This project will implement a holistic approach to increasing instream flow and addressing drought susceptibility in the lower chiwawa watershed by combining forest health fuel reduction treatments…

The Bureau of Reclamation's WaterSMART (Sustain and Manage America's Resources for Tomorrow) program awarded Chelan County Natural Resource Department a $3.6 million Project Grant on September 10, 2025, to implement an integrated water management and forest health initiative in the lower Chiwawa watershed near Wenatchee, Washington. The