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Lowering John Day Pool — Page 3 



The Northwest must put the fish back in the river, and begin implementing the in-river 

 elements of the Council program. Lowering of the John Day pool can be accomplished without 

 any disruption, much less damage, to the local or regional economy. 



Mitigations and Costs 



Lowering the John Day reservoir to minimum operating pool will not disrupt shipping 

 navigation, hydroelectric generation, or fish passage facilities. The Corps identified the follow- 

 ing impacts, and capital costs for mitigations thereof: 



Extension of irrigation pump intakes: $12.2 million. Lowering reservoir elevation by some 

 1 1 feet would leave some agricultural irrigation pumps high and dry, but intakes can be 

 extended. The Corps has not identified any pump which can not be so modified. 



Public and private wells: $3.9 million. Modifications are necessary for any wells whose water 

 levels may drop due to reservoir lowering. 



W ater supply for Umatilla and Irrigon Hatcheries: $12.3 million. Both hatcheries have 



experienced water supply shortages from their first day of operation — before any lower- 

 ing of reservoir elevation. Therefore, this expense is necessary whether or not the Corps 

 operates John Day at minimum operating pool. 



Recreation facilities: $25.6 million. Extension or reconstruction of docks and beaches, and 

 dredging of marina access. Similar recreation facilities are available nearby in McNary 

 and The Dalles pools. 



Umatilla Wildlife Refuge and other habitat: $18.9 million. Lowering pool elevation would 

 dry up marshes and wetland created by the John Day inundation. Mitigation options for 

 the Umatilla Wildlife Refuge are: ( 1) replacing habitat at another site, or (2) holding 

 reservoir elevation at minimum operating pool year-round, and re-vegetating exposed 

 shoreline. The latter option would effectively double the acreage within the Umatilla 

 Wildlife Refuge, and would allow some transfer of flood control to John Day reservoir, 

 thereby taking pressure off of upstream storage reservoirs drafted for flow augmentation. 



Fish passage: $1.3 million. Minor modifications to fish ladders at John Day and McNary dams. 



Navigation: $.6 million. Minor modifications to locks and docks. 



Cultural resources and other: $1.3 million. 



These cost estimates include engineering, design, and administration overhead by the Corps. It 

 is illustrative of how relatively benign are the impacts of the John Day pool lowering that fully 

 one-third of mitigation costs go to recreational facilities. 



Total capital cost to accomplish the lowering of John Day pool is $76.1 million. Salmon 

 advocates urge an appropriation of half this amount — $38 million — in fiscal year 1993-94 

 (FY94) to begin implementation of this crucial measure. Monies can come from the U.S. Trea- 

 sury or the Bonneville Power Administration Fund. In either case, the Congress must act to 

 appropriate the expenditure. 



Although the Corps has advanced a timeline of 4-5 years — 2 years or longer devoted to 

 design and administration — for completion of all mitigation measures, the Congress should 

 order operation of John Day at minimum operating pool by May, 1995. Given the regional crisis 

 around salmon recovery, the Corps can and should cut the time requirements by tightening its 



