Yakima Basin Natural Resources
Permanent URI for this collection
The Yakima River Basin, including its role as tributary to the Columbia River system, is the focus of this collection of research documents, agency reports and journal articles.
Browse
Browsing Yakima Basin Natural Resources by Issue Date
Now showing 1 - 20 of 22
Results Per Page
Sort Options
Item Columbia Basin System Planning Salmon and Steelhead Production - Yakima River Basin(Northwest Power Planning Council, 1990-09-01) Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakima Indian Nation and The Washington Department of FisheriesThis plan is one of the 31 Columbia river subbasin plans that comprise the system planning effort. The system plan will guide the adoption of future salmon and steelhead enhancement projects under the Northwest Power Planning Council's Columbia Basin Fish and Wildlife program.Item Non-Federal Irrigation Development in the Yakima River Basin Prior to 1905(unknown, 1993) Tuck, RobertDuring the 40-year period from 1865 to 1905, the Yakima Basin was transformed from a by-passed region to a thriving center of agricultural production. Bunch grass had been replaced by apple orchards and hay fields. Farm houses were sprinkled over the entire basin, from the small tributaries such as Ahtanum and Wenas Creeks to the broad lower Yakima Valley. The stage had been set for the large expansion that would shortly take place under federal sponsorship. This was the basic legacy of private irrigation development in the Yakima Basin.Item IMPACTS OF IRRIGATION DEVELOPMENT ON ANADROMOUS FISH IN THE YAKIMA RIVER BASIN, WASHINGTON(Central Washington University, 1995-05) Tuck, Robert L.Irrigation development, including the construction of unscreened diversions, the blockage of spawning and rearing habitat by reservoir dams, and the dewatering of spawning and rearing habitat, began in the mid-1800's and today totals approximately 500,000 acres. Historical records provide a wealth of information documenting irrigation development and its consequences on anadromous fish populations.Item DISTRIBUTION OF FISH, BENTHIC INVERTEBRATE, AND ALGAL COMMUNITIES IN RELATION TO PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL CONDITIONS, YAKIMA RIVER BASIN, WASHINGTON, 1990(U.S. Geological Survey, 1997) Cuffney, Thomas F.; Meador, Michael R.; Porter, Stephen D.; Gurtz, Martin E.Biological investigations were conducted in the Yakima River Basin, Washington, in conjunction with a pilot study for the U.S. Geological Survey's National Water-Quality Assessment Program. Ecological surveys were conducted at 25 sites in 1990 to (1) assess water-quality conditions based on fish, benthic invertebrate, and algal communities; (2) determine the hydrologic, habitat, and chemical factors that affect the distributions of these organisms; and (3) relate physical and chemical conditions to water quality. Results of these investigations showed that land uses and other associated human activities influenced the biological characteristics of streams and rivers and overall water-quality conditions.Item USBR Columbia River pump exchange project: potential water quality impacts on the lower Yakima River(Washington State Dept. of Ecology, 2001-01) Carroll, Jim; Joy, JoePoor upstream water quality was concluded to be the foremost determinant of water quality conditions in the last 47 miles of the lower Yakima River evaluated in this study. Changes in operational flows at Chandler Canal cannot overcome the water quality degradation occurring upstream. The QUAL2E model mainly predicted some dilution effects on water quality parameters due to increased water volumes associated with the operational changes. Reduced settling of chlorophyll a and total suspended solids was also predicted due to increased velocities of flows. These effects were especially apparent in the Prosser Dam to Chandler Return reach. The proposed operational change at Columbia Canal diversion is predicted to have no noticeable impact on water quality conditions downstream of that diversion.Item Habitat limiting factors Yakima River Watershed, Water Resource Inventory Areas 37-39 : Final Report(Washington State Conservation Commission, 2001-12) Haring, DonaldSection 10 of Engrossed Substitute House Bill 2496 (Salmon Recovery Act of 1998), directs the Washington State Conservation Commission, in consultation with local government and treaty tribes to invite private, federal, state, tribal, and local government personnel with appropriate expertise to convene as a Technical Advisory Group (TAG). The purpose of the TAG is to identify limiting factors for salmonids. Limiting factors are defined as “conditions that limit the ability of habitat to fully sustain populations of salmon, including all species of the family Salmonidae.” This report includes formal habitat inventories or studies specifically directed at evaluating fish habitat, other watershed data not specifically associated with fish habitat evaluation, and personal experience and observations of the watershed experts that participated in the technical advisory group. The