 |
Aug 27 , 2010
|
|
|
Note the white sandbags, called weirs, lined up in the Spokane River. These temporary dams help divert
water during the aesthetic spill tests. They will be removed from the river once testing is complete. |
We received this message to conversation@avistautilities.com yesterday from a concerned customer. I thought this might be a question that other customers may be asking, so I’ve posted the full e-mail and our reply below.
E-mail
I have seen the crews at work on the Aesthetic Spill Pilot Test in the River Front Park area. It appears the purpose of this pilot test is to assess the feasibility of diverting water that would normally flow through the south channel to the north channel. Do any practical benefits exist for this kind of diversion? Or, as the pilot study name suggests, are the benefits purely aesthetic?
If the no practical benefits exist, I object to the use of my utility rates for a purely aesthetic project which only benefits a small portion of the rate paying customers.
Please shed some light on the driving force for this project.
-Jesse
Reply
Dear Jesse, Thanks for your inquiry about the work being done on the Spokane River channels in Riverfront Park.
As you may know, we received a new operating license for our hydro facilities last year. With the new license came some new conditions that we are required to meet. Among those is an aesthetic spill in the north and middle channels of the river.
Currently the requirement is for a minimum 500 cfs to be diverted from the south channel. But there is a provision in the license that allows us to attempt to modify the riverbed so that we can make the flows just as appealing with only 300 cfs.
What we are doing is filling in the artificial cuts in the rock that were done in the early days of Spokane’s development. These were done to divert naturally low river flows to various mill wheels and laundries, etc. Those same cuts prevent the aesthetic affect that people want to see in the river.
Presently we have a group of stakeholders evaluating the modified river flows for the most effective configuration. Once that is established we can begin to make permanent modifications and hopefully divert less generating water from the powerhouse at Upper Falls.
I hope that addresses your concerns. Please let me know if you have further questions.
-Hugh Imhof, Avista Communications Manager
Aug 25 , 2010
|
|
|
The evaluation team takes a look at the river from one of 10 public viewpoints Wednesday morning,
August 25. The group will suggest changes to the temporary dams and come back for a second and
possibly third look at spills through the two channels. Evaluators include representatives of Spokane Parks
and Recreation, Spokane Canoe and Kayak Club, Sierra Club, Washington Department of Ecology, Center
for Environmental Law and Policy, Avista, Friends of the Falls, and others. |
Normally at this time of the year, the north and middle channels of the Spokane River in downtown Spokane, what many of us know as Spokane Falls, look pretty dry. That’s because in the past during the dry summer months, natural conditions and Avista’s hydropower operations have resulted in little or no flow through that part of the river. That all changed last year with the issuance of Avista’s new 50-year Federal Energy Regulatory license to operate our Spokane River Project, which includes Upper Falls and Monroe Street Dams in downtown Spokane. As a result of the relicensing process, we must now release minimum aesthetic spills around the clock at both Upper Falls and Monroe Street. That began this summer, and you may have noticed more water flowing through the falls in July and early August.
But there’s more to it than that. If you’ve been to Riverfront Park in the past couple of weeks, you’ve probably noticed something else in the river. Cranes, sandbags, and workers have been busy preparing for an aesthetic spills pilot test at Upper Falls Dam. This test will help us determine whether permanent channel modifications can be made to bring the riverbed closer to its natural state, the way it was before early developers in Spokane cut into the bedrock to divert the water during dry times. We’re hoping to enhance aesthetic appeal even more during periods of low river flow. Our license requires us to do this study to learn whether the same, or a better, aesthetic effect can achieved with daytime releases of 300cfs and channel modifications, as the current daytime release of 500 cfs does, without modifications.
Avista’s Upper Falls Dam is located where the river splits into two channels around Havermale Island in Riverfront Park. The southernmost channel forms the forebay that provides water to the powerhouse, and the northern channel passes through the control works dam and splits again into two smaller channels that run north and south of Canada Island. These are referred to as the north and south (or middle) channels. These two channels are where the pilot test is occurring, and we hope that as a result of this work, viewers of the river downtown will have a pleasant experience no matter what time of year it is.
Last week we temporarily interrupted normal aesthetic spills and placed several small, temporary dams made with sandbags, called weirs, throughout the channels. These weirs divert the flow of water throughout the channels, and this week, an evaluation team made up of representatives of stakeholders, agencies and the public is viewing test spills and giving their feedback as we release 300 cfs through the two channels. Team members will make judgments based on their sense of sound, coverage, depth and power of the water as it moves through the channels. The feedback we receive will help us determine whether to move forward with permanent channel modifications next year.
Next week, we’ll remove all of the equipment and materials from the river, and we’ll return to normal aesthetic spills the following week. Then, if the outcome of the pilot test shows us that permanent modifications are the way to go, the real work begins.
