The Entiat River Basin is a jewel in the backyard of the Wenatchee located along the eastern slopes of the Cascade Mountains in north-central Washington. The river flows from the glaciers in the high cascades through the Entiat valley, and apple and pear orchards are king. The river is home to native Steelhead, Chinook, Bull Trout and Cutthroat, as well as abundant wildlife.
Decommissioning a Canal Diversion on the Entiat River
WRC, Chelan Public Utilities District (PUD), Cascadia Conservation District, and seven landowners have been working together eliminate a large diversion on the lower Entiat River. The negotiations involve changing the landowners water source from a PUD-operated canal to well water. By working to decommission the canal, over 4.5 cubic feet per second will be returned for instream flow, significantly improving fish habitat.
Maintaining Flows in Roaring Creek
Roaring Creek is a significant tributary to the lower Entiat River that has documented listed species. WRC has teamed with Cascadia Conservation District and eight landowners to negotiate and facilitate moving diversion points for these willing landowners from two miles up Roaring Creek to a location area near the confluence with the Entiat River. This will allow Roaring Creek to maintain flows to the confluence during summer low flows.
Entiat River Point of Diversion Change
The lower twelve miles of the Entiat River mainstem are the focus of another project that WRC and Cascadia Conservation Distract are collaborating on. We are working with landowners to eliminate points of diversions along this stretch of the Entiat River, and instead switch to groundwater as their primary source of water. These changes will significantly decrease water withdrawn directly from the river, improve conveyance efficiency, eliminate instream maintenance of diversions and provide an improved and undisturbed natural habitat in the Entiat River mainstem.
Establishing the Flow Needs of the Entiat River
Determining the flow needed to adequately bring life to Entiat River tributaries is a priority project of WRC. Roaring Creek and the Mad River have already been identified as areas needing flow remediation, and we are working on projects and a long-term acquisition strategy in these sub-basins. Additionally, there are several other tributaries where WRC sees potential for instream flow acquisition, and is working with our partners on data collection and identifying long-term goals for these critical sub-basins.
