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A Work Group comprised of Planning Unit members from
WRIAs 55/57 and 54 has been formed to develop an instream
flow recommendation for the Spokane River. Once
completed, the recommendation will be presented to WA Dept of
Ecology for consideration during the formal instream flow
rule making process. This effort stems from a
recommendation made in the WRIA 55/57 Watershed Plan that
states:
After the Avista HED license application is filed, the Spokane
River/Lake Spokane Dissolved Oxygen TMDL data gathering phase,
and instream studies on rearing below Monroe Street HED are
completed, integrate all of the recommended instream flows into
one regime for the whole watershed. The flow regime will be
submitted to the Department of Ecology for instream flow rule
making.
The term "instream flow" is used to identify a
specific stream flow (typically measured in cubic feet per
second, or cfs) at a specific location for a defined time, and
typically following seasonal variations. Instream flows are
usually defined as the stream flows needed to protect and
preserve instream resources and values, such as fish, wildlife
and recreation. Instream flows are most often described and
established in a formal legal document, typically an adopted
state rule.
The WRIA 55/57 Planning Unit received a grant from Ecology to
support this effort. Monies from this grant will be used
for some limited technical work and a facilitation consultant.
Bob Wheeler of
Triangle Associates will facilitate the Work Group. Spokane
County is the grant administrator.
Members of the
Work Group provide broad representation of interests, and
any other interested parties are invited to attend the
meeting
Please send requests for further information by mail or email to Spokane
County. The mailing address for Spokane County
is:
Spokane River Instream Flow Work Group
C/O Mike Hermanson
Spokane County Division of Utilities
1026 W. Broadway
Spokane WA 99260
Or email to
Mike Hermanson
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