So far, we’re excited about the potential of this project. We’re hoping the result is a cascading waterfall effect throughout both channels of the river that visitors and the community can enjoy all summer long. And this collaborative effort could indeed accomplish that, possibly restoring at least some of the river’s natural beauty that was lost through the development of Spokane over the past 100 or more years.
Aug 17 , 2010
play video
Hey, everyone. I wanted to share a quick clip of the video I took on the Spokane River last week.
This video shows the removal and relocation of accumulated rock, gravel and sediment at Monroe Street Dam. The crane grabs the materials and places them over the dam and back into the river. This material is the stuff that naturally flows downriver, but collects behind the dam.
My co-worker Communications Manager Anna Scarlett told me that analytical results of materials sampled back in July indicated that sediments were within Washington’s acceptable standards for contaminants. Relocation of the materials over the spillway back into the river is required by federal and state permits to operate the project, and redistributing the materials back into the river will allow them to continue to serve as a potential gravel source for spawning habitat in the Spokane River system.
More work on the river will continue in the next few weeks as we study whether channel modifications can be made to enhance aesthetic flows in the north and middle channels during periods of low river flow.
Jul 19 , 2010
|
|
|
The Spokane River through downtown Spokane. |
One year into our new FERC license on the river, big projects happening
Watch for activity on the downtown Spokane stretch of the Spokane River beginning this week, as Avista starts work on several projects to protect and enhance fish, wildlife, water quality, recreation, cultural and aesthetic resources related to our Spokane River hydroelectric project.
|
|
|
Click to view a map of the activities happening on
the Spokane River. | Over the next few months, visitors to the stretch of the river between Upper Falls and Monroe Street Dams will see equipment and temporary work structures in and around the river, including a crane near the river above Monroe Street Dam, intermittent aesthetic flows at Upper Falls Dam, sandbags, water bladders and moving equipment in the Upper Falls area. All of the equipment will be handled and operated with an emphasis on public safety and protecting the surrounding environment.
Work taking place includes a pilot study in the north channel of the river to learn what modifications can be made in order to return the river to a more natural state, and removal of accumulated rock, gravel and sediment at Monroe Street Dam. The work will begin in July and August as flows drop to their summer levels, and could be extended into early autumn.
While fishery work may not be as visible as other activities, it’s just as important. While we’re studying the river channel, biologists and contractors will be working in the stretch of the river between Upper Falls Reservoir and Monroe Street Dam, primarily on a study to assess whether fish can become trapped or stranded in the north channel of the river when water levels are low.
In late June, 3,000 catchable, sterile rainbow trout were planted in Upper Falls Reservoir. Another 3,000 fish will be planted in Upper Falls Reservoir this fall. The first year of a three-year fish population assessment will also be conducted in the Upper Falls Reservoir this fall.
Watch for updates as we progress, and see the attached map and handout for specific details, locations and approximate dates/timelines.
A year into the 50-year Federal Energy Regulatory Commission license to operate our five hydroelectric dams on the Spokane River (Post Falls, Upper Falls, Monroe Street, Nine Mile Falls and Long Lake), the work Avista will do is just getting started. These significant environmental measures will benefit both the communities and the natural resources where our facilities are located. Protecting resources and responsibly operating our dams helps us continue to generate low-cost, renewable hydroelectric energy. May 17 , 2010
|
|
|
Kettle Falls Generating Station. |
Sunday the Spokesman-Review ran a good article about biomass plants and the difficulty finding low-cost fuel. It featured Avista’s Kettle Falls Generating Station. Check out, "Biomass challenge," by Becky Kramer.
Two years ago I was involved in the 25th anniversary of the Kettle Falls plant and was able to learn a great deal about the wood-waste burning facility. I’ve got an affinity for it because it’s pretty unique in our power supply mix. While we’re obviously well-versed in hydropower and natural gas-fired generation and such – we’ve only got one biomass plant and it’s cool.
|
|
This video was made during the dedication
of Kettle Falls in 1983. Watch now. | Wood waste – called “hog fuel” – is fed into a seven-story furnace/boiler and burned, creating heat. The walls of the furnace/boiler consist of pipes filled with water that are heated by the burning hog fuel. The optimal burning temperature is 2,000 degrees, resulting in a steam temperature of 950 degrees. The heated water generates stream and pressure that drives a turbine, which turns a generator, creating electricity. The maximum output of the wood-waste only operation is 53 megawatts of electricity.
Avista – or Washington Water Power at the time – created a short video in October 1983 during the dedication of the first-of-its-kind, renewable energy plant. The video is called “From Wood Waste to Power.” Due to its age, some statements and facts in the video are dated, but the general idea is still relevant.
It’s interesting to think that at the time, the plant was so groundbreaking and it’s still a gem today.