analysis of habitat conditions in the Yakima Basin (WRIAs 37-39) and associated action recommendations is based on these data. This report represents a “snapshot-in-time” portrayal of salmonid habitat conditions. This information can and should be used by the Lead Entity (HB2496) and the Watershed Planning Unit (HB 2514) in the development of salmonid habitat protection and restoration strategies. It should be considered a living document, updated periodically with additional habitat assessment data and habitat restoration successes, as information becomes available.Item Pesticides in surface water of the yakima river basin, washington, 1999–2000—their occurrence and an assessment of factors affecting concentrations and loads(Washington State Dept. of Ecology, 2002) Ebbert, James C.; Embrey, Sandra S.The occurrence, distribution, and transport of pesticides in surface water of the Yakima River Basin were assessed using data collected during 1999–2000 as part of the U.S. Geological Survey National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program. Samples were collected at 34 sites located throughout the basin in August 1999 using a Lagrangian sampling design. Samples also were collected weekly and monthly from May 1999 through January 2000 at three of the sites. This report includes data for 47 pesticide compounds from the analysis of filtered water using ocadecyl (C-18) solid-phase extraction and gas chromatography/ mass spectrometry.Item Concentrations and loads of suspended sediment and nutrients in surface water of the Yakima River basin, Washington, 1999-2000 : with an analysis of trends in concentrations(U.S. Geological Survey, 2003) Ebbert, James C.; Embrey, S.S.; Kelly, Janet A.This report contains the major findings of a 1999-2001 assessment of water quality in streams in the Yakima River Basin. It is one of a series of reports by the NAWQA (National Water-Quality Assessment) Program that present major findings on water resources in 51 major river basins and aquifer systems across the Nation. In these reports, water quality is assessed at many scales-from large rivers that drain many land uses to small agricultural catchments, and is discussed in terms of local, State, and regional issues. Conditions in the Yakima River Basin are compared to conditions found elsewhere and to selected national benchmarks, such as those for drinking-water quality and the protection of aquatic organisms. This report is intended for individuals working with water-resource issues in Federal, State, or local agencies, universities, public interest groups, or the private sector. The information will be useful in addressing a number of current issues, such as source-water protection, pesticide registration, human health, drinking water, hypoxia and excessive growth of algae and plants, the effects of agricultural land use on water quality, and monitoring and sampling strategies. This report is also for individuals who wish to know more about the quality of water resources in areas near where they live, and how that water quality compares to other areas across the Nation.Item Watershed Management Plan: Yakima River Basin(Tri-County Water Resource Agency, 2003) Prepared by Economic and Engineering Services, Inc. in Association with Montgomery Water Group, Inc. R.C. Bain & Associates and McKenzie Consulting; Yakima River Basin Watershed Planning Unit; Tri-County Water Resources Agency; Washington State Department of Fish and WildlifeThe Watershed Plan provides a "roadmap" for maintaining and improving the Basins economic base, planning responsibly for expected growth in population, managing water resources for the long-term, and protecting the Basins' natural resources and fish runs.Item Water Quality in the Yakima River Basin, Washington, 1999-2000(U.S. Geological Survey, 2004) Fuhrer, Gregory J.; Morace, Jennifer L.; Johnson, Henry M.; Rinella, Joseph F.; Ebbert, James C.; Embrey, Sandra S.; Waite Ian R., Ian R.; Carpenter, Kurt D.; Wise, Daniel R.; Hughes, Curt A.This report contains the major findings of a 1999–2000 assessment of water quality in streams and drains in the Yakima River Basin. It is one of a series of reports by the NAWQA Program that present major findings on water resources in 51 major river basins and aquifer systems across the Nation. In these reports, water quality is assessed at many scales—from large rivers that drain lands having many uses to small agricultural watersheds—and is discussed in terms of local, State, and regional issues. Conditions in the Yakima River Basin are compared to those found elsewhere and to selected national benchmarks, such as those for drinking-water quality and the protection of aquatic organisms.Item Lower Yakima River Suspended Sediment Total Maximum Daily Load Study(Washington State Dept. of Ecology, 2006-05) Coffin, Chris; Plotnikoff, Robert W.; Anderson, RyanThe Washington State Department of Ecology is required, under Section 303(d) of the federal Clean Water Act and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regulations, to develop and implement Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) for