikely, but the study will continue. Lastly, the Bighorn River side channel study geomorphic study has been completed. Its most notable discovery was that downcutting in the river was much, much less than expected, and does not play a major factor in wetting side channel habitat. It also pointed out that debris and sediment that is being flushed at the mouths of the side-channels is acceleratingthe choking off of some side channels by promoting revegetation. This study will continue into its second phase where it begins to study hydraulics, and what flows are require to wet side-channels.
The regular monthly conference calls will continue, and increae in frequency when run-off begins.