Apr 03 , 2010
Years ago, I spent a few summers boating the St. Joe River and lower part of Coeur d’Alene Lake, which includes Chatcolet, Round, Benewah and Hidden Lakes. In fact, I learned to water-ski on the St. Joe, known for its glass-smooth surface and calm waters. In those days I didn’t give much thought to the river banks – beyond wondering where exactly the river ends and the lake begins.
Last week, I had the enlightening experience of seeing first-hand some of the long-term impacts of hydroelectricity, boating and other uses of the lake and river, when I joined a group touring a two-year shoreline erosion inventory and assessment on the St. Joe River where it flows through this lower portion of Coeur d’Alene Lake.
Avista and the Coeur d’Alene tribe are working together on this erosion study, one of the first of three major phases in our erosion measures within the Tribal waters of Coeur d’Alene Lake, and a condition of Avista’s 50-year FERC license to operate its Spokane River hydroelectric project. The study is also part of the comprehensive settlement reached between Avista and the Coeur d’Alene tribe prior to last year’s issuance of the license. In addition to compensating the Tribe for past and future storage of water, the settlement requires Avista to pay a total of $100 million into the Coeur d’Alene resource protection trust fund for costs associated with environmental measures in and around Coeur d’Alene Lake. This funding mechanism allows the Tribe and Avista to collaborate on complying with license requirements, which include this shoreline erosion control project, as well as activities in wetland restoration, water quality monitoring, aquatic weed management and protection of cultural resources on the reservation.
Dave Lamb of the Coeur d’Alene Tribe and Bruce Stoker of Earth Systems, consultants to Avista on the erosion inventory and assessment, showed a group including Avista’s Meghan Lunney, Becky Kramer from the Spokesman-Review and myself just how much the banks of this part of the St. Joe have eroded over the years, primarily due to the wave action caused by boats in high water. Bruce Gardipie, a member of the Kootenai, Salish and Confederated Tribes of Montana, who has lived on the Coeur d’Alene Reservation for 40 years, was our boat operator, and provided additional expertise.
I never even knew where the actual channel of the St. Joe ran, let alone that recreationists like myself could potentially contribute to its erosion. It was an eye-opener, and a good learning experience.
Now that the Spokane River FERC license has been issued, it’s great to see the work beginning, and it’s even better to see years of planning resulting in people working together to protect and improve the environment. This is just one of the many protection, mitigation and enhancement measures that we will implement in collaboration with the Tribe as part of our license and our ongoing commitment to protect natural resources associated with our hydroelectric projects.
Mar 10 , 2010
“ Columbia Country,” which airs Sunday afternoons on Fox stations throughout the northwest, is featuring two Avista projects as part of its “Safekeeping” segments. “Safekeeping” is a sponsored segment that highlights environmental activities, often focusing on efforts to protect and enhance fish habitat.
The Clark Fork Project segment features an ongoing collaborative project on Lake Pend Oreille to reduce the population of invasive lake trout. Lake Pend Oreille was once a world-class fishery for rainbow trout, bull trout and kokanee. In recent years, the lake has been taken over by lake trout (also called mackinaw), which do not coexist well with native bull trout, and which prey on kokanee, depleting the food sources for rainbow and bull trout. This project offers angler incentives and brings in commercial netters to “fish out” the invasive lake trout.
Avista helps fund the Lake Pend Oreille project through our Clark Fork Project license, which includes Noxon Rapids Dam in Montana and Cabinet Gorge Dam in northern Idaho.
The Spokane segment features a new rainbow trout spawning study on the Spokane River, part of our new 50-year operating license for the five hydroelectric developments that make up Avista’s Spokane River Project. The spawning study is part of a ten-year collaboration with Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife to better understand the relationship between river flow and the rainbow trout population and their spawning habitat from Monroe Street Dam downstream to Nine Mile Dam.
A similar project has been in effect for several years in the Upper Spokane River, and we hope this project will help us better understand how managing river flows affects water levels in Lake Coeur d’Alene and habitat for rainbow trout downstream. By doing so, we hope to ultimately encourage growth of the rainbow trout population in the Spokane River.
Both of these projects show how Avista works with others to care for the natural resources affected by our projects. They are great examples of how we make our commitment to environment part of our daily operations throughout Montana, Idaho, Washington and Oregon.
Jan 06 , 2010
|
|
|
Avista workers help collect
ospreys for banding as part
of a restoration project. | Post by Anna Scarlett
Recently, the Avista Foundation donated $2,500 to Birds of Prey Northwest for the construction of an eagle flight cage at the organization’s raptor rehabilitation facility near St. Maries, Idaho. In a few months, Avista employees led by Bob Beitz, Operations Manager for St. Maries and Kellogg, will set the poles and help build the flight cage.
