City Light cutting flow to Skagit to aid salmon

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Chum salmon nests in the upper Skagit River may dry out as Seattle City Light cuts back river flows in an effort to save water because of the drought.

The move will save ratepayers money because it will allow the utility to bank water for later this summer, when power rates are expected to soar to $400 per megawatt-hour and higher.

Saving water now means the utility will be able to generate more of its own power instead of buying it on the wholesale market.

But fish, not power rates, are the reason for lowering Skagit flows, said Dave Pflug, biologist for Seattle City Light.

The reservoir behind Ross Dam is already low because of lack of rainfall. If the utility stuck with the flows required under its federal license, the reservoir would drain so low it might not refill for next year, assuming the drought continued.

That would jeopardize salmon far more seriously next year than cutting back flows this spring, Pflug said.

That's because most of the juvenile chinook have hatched and emerged from the approximately 6,000 nests, or redds, made by about 13,000 summer and fall chinook in the upper Skagit last year.

The remaining juveniles are in redds deep in the river channel. Reducing flows won't dry out those nests, Pflug said.

The utility is optimistic that 1 percent or fewer of the chum redds between Newhalem and Rockport will be affected by reducing flows. Last fall about 15,000 chum returned to the upper Skagit. They dug about 7,000 redds.

The Skagit is home to all five Northwest species of salmon as well as steelhead and bull trout.

The utility obtained permission to reduce its flows in consultation with the three Skagit River tribes and federal and state agencies.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission allows the utility to reduce flows below its license requirements if consulting agencies and tribes agree.

Flow reduction began yesterday morning and will continue through August, officials said.

Meanwhile, the utility will watch the weather closely. By mid-April, the utility must evaluate whether the drought is so severe that the city will need to consider an additional surcharge on power rates going into effect July 1.

Early forecasts predict this will be the second-driest year on record, after 1977.

Lynda V. Mapes can be reached at 206-464-2736 or lmapes@seattletimes.com.