The sponsors and their local partners worked with three engineering firms to develop fish passage solutions for a six-mile long section of Mill Creek. This portion of the stream flows through the town of Walla Walla. For two miles, it passes through a concrete flume and approximately 800 feet of the flume is roofed over by parking lots and other structures. An additional 3.2 miles of the stream contains 263 concrete sills or channel stabilizers that are six feet wide and stretch across the stream. Some twelve different types of stream reaches were identified in this six-mile section, each with its own fish passage challenges. A physical model of parts of the flume was built and dye studies were performed to estimate how flow patterns and water velocities would react to physical modifications. In addition, a fish energetics model plus field calibrated HEC RAS and spreadsheet models were used to calculate hydraulics. Fish passage ability through the six mile section of Mill Creek at different flow rates and fish sizes by species was estimated via modeling. These results were used to help design modifications to the six-mile section of Mill Creek that would enhance fish passage. Cost estimates for each type of modification were also produced. Additionally, on-the-ground alterations using the suggested designs were made to a portion of the flume and also on a few concrete sills.

The purpose of two of the project’s deliverables is to continue to alter the flume and sills using the same type of modifications that were employed in the pilot work. We suggest that the sponsors install PIT tag detectors and other possible sensors in some of the modified portions of the flume to determine if resting areas and other portions of the modified structures are performing as expected. Corrections or alterations to existing designs that are based on model outputs cannot be made without empirical passage assessments. If the sponsors have pre-treatment fish passage success data under different flow regimes it may also be possible to perform BA or BACI analyses on the cumulative effects of all changes made in the six mile section of Mill Creek.

During the ISRP field visit it was also mentioned that the roofed portion of the Mill Creek flume was in poor condition. We hope that the sponsors and their partners can work with the City of Walla Walla to see if the roof can be removed and that during this process the stream channel in this part of the flume can be redesigned to enhance fish passage.

The Nursery Bridge Dam is another significant fish passage challenge in the Walla Walla subbasin. Currently high velocities at the dam are causing the streambed to undercut areas directly below the dam and are also reducing the effectiveness the dam’s fish ladder. One of the project’s deliverables calls for installing rough material immediately below the dam to reduce water velocities and simultaneously help with entry into the fish ladder. The river channel at the dam is restricted and water flows can also be impacted by irrigation withdrawals. The sponsors and their partners appear to have a holistic plan for this site which calls for widening the river channel below the dam which would reduce water velocities and installing three or more aquifer recharge sites to provide flows during the irrigation season. This appears to be a good approach to solving a significant fish passage problem and we hope that timely progress can be made on completing this plan.

Overall the project is making an important contribution to fish recovery in the Walla Walla Basin. The proposal, however, would have benefitted from additional detail about work elements, deliverables, past project activities, and information about project effectiveness.

1. Purpose: Significance to Regional Programs, Technical Background, and Objectives

Inadequate passage at irrigation diversion dams, canals and other passage barriers were identified as top imminent threats to salmonids in the Walla Walla subbasin plan. The objective of this project is to provide safe passage for migrating juvenile and adult salmonids by constructing and maintaining fish passage facilities. The sponsors state that important passage work has been accomplished in the subbasin but that additional problems still exist. Forums such as the Walla Walla Technical Work Group and Mill Creek Working Group identified and helped plan the work being proposed. Projects were prioritized based on their expected impacts on migrating fish. That is mainstem structures that all fish must pass and large irrigation diversion screens were considered high priority projects. In the current proposal, six out of the eight proposed passage projects will help anadromous fish reach portions of upper Mill Creek. The significance of this project to the fish resources of the Walla Walla Basin is clear. The project addresses a mortality factor identified as a key limiting factor in most of the restoration plans that have been developed for this watershed.

2. History: Accomplishments, Results, and Adaptive Management (Evaluation of Results)

Results and accomplishments of the project are presented as a list of actions that have been completed. For example, under this project two decommissioned irrigation diversion dams have been removed, six new fish ladders have been installed at low head dams, modern fish screens have been installed at seven irrigation diversions, three irrigation ditch consolidations have been completed which helped reduce the number of passage facilities needed, and alterations to a concrete channel located in lower Mill Creek were made. However, there is insufficient information provided to convey the relative significance of these projects. More detailed information on project accomplishments should be included in the proposal.

Radio telemetry studies on spring Chinook from 2004-2008 were performed to document adult passage in the Walla Walla River. Results from this work were used to make improvements to passage facilities at Hofer, Mill Creek, Gose Street, and the Nursery Bridge Dam. So there is some element of adaptive management incorporated into the project. However, the lack of project-specific effectiveness evaluations limits the availability of information that is required to adaptively improve project effectiveness. For example, even though a project might meet NOAA fish passage standards was there some specific feature at the site that required some modifications? Is there a central site where past experience is stored so that future learning can take place? Some enhancement in project-level effectiveness monitoring would be worth considering.

Evaluation of Results

The Walla Walla River has been heavily diverted for irrigation purposes. Two major irrigation diversions, one at river mile 36 and another at river mile 47 along with numerous smaller diversions exist in the subbasin. These structures played a significant role in the extirpation of spring Chinook and in the reduction of summer steelhead and Bull Trout abundance. Migrating juveniles were lost down irrigation canals and injured by impingement on inappropriate fish screens. Adults were prevented from making upstream migrations either by a complete absence of water or by impassable barriers. Numerous passage improvements have been made. The effectiveness of individual projects, however, has not been evaluated. Visual inspections are made to see if adults or juveniles show any reluctance to moving through specific passage structures but are not done in a quantifiable manner. However, the sponsors have performed studies that show mean travel time of spring Chinook from McNary Dam to the Nursery Bridge Dam has decreased from 30 days in 2000 to 18 days. SAR values for spring Chinook have also gone up a bit since 2004 and the successful re-introduction of spring Chinook into the South Fork of the Walla Walla and into Mill Creek indicate biological benefits have been derived from the passage work that has occurred in the subbasin.

3. Project Relationships, Emerging Limiting Factors, and Tailored Questions

The Walla Walla Juvenile and Adult Passage Improvement project is directly linked to the Walla Walla Fish Operations and Maintenance and the Walla Walla Basinwide Tributary Passage and Flow projects. The juvenile and adult passage project provides support for the installation of screens and passage structures at irrigation diversion sites, dams, and other sites where fish passage has been impaired. The operation and maintenance project handles the O&M for these installations while the basinwide tributary passage project focuses on flow augmentation. These projects have made significant progress towards addressing fish impacts related to the irrigation system in the Walla Walla Basin.

Project identification is done by the Walla Walla Technical Work Group, the Mill Creek Working Group, and other interested entities. Private engineering firms design and construct passage improvements, and these plans are reviewed by the sponsors (CTUIR) along with WDFW, ODFW, NMFS, and the USFWS. PNNL personnel are engaged by the project to inspect newly completed projects to determine if they are operating under accepted NMFS criteria. The project also provides cost share funds for fish passage projects led by the Army Corps of Engineers, Snake River Salmon Recovery Board, NOAA, Milton-Freewater Water Control District, and the Walla Walla Basin Watershed Council.

Additionally, the project is linked to the Walla Walla Basin Monitoring and Evaluation Project (BPA Project Number 2000-039-00) which performs basinwide assessments of fish response to habitat improvement efforts. This Monitoring and Evaluation project appears to be collecting comprehensive data on steelhead and spring Chinook populations in the river and some of the results from this study are presented. VSP parameters appear to be trending upwards. However, it is not possible to determine the role improved passage survival is playing in this trend. Assessments of effectiveness of the screens and passage structures installed under this program appear to be limited to behavior displayed by radio-tagged adult fish near passage structures and casual observations of fish behavior around project sites. A more rigorous assessment of the efficacy of the structures should be considered.

No emerging limiting factors were presented. It is clear however, that climate change and possible shifts in irrigation water use will impact fish passage. How to accommodate these changes in flow regimes and water temperature will need to be considered in future fish passage planning, design, and construction.

4. Deliverables, Work Elements, Metrics, and Methods

Ten project deliverables are presented. Eight of them are for specific fish passage projects. Many of these have been designed and are ready for construction. One of the remaining deliverables is for cost-sharing. In this case funds from the project will be provided to other subbasin groups that are performing fish passage work. Previous examples of cost sharing include projects on the Touchet, Garrison Creek, Spring Creek, and at Gose Street. The final deliverable pays PNNL personnel to perform post-project evaluations to ensure that newly completed projects meet NOAA fish passage criteria. The work elements and deliverables for this project seem appropriate. They are primarily related to the construction of new screens or fish ladders or modification of existing facilities. However, the detail about each work element and deliverable was quite brief. Additional detail or links to information about each planned project would have been useful in reviewing the proposal.

Specific comments on protocols and methods described in MonitoringMethods.org

No RM&E protocols were listed in the proposal.

===========QUALIFICATIONS FOLLOW================

The ISRP’s qualification and comments can be dealt with in contracting and future project reviews. The ISRP is not requesting a response.

The sponsors and their local partners worked with three engineering firms to develop fish passage solutions for a six-mile long section of Mill Creek. This portion of the stream flows through the town of Walla Walla. For two miles, it passes through a concrete flume and approximately 800 feet of the flume is roofed over by parking lots and other structures. An additional 3.2 miles of the stream contains 263 concrete sills or channel stabilizers that are six feet wide and stretch across the stream. Some twelve different types of stream reaches were identified in this six-mile section, each with its own fish passage challenges. A physical model of parts of the flume was built and dye studies were performed to estimate how flow patterns and water velocities would react to physical modifications. In addition, a fish energetics model plus field calibrated HEC RAS and spreadsheet models were used to calculate hydraulics. Fish passage ability through the six mile section of Mill Creek at different flow rates and fish sizes by species was estimated via modeling. These results were used to help design modifications to the six-mile section of Mill Creek that would enhance fish passage. Cost estimates for each type of modification were also produced. Additionally, on-the-ground alterations using the suggested designs were made to a portion of the flume and also on a few concrete sills.

The purpose of two of the project’s deliverables is to continue to alter the flume and sills using the same type of modifications that were employed in the pilot work. We suggest that the sponsors install PIT tag detectors and other possible sensors in some of the modified portions of the flume to determine if resting areas and other portions of the modified structures are performing as expected. Corrections or alterations to existing designs that are based on model outputs cannot be made without empirical passage assessments. If the sponsors have pre-treatment fish passage success data under different flow regimes it may also be possible to perform BA or BACI analyses on the cumulative effects of all changes made in the six mile section of Mill Creek.

During the ISRP field visit it was also mentioned that the roofed portion of the Mill Creek flume was in poor condition. We hope that the sponsors and their partners can work with the City of Walla Walla to see if the roof can be removed and that during this process the stream channel in this part of the flume can be redesigned to enhance fish passage.

The Nursery Bridge Dam is another significant fish passage challenge in the Walla Walla subbasin. Currently high velocities at the dam are causing the streambed to undercut areas directly below the dam and are also reducing the effectiveness the dam’s fish ladder. One of the project’s deliverables calls for installing rough material immediately below the dam to reduce water velocities and simultaneously help with entry into the fish ladder. The river channel at the dam is restricted and water flows can also be impacted by irrigation withdrawals. The sponsors and their partners appear to have a holistic plan for this site which calls for widening the river channel below the dam which would reduce water velocities and installing three or more aquifer recharge sites to provide flows during the irrigation season. This appears to be a good approach to solving a significant fish passage problem and we hope that timely progress can be made on completing this plan.

Overall the project is making an important contribution to fish recovery in the Walla Walla Basin. The proposal, however, would have benefitted from additional detail about work elements, deliverables, past project activities, and information about project effectiveness.

1. Purpose: Significance to Regional Programs, Technical Background, and Objectives

Inadequate passage at irrigation diversion dams, canals and other passage barriers were identified as top imminent threats to salmonids in the Walla Walla subbasin plan. The objective of this project is to provide safe passage for migrating juvenile and adult salmonids by constructing and maintaining fish passage facilities. The sponsors state that important passage work has been accomplished in the subbasin but that additional problems still exist. Forums such as the Walla Walla Technical Work Group and Mill Creek Working Group identified and helped plan the work being proposed. Projects were prioritized based on their expected impacts on migrating fish. That is mainstem structures that all fish must pass and large irrigation diversion screens were considered high priority projects. In the current proposal, six out of the eight proposed passage projects will help anadromous fish reach portions of upper Mill Creek. The significance of this project to the fish resources of the Walla Walla Basin is clear. The project addresses a mortality factor identified as a key limiting factor in most of the restoration plans that have been developed for this watershed.

2. History: Accomplishments, Results, and Adaptive Management (Evaluation of Results)

Results and accomplishments of the project are presented as a list of actions that have been completed. For example, under this project two decommissioned irrigation diversion dams have been removed, six new fish ladders have been installed at low head dams, modern fish screens have been installed at seven irrigation diversions, three irrigation ditch consolidations have been completed which helped reduce the number of passage facilities needed, and alterations to a concrete channel located in lower Mill Creek were made. However, there is insufficient information provided to convey the relative significance of these projects. More detailed information on project accomplishments should be included in the proposal.

Radio telemetry studies on spring Chinook from 2004-2008 were performed to document adult passage in the Walla Walla River. Results from this work were used to make improvements to passage facilities at Hofer, Mill Creek, Gose Street, and the Nursery Bridge Dam. So there is some element of adaptive management incorporated into the project. However, the lack of project-specific effectiveness evaluations limits the availability of information that is required to adaptively improve project effectiveness. For example, even though a project might meet NOAA fish passage standards was there some specific feature at the site that required some modifications? Is there a central site where past experience is stored so that future learning can take place? Some enhancement in project-level effectiveness monitoring would be worth considering.

Evaluation of Results

The Walla Walla River has been heavily diverted for irrigation purposes. Two major irrigation diversions, one at river mile 36 and another at river mile 47 along with numerous smaller diversions exist in the subbasin. These structures played a significant role in the extirpation of spring Chinook and in the reduction of summer steelhead and Bull Trout abundance. Migrating juveniles were lost down irrigation canals and injured by impingement on inappropriate fish screens. Adults were prevented from making upstream migrations either by a complete absence of water or by impassable barriers. Numerous passage improvements have been made. The effectiveness of individual projects, however, has not been evaluated. Visual inspections are made to see if adults or juveniles show any reluctance to moving through specific passage structures but are not done in a quantifiable manner. However, the sponsors have performed studies that show mean travel time of spring Chinook from McNary Dam to the Nursery Bridge Dam has decreased from 30 days in 2000 to 18 days. SAR values for spring Chinook have also gone up a bit since 2004 and the successful re-introduction of spring Chinook into the South Fork of the Walla Walla and into Mill Creek indicate biological benefits have been derived from the passage work that has occurred in the subbasin.

3. Project Relationships, Emerging Limiting Factors, and Tailored Questions

The Walla Walla Juvenile and Adult Passage Improvement project is directly linked to the Walla Walla Fish Operations and Maintenance and the Walla Walla Basinwide Tributary Passage and Flow projects. The juvenile and adult passage project provides support for the installation of screens and passage structures at irrigation diversion sites, dams, and other sites where fish passage has been impaired. The operation and maintenance project handles the O&M for these installations while the basinwide tributary passage project focuses on flow augmentation. These projects have made significant progress towards addressing fish impacts related to the irrigation system in the Walla Walla Basin.

Project identification is done by the Walla Walla Technical Work Group, the Mill Creek Working Group, and other interested entities. Private engineering firms design and construct passage improvements, and these plans are reviewed by the sponsors (CTUIR) along with WDFW, ODFW, NMFS, and the USFWS. PNNL personnel are engaged by the project to inspect newly completed projects to determine if they are operating under accepted NMFS criteria. The project also provides cost share funds for fish passage projects led by the Army Corps of Engineers, Snake River Salmon Recovery Board, NOAA, Milton-Freewater Water Control District, and the Walla Walla Basin Watershed Council.

Additionally, the project is linked to the Walla Walla Basin Monitoring and Evaluation Project (BPA Project Number 2000-039-00) which performs basinwide assessments of fish response to habitat improvement efforts. This Monitoring and Evaluation project appears to be collecting comprehensive data on steelhead and spring Chinook populations in the river and some of the results from this study are presented. VSP parameters appear to be trending upwards. However, it is not possible to determine the role improved passage survival is playing in this trend. Assessments of effectiveness of the screens and passage structures installed under this program appear to be limited to behavior displayed by radio-tagged adult fish near passage structures and casual observations of fish behavior around project sites. A more rigorous assessment of the efficacy of the structures should be considered.

No emerging limiting factors were presented. It is clear however, that climate change and possible shifts in irrigation water use will impact fish passage. How to accommodate these changes in flow regimes and water temperature will need to be considered in future fish passage planning, design, and construction.

4. Deliverables, Work Elements, Metrics, and Methods

Ten project deliverables are presented. Eight of them are for specific fish passage projects. Many of these have been designed and are ready for construction. One of the remaining deliverables is for cost-sharing. In this case funds from the project will be provided to other subbasin groups that are performing fish passage work. Previous examples of cost sharing include projects on the Touchet, Garrison Creek, Spring Creek, and at Gose Street. The final deliverable pays PNNL personnel to perform post-project evaluations to ensure that newly completed projects meet NOAA fish passage criteria. The work elements and deliverables for this project seem appropriate. They are primarily related to the construction of new screens or fish ladders or modification of existing facilities. However, the detail about each work element and deliverable was quite brief. Additional detail or links to information about each planned project would have been useful in reviewing the proposal.

Specific comments on protocols and methods described in MonitoringMethods.org

No RM&E protocols were listed in the proposal.

===========QUALIFICATIONS FOLLOW================

The ISRP’s qualification and comments can be dealt with in contracting and future project reviews. The ISRP is not requesting a response.