It’s not the first time Avista has worked with Birds of Prey Northwest and its president/founder, Janie Fink. In fact, Fink has partnered with our own line workers in the protection and rescue of raptors.
“Several years ago we reached out to Jane to help us with problems we’d been having with osprey on our lines,” Beitz said.
Fink initially educated employees on raptors, and from there, the relationship continued. On several occasions, our St. Maries and Kellogg line crews have assisted her in collecting and banding baby ospreys as part of an osprey restoration program she leads.
This fall, Fink approached Beitz, who serves on the Avista Foundation Board of Directors, about a donation to Birds of Prey Northwest to update the rehab facility. An injured bird must go through physical therapy to treat its injury and build strength and flexibility for its return to the wild; this therapy includes flight exercise and flight tests. But the current aviary used for the flight exercise is too small for an eagle’s large wingspan, which can reach up to 8 feet wide for an adult.
Avista gave Birds of Prey Northwest $2,500, which, along with a pole donation from McFarland Cascade, will help Fink get the supplies to build the new cage. The flight cage will accommodate the largest raptor she cares for, but will be used to exercise all the birds.
Injured bird now Avista’s namesake
|
|
|
Avista is a juvenile American
bald eagle with a damaged
wing. | During the grant process, Beitz visited the rehab facility, and as Fink was walking him through, a young American bald eagle drew their attention. The eagle, an adolescent that hasn’t matured enough to get its yellow-beak and white head, has a bad wing and can’t fly – it will be a permanent resident of the facility. Fink mentioned she hadn’t yet named the eagle.
Beitz suggested “Avista.”
“She looked at me and said ‘I think there was a reason we were waiting to name this eagle,’” he said.
So the young raptor became Avista. Avista joins Beauty, a bald eagle that lost her upper beak after she was shot by a poacher in Alaska, and who has since been fitted with a prosthetic beak so she can eat and preen, as well as various owls, hawks, falcons and ospreys either living at or being rehabilitated at the facility.
While her rehab facility is not open to the public, Fink, a raptor biologist and falconer, is currently seeking funding to build the Northwest Birds of Prey Center, a public education and raptor rehab center that will be located near Lake Coeur d'Alene.
Dec 22 , 2009
We sent out this media release earlier today and I wanted to make sure everyone saw it. We lower the water level at Lake Spokane – I’ve always called it Long Lake – every year, but if you own property out there or know someone who does, you should start getting prepared.
Avista to Begin Lake Spokane Drawdown
-Water level to drop up to a foot per day
Avista Utilities will start to draw down the water level at Lake Spokane (Long Lake Reservoir) the week of December 28, 2009. It is expected that the reservoir will be lowered up to one foot per day for a two- to three-week period, dropping the level of the lake 13 to 14 feet below its maximum summer elevation of 1,536 feet.
Under the right (extreme cold) weather conditions, the drawdown is expected to help with control of Eurasian milfoil, an invasive weed found in many area waterways. The drawdown also allows for repair and construction by property owners along the lake shoreline.
Property owners and lake-users are reminded to make any necessary preparations, including removing boats from the water and securing docks and boathouses for low-water conditions.
Water levels are subject to change due to a variety of factors, such as weather or equipment problems at the Long Lake dam. Lake users should always be alert to signs of such changes and exercise the highest level of personal caution and safety when using the waterways.
Updated reservoir level information is available by calling Avista's recorded Lake Information Line at (509) 495-8043.
Nov 03 , 2009
A red-tailed hawk brought to Washington State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine was released last week, and Avista was recognized for helping to make the raptor’s recovery successful.
The hawk, nicknamed “Burns” after the woman who found her, was extremely dehydrated and malnourished when she was brought to the Raptor Rehabilitation Center at WSU center over the summer.
After two months of nutrition and exercise in WSU’s newest raptor rehabilitation flight muse, Burns was ready to return home, which is likely nearby.
“She should have a territory here,” said Dr. Nickol Finch, who heads up the Raptor Rehabilitation Program at WSU. “She was found very close by. We were able to get her out quick enough, hopefully no other hawks will have moved in.”
Avista donated the time and materials for raptor platforms in the area, and was instrumental in renovating one of the old Carver Farm buildings into the new Raptor Rehabilitation Center on the Pullman campus. The project, completed last year, allowed the WSU Veterinary Teaching Hospital to continue its exceptional program in raptor research and rehabilitation.
Avista employees Paul Kimmell, Robin Bekkedahl, Tim Olson and Jenny Blaylock were on hand to watch the release. Kimmell expressed his gratitude for everyone’s generosity and noted the value of these established relationships as well as the creative approach to working with Washington State University.
“We’re thrilled to see the new rehab center’s efforts paying off,” Kimmell said. “Partnering with this world-class center to help further efforts in raptor recovery and protection shows Avista is truly committed to the wellbeing of these majestic birds.”
|
|