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Western States Water Council Water Resources Committee Minutes Seattle, Washington July 14, 2005 . Working with the Idaho Water Resources Department and others we are building a model and web tools for use in providing detailed projections of monthly flows. These can be used to estimate hydropower production. Our conclusions is that human influences on climate and water resources of the West are emerging, which will require adaptation. Problem solving means recognition, analysis and action (through adaptive management, such as shifting reservoir operation rule curves). We want to work with state agencies in addressing emerging issues. Questions & Answers Eileen Grevey Hillson of New Mexico asked about free access to change projections and how often over a 30-year period flow targets would not be met. Dr. Mote responded that projected streamflows show a 30% decrease in July. CORPS ACTIVITIES IN THE NORTHWEST Marian Valentine, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Seattle District Senior Water Manager. She . observed that the Corps cooperates on a huge number of stream gages and uses the USGS also to review studies, given its reputation for impartiality. Corps and UW are also partners in studying climate change and its impact on reservoir operations. Winter is flood season in western Washington, and more rain then rai~es the threat and concerns. Ms. Valentine described operations of the Reservoir Control Center, which prepares power studies for new dams worldwide. She showed a map of Northwest dams. The Columbia River System provides 40 million acre-feet (Mat) of flood control space, which is 25% of the average annual streamflow. She also illustrated the Ice Harbor Dam fish ladder and mandated summer spill for fish migration. Further, she showed slides of the 1993 flood on the Missouri River. She then talked about "my dams," Mud Mountain (flood control), Chief Joseph Dam (hydropower), and downstream Grand Coulee. She noted that the Lake Washington Ship Canal is the busiest lock in the U.S., but it has lost funding due to a lack of tonnage. It serves mostly fishing boats, after leaving their catch in Alaska, and a lot of pleasure boats. Howard Hanson Dam is a flood control structure on the Washington's Green River, which allowed Auburn's development. The Corps is monitoring and correcting seepage and constructing a new fish tower and other instream work for the benefit of salmon. Libby Dam is on the Kootenai River in Montana. The river flows in and out of Canada. Kootenai Falls was shown in the River Wild movie. Libby Dam provides many benefits, including 5 Maf of flood space (as much as Grand Coulee). . 8