Cultural Resources:

Cultural Resource surveys for this project were conducted under FY15 contract number 70143 and a current FY17 contract number 76789.  Additionally, mitigation for Cultural Resources for this project was already completed by BPA.  The final addendum report will be submitted to BPA in mid-December.

ESA consultation:

The HIP3 project notification form has been submitted to the regulatory agencies.  The consultation is complete.
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Trout Unlimited will be working with BPA and our partners on an extensive upgrade to the Barkley Irrigation Company (BIC) Infrastructure.  BIC has been purveying water to users on the Barkley shareholders in the same way for the past 110 years. The ditch currently delivers water through a gravity system to users irrigating over  600 acres.  The proposed project would eliminate the present diversion and move it 4 miles downstream to the already existing MVID east-side diversion and convert the open ditch to an in gravity pressure and pumped pressurized pipe system. The existing ditch is estimated to be about 26,000 feet in length. Design and construction will include pipe type and sizes, route selection, road crossing details, turnouts, metering requirements, etc.

In the past construction of a wing-dam and cleaning of the intake channel to divert water into the Barkley Ditch has impacted important habitat for adult spring Chinook pre-spawning holding and rearing habitat for juvenile salmon and steelhead. These impacts have occurred at the diversion wing-dam, in over 1,000 feet of Methow River side channel and within 2,500 feet of the Barkley canal, upstream of the fish screen, where the Barkley cleans and clears the ditch for water delivery, prior to the fish screen approximately 2500 feet downstream.  In addition to preventing the historic diversion activities the project will improve instream flow in this critical reach of the Methow river and create a state of the art system, which will efficiently deliver water to the BIC share holders.

Specfic Metrics
2.3: Injury and Mortality: Mechanical Injury – 1 mile habitat access
1.1 Habitat Quality: Anthropogenic Barriers – 0.2 mile habitat accessed Bear Creek
9.2:  Decreased Water Quantity: Water Quantity – 8 miles alternate source and efficiency

In addition there is a direct link between the Barkley Project and MVID, because since 1921 they have shared a long portion of ditch.  Trout Unlimited has already worked with MVID to pipe over 5 miles of their infrastructure on the east side . However the upper four miles remain unimproved and earthen.  The lower ~2  miles of MVID are currently commingled with the end of the Barkley Ditch and in the future over 4 miles of the alignment will be shared.  As a result of this project, Barkley will  share the MVID diversion structure and divert their water from the MVID east-side headworks.  By marring the Barkley and MVID we are completely eliminating the need to provide Barkley with a new Methow River diversion.  In addition to them sharing a diversion long into the future there are numerous reasons we need to pipe both systems to make the project work and create efficiency.