Projects

Yakima Tributary Access and Habitat Program

Kittitas County landowners and irrigators have been especially concerned with fish habitat and other related issues since the listing of summer steelhead in the Middle Columbia in March of 2000. This listing attracted the attention of both landowners and regulatory agencies to the numerous unscreened irrigation diversions in Kittitas County.

To date, the KCCD has accepted requests for assistance on approximately 60 irrigation diversions. Nearly all of the diversions have been surveyed using small amounts of funding from various sources.

In 2011 the KCCD completed the Cherry Creek project which provided fish passage and screening for four private irrigation diversions equaling up to 15 cfs. Two passage barriers were removed and replaced with 16 rock weirs to control the creek elevation. One of the gravity diversions was converted to pump diversion and the other two gravity diversions were combined moved upstream to allow for continued gravity diversion and 1,300 feet of pipe were installed to deliver the water back to the irrigator. This project opened up approximately two miles of habitat in three streams. Fish surveys conducted in November 2011 show spring chinook are now streams above the removed barriers.

Upcoming Projects

Coleman Creek

This restoration project will separate the Ellensburg Water Company canal from Coleman Creek and provide fish passage and screening for two irrigation diversions. The canal will be piped under the creek in an inverted siphon from the west side of the creek to the east side of Ferguson Rd. Currently the canal and the creek comingle in the non-irrigating season and in the irrigation season the canal is boarded up on each side and the creek flows under the canal. The boarded up section leaks water and there is a potential for moss controlling chemicals to enter the creek therefore the chemicals are generally not used in the vicinity of the creek. The separation will allow for more natural stream habitat and allow the irrigation company to manage their canal more efficiently. The EWC and a private irrigator also divert water from Coleman Creek upstream of the siphon project. This project will provide fish passage and screening for both of these diversion. Project partners include the Bonneville Power Administration – YTAHP, Salmon Recovery Funding Board, Ellensburg Water Company, Department of Ecology, WA Department of Fish and Wildlife, NOAA Fisheries, and a Washington Conservation Corps Crew.

3M Ditch

The Teanaway River- 3M Ditch project includes five landowners on the largest and one of the last gravity diversions on the mainstem of the Teanaway River. The 3M Ditch water users have a diversion, a gravel push-up dam in the river, and an approximately 1 mile long earthen delivery ditch. During summer months, the push-up berm can be a significant barrier to fish passage. The Teanaway River has suitable spawning gravels and gradients for spring chinook, steelhead, and coho. Low flows in this reach impact both passage and temperature. Improving instream flow through conservation practices and water acquisition is a key activity to address this issue. The project will involve decommissioning the gravity diversion, converting each landowner to a different system of withdrawing and applying their irrigation water, allowing the landowners to work with the Washington Water Trust to enroll in the Trust Water Rights Program. This project is specifically focused on providing passage and improved instream flow during the irrigation season (May 15 to September 15).