Trout Creek a tributary to the Wallowa River is a steelhead-producing stream in Wallowa County.  Juvenile Chinook also rear in lower Trout Creek.  At the lower end are the AMGC and the COE wastewater treatment facility.  The golf course currently pumps water out of Trout Creek for irrigation and the COE discharges wastewater to the Wallowa River just above the Trout Creek Wallowa River confluence.  The removal of the golf course pump station and the reduction of wastewater discharge to the Wallowa River are expected to improve both water quantity and quality respectively.    

Work Dates - Construction work will start in the fall of 2011.  All out of stream work can be completed during the fall, winter and spring months and includes pond construction, pump installation, and irrigations system modifications.  Any necessary instream work will occur between July 15th and August 15th of 2012 and the project will be complete in the fall of 2012.

Project Objectives:
  
1.   Improve flow in Trout Creek by using treated effluent from City of Enterprise wastewater treatment facility as an alternative to withdrawing water from Trout Creek.
2.   Improve passage in Trout Creek by removing a channel-spanning dam that creates a pumping pool at the pump station.
3.   Decrease sedimentation and erosion in Trout Creek by eliminating the need for annual dam, pool & intake maintenance.

Specific Actions:

•   Use treated effluent for irrigation along with the existing dechlorination pond - meeting the objective of the project and providing benefit to AMGC.
•   Resourceful water use.
•   Effluent discharge decreased to the Wallowa River and water quality improved.
•   New pump station located on the golf course as opposed to alternative 3a, which would locate the station off site.  
•   Less piping than alternatives 2 and 3a.
•   Reduces mass loading to the Wallowa River during the summer months.

Benefits:

The implemented project will have the following instream benefits as a result of removing the pump station from Trout Creek and irrigating with treated city wastewater:

1.   Flow will be improved in Trout Creek from the existing pump station downstream to the confluence with the Wallowa River.  This is approximately 2 stream miles of improved flow.  
2.   Passage will be improved in Trout Creek from the existing pump station to habitat extending approximately 2 miles upstream.
3.   Sedimentation will be reduced on the lower 2 miles of Trout Creek and erosion will be eliminated at the pump station.
4.   Water quality will improve in Trout Creek and the Wallowa River due to improved summer season flow and reduced wastewater discharge.