impaired waters, and to evaluate the effectiveness of these water clean-up plans to achieve the needed improvement in water quality. The Lower Yakima River Suspended Sediment and DDT TMDL was developed to reduce suspended sediment, turbidity, and the pesticide, DDT, in the lower reaches of the Yakima River. TMDL implementation is scheduled over 20 years with interim targets set at five-year intervals. The fifth-year (2003) targets included meeting Washington State water quality criterion for turbidity in the lower Yakima River during the irrigation season. Also included was the requirement that non-Yakama Reservation tributaries to the lower mainstem – especially the major tributaries of Moxee Drain, Granger Drain, Sulphur Creek, and Spring Creek – achieve a maximum 90th percentile turbidity of 25 NTU at their mouths during the irrigation season. This report presents an assessment of the turbidity within the project area and the effectiveness of the TMDL in reducing agriculturally related sediment.Item Development and application of a decision support system for water management investigations in the upper Yakima River, Washington(U.S. Geological Survey, 2008) Bovee, Ken D.; Waddle, Terry J.; Talbert, Colin; Batt, Thomas R.; Hatten, James R.The Yakima River Decision Support System (YRDSS) was designed to quantify and display the consequences of different water management scenarios for a variety of state variables in the upper Yakima River Basin, located in central Washington. The impetus for the YRDSS was the Yakima River Basin Water Storage Feasibility Study, which investigated alternatives for providing additional water in the basin for threatened and endangered fish, irrigated agriculture, and municipal water supply. The additional water supplies would be provided by combinations of water exchanges, pumping stations, and off-channel storage facilities, each of which could affect the operations of the Bureau of Reclamation’s (BOR) five headwaters reservoirs in the basin. The driver for the YRDSS is RiverWare, a systems-operations model used by BOR to calculate reservoir storage, irrigation deliveries, and streamflow at downstream locations resulting from changes in water supply and reservoir operations.Item Climate change impacts on water management and irrigated agriculture in the Yakima Basin, Washington, USA(Climatic Change, 2009) Vano, Julie A; Scott, Michael; Voisin, Nathalie; Stockle, Claudio; Hamlet, Alan F.; Mickelson, Kristian E. B.; McGuire Elsner, Marketa; Lettenmaier, Dennis P.The Yakima River Reservoir system supplies irrigation water to over 180,000 irrigated hectares (450,000 acres). Runoff is derived mostly from winter precipitation in the Cascade Mountains, much of which is stored as snowpack and runs off in the spring and early summer. Five reservoirs within the basin have cumulative reservoir storage of approximately 30% of the river’s mean annual flow. Climate change during the 21st century is expected to result in earlier snowmelt runoff, and reduced summer flows. The effects of these changes on irrigated agriculture in the basin were simulated using a hydrological model driven by downscaled climate scenarios from 20 climate models, output of which was archived by the 2007 IPCC Fourth Assessment Report. In general, we find that the basin transitions to earlier and reduced spring snowmelt as the century progresses, which results in increased curtailment of water deliveries, especially to junior water rights holders. Historically, the Yakima basin has experienced water shortages (years in which substantial prorating of deliveries to junior water users was required) in 14% of years. Without adaptations, for the A1B emission scenarios, water shortages that occur in 14% of years historically increase to 32% (15% to 54% range) in the 2020s, to 36% in the 2040s, and to 77% of years in the 2080s. For the B1 emissions scenario, water shortages occur in 27% of years (14% to 54% range), in the 2020s, 33% for the 2040s and 50% for the 2080s. Furthermore, the historically unprecedented condition in which the senior water rights holders suffer shortfalls occurs with increasing frequency in both the A1B and B1 climate change scenarios. Economic losses include lost value of expected annual production in the range of 5% to 16%, with significantly greater probabilities of annual net operating losses for junior water rights holders.Item The Washington climate change impacts assessment: evaluating Washington's future in a changing climate(Climate Impacts Group, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington., 2009-06) Littell, J. S.; McGuire-Elsner, M.; Whitely Binder, L.C.; Snover, A. K.Temperature records indicate that Pacific Northwest temperatures increased 1.5°F since 1920. Climate models used in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fourth Assessment Report simulate the same historical warming by including both human and natural causes, and point to much greater warming for the next century. These models project increases in annual temperature of, on average, 2.0°F by the 