Dave Wills, a new TMT member from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, said his agency isn't prepared to sacrifice any redds and asked that the tailwater elevation be raised to 12.5 feet. Scott Bettin, Bonneville Power Administration, said his agency would like the tailwater target to be set at 11.5 feet. Turner asked to drop the daily average flow to 130 kcfs and McGrane concurred, saying that at the rate water is being let out of Grand Coulee Dam, the lake elevation is likely to reach 1,240 by the end of January. Reclamation is getting less inclined for Grand Coulee to be the only reservoir impacted. The days of drafting only Coulee are numbered.
Reclamation has other obligations for the water.
He added that if the Bonneville Dam daily flow average remains as is, the region will be in trouble. 132 kcfs is still too high, he said. TMT river operating agencies agreed to drop the tailwater elevation to 11.7 feet and to manage flow to maintain that elevation. McGrane believes that will result in a drop in daily average flows.