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Yakima Basin Integrated Water Resource Management Plan (YBIP)

In June 2009, Ecology and Reclamation brought representatives from the Yakama Nation, irrigation districts, environmental organizations, and federal, state, county, and city governments together to form the Yakima River Basin Water Enhancement Project (YRBWEP) Working Group to help develop a consensus-based solution to the basin’s water problems. Over the next 18 months, the group developed the Yakima River Basin Integrated Water Resource Management Plan (Plan). Ecology and Reclamation issued a Programmatic Environmental Impact (PEIS) for the Plan March 2, 2012. The PEIS serves as a framework for the plan. Individual projects will each receive a more specific environmental review.

The Plan includes the following elements:

• Fish Passage
• Fish Habitat Enhancement
• Modifying Existing Structures and Operations
• Surface Storage
• Market-Based Reallocation
• Groundwater Storage
• Enhanced Water Conservation

Integrated Plan At-a-Glance

For more information about the plan, see  the Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement  for the Yakima River Basin Integrated Water Resource Management Plan.

Focus Sheets and Other Materials

• YRBWEP Workgroup Info Sheets
  • Overview - A Plan to Meet the Region's Water Needs
  • Environmental Benefits - Protecting Land, Fish, and Water
  • Water Supply Benefits - Water for Farms and Communities
  • Legislative Information - The Integrated Plan in the Legislature
  • Teanaway Acquistion - Teanaway Acquisition Key to Yakima Basin Watershed Protection
• Presentation: Overview of the Yakima River Basin Integrated Water Resource Management Plan
• Integrated Water Resource Management Focus Sheet (July 2012)
• Yakima River Basin Integrated Water Resource Management Plan At A Glance
• Early Action Projects
  • Cle Elum Fish Passage
  • Roza Dam and Chandler Powerplants Subordination
  • Wymer Surface Water Storage
  • Watershed Protection and Enhancement
  • Keechelus-to-Kachess Conveyance
  • Cle Elum Pool Raise
  • Kachess Reservoir Inactive Storage
  • Bumping Lake Reservoir Expansion
• YBIP Display Boards

YRBWEP Working Group Documents

• Proposed Yakima Basin Integrated Water Resource Management Plan (April 2011)
• Technical Reports
• Integrated Water Resource Management Summary Support Document - (March 2011)
• Preliminary Integrated Water Resource Management Plan for the Yakima River Basin (2009)
• Meeting Notes, Handouts, and Presentations

Yakima River Basin Environmental Reports and Documents

• Yakima River Basin Integrated Water Resource Management Plan Framework for Implementation Report (October 2012)
• Yakima River Basin Integrated Water Resource Management Plan Four Accounts Analysis (October 2012)
• Yakima River Basin Integrated Water Resource Plan Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (March 2012)
  • Executive Summary for the Final PEIS (March 2012)
  • Ecology Press Release
  • Reclamation Press Release
•  Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for the Yakima River Basin Integrated Water Resource Management Plan. (November 2011)
•  Executive Summary -- Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for the Yakima River Basin Integrated Water Resource Management Plan. (November 2011)
• Determination of Significance and Request for Comments on Scope of EIS for the Yakima River Basin Integrated Water Resource Management Plan  (April 2011)
• Cle Elum Fish Passage Facilities and Fish Reintroduction Project Final EIS (April 2011)
• Cle Elum Fish Passage Facilities and Fish Reintroduction Project Draft Environmental Impact Statement (2010)
• Yakima River Basin Integrated Water Resource Management Alternative EIS (2009)
• Yakima River Basin Water Storage Feasibility Study Planning Report and EIS (2008)
• Enhanced Water Conservation Alternative - Yakima River Basin Water Storage Feasibility Study - PowerPoint (2008)
• Yakima River Basin Storage Alternatives Appraisal Assessment (2006)
• Black Rock Assessment (2006)

More Information

YBIP In the News

• Why the farmer and the enviro really can be friends on irrigation (Crosscut.com)
• A Water Plan For Fish, Families And Farmers (Northwest Public Radio)

Other YBIP Related Sites:

• YRBWEP Implementation Committee - Yakima Basin Integrated Plan
• US Bureau of Reclamation
• Yakima Basin Conservation Campaign
• Washington Trails Association - Introducing the Yakima Basin Integrated Plan
• Yakima Basin Fish and Wildlife Recovery Board