2020s, 3.2°F by the 2040s, and 5.3°F by the 2080s (compared to 1970 to 19992), averaged across all climate models3. Projected changes in annual precipitation, averaged over all models, are small (+1 to +2%), but some models project an enhanced seasonal precipitation cycle with changes toward wetter autumns and winters and drier summers. Increases in extreme high precipitation in western Washington and reductions in the Cascades snowpack are key projections consistent among different projections of a high-resolution regional climate model.Item Yakima Steelhead Recovery Plan Extracted from the 2005 Yakima Subbasin Salmon Recovery Plan with Updates(Yakima Basin Fish & Wildlife Recovery Board, 2009-09-30) Conley, Alex; Freudenthal, Joel; Lind, David; Mees, Phil; Visser, RichardThis document is an updated version of the Steelhead portion of the 2005 NOAA Fisheries approved interim recovery, Subbasin Salmon Recovery Plan. THis document is a recovery plan for ESA (Endangered Species Act) listed Middle Columbia Steelhead that spawn in the Yakima Basin and are collectively referred to as the Yakima Major Population Group (MPG).Item Implications of 21st century climate change for the hydrology of Washington State(Climatic Change, 2010) Elsner, Marketa M.; Cuo, Lan; Voisin, Natalie; Deems, J. S.; Hamlet, Alan F.; Vano, Julie A.; Mickelson, Kristian E. B.; Lee, Se-Yeun; Lettenmaier, Dennis P.Pacific Northwest (PNW) hydrology is particularly sensitive to changes in climate because snowmelt dominates seasonal runoff, and temperature changes impact the rain/snow balance. Based on results from the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC AR4), we updated previous studies of implications of climate change on PNW hydrology. PNW 21st century hydrology was simulated using 20 Global Climate Models (GCMs) and 2 greenhouse gas emissions scenarios over Washington and the greater Columbia River watershed, with additional focus on the Yakima River watershed and the Puget Sound which are particularly sensitive to climate change. We evaluated projected changes in snow water equivalent (SWE), soil moisture, runoff, and streamflow for A1B and B1 emissions scenarios for the 2020s, 2040s, and 2080s.Item Numerical Simulation of Groundwater Flow for the Yakima River Basin Aquifer System, Washington(U.S. Geological Survey, 2011) Ely, D.M.; Bachmann, M.P.; Vaccaro, J.J.A regional, three-dimensional, transient numerical model of groundwater flow was constructed for the Yakima River basin aquifer system to better understand the groundwaterflow system and its relation to surface-water resources. The model described in this report can be used as a tool by water management agencies and other stakeholders to quantitatively evaluate proposed alternative management strategies that consider the interrelation between groundwater availability and surface-water resources.Item Assessment of the Lower Yakima River in Benton County, Washington(Benton Conservation District, 2011) Appel, M.; Little, R.; Wendt, H.; Nielson, M.Benton Conservation District (BCD) investigated the lower Yakima River from Prosser, WA to Richland, WA with the purpose of identifying and assessing high priority actions for the benefit of local and basin-wide salmon recovery efforts. This assessment, funded by the Salmon Recovery Funding Board (SRFB), was conducted from 2008 to 2010 and included thermal profiling of the lower Yakima River, investigation of the thermal dynamics of the Yakima River delta, river depth measurements at baseflow conditions, identification of local fish screening needs, and inventory of riverbank, island, and floodplain conditions.Item Yakima River Basin Study(U.S. Department of the Interior State of Washington; Bureau of Reclamation Department of Ecology Pacific Northwest Region, 2011-06) HDR Engineering, Inc; Anchor QEAThe purpose of this memorandum is to document the development of the RiverWare model and results used in the Yakima Basin Study. The Yakima Basin Study will result in an Integrated Water Resources Development Plan for meeting the instream and out-of-stream needs for current and future water supply associated with the Yakima River system. The model of the system (YAKRW) is being used to estimate the specific effects of proposed new water resources projects on water supply and instream flow conditions. It is also being used to estimate the effects of potential climate change on future water supplies and instream flows.Item Yakima Bull Trout Action Plan Final September 2012(Yakima Basin Fish and Wildlife Recovery Board (YBFWRB), Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) Mid-Columbia Fishery Resource Office (collectively, the YBTAP Working Group), 2012-09) Reiss, Yuki K.; Thomas, Jeff; Anderson, Eric; Cummins, JimSummary of information on bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus) populations in the Yakima Basin. This includes populations status, trends and distribution, habitat, a detailed analysis of threats, and relevant monitoring and restoration actions. The analysis and information will help resource managers in the Yakima Basin.