This is one of three projects funded, in part, by BPA (matching funds from SRFB, Ecology, Tributary Committees, USFWS, BOR and others) through the Upper Columbia Habitat Project (project #2010-001-00) for FFY 2011 (project # 2010-001-00).  The costs associated with administering this contract are covered under the programmatic project (contract # 50379).  This project is also funded under the Columbia Basin Water Transaction Program as the Pioneer Piping Project, which funded staff time in the beginning to develop the project.

The objective of this project is to improve habitat by increasing flows in the Lower Wenatchee by up to 15 cubic-feet per second (cfs), as described in the water right, with up to an additional 2.5 cfs of return flow by delivering water upstream to users from the new point of diversion on the Columbia River.  This project will create infrastructure improvements for the Pioneer Water Users Association (PWUA) who operate and maintain the Gunn Ditch, which supplies water for agricultural and residential irrigation to shareholders.  The project has several components that will address limiting factors in the Wenatchee and is part of the Upper Columbia Salmon Recovery Plan implementation schedule.  By initiating this project, other biologically productive restoration activities can also be implemented, including habitat improvements, diversion removal and possible side channel reconnection.

There is over 29,000 linear feet of pipeline that will be installed.  There will be one pump station on the Columbia River with two pumps for redundancy, which will be metered.  The turnouts on farm will be sized with the appropriate orifice to restrict flows to the appropriate quantity, but will not be metered.  The irrigators will be responsible for long term maintenance of the system.

The entire water right will be transferred to instream flow in the Wenatchee River and then a portion of it will then (approximately 30%) be pumped back up out of the Columbia River to the shareholders.  Trout Unlimited will be submitting the Trust Water Rights Application and will shepherd it through Ecology, but the point of diversion change will be completed by the PWUA Attorney.