That's as much money as the agency had budgeted for that purpose for the entire year. In part to remain financially stable, the agency has for six days this winter run the hydropower system harder than usual, drafting reservoirs to run turbines when the water should be stored for fish, officials said. The action is allowed under the Endangered Species Act in the case of a power emergency. Analysts at the power-planning council already are devising scenarios under which spill for fish could be reduced this spring, said Dick Watson, manager of power programs for the council. That could prove tempting to an agency in a cash crunch.
Decisions have yet to be made about spill.
But flow augmentation will certainly be reduced. The trade-offs we are now faced with just make it that much tougher. Let's rebuild this Mother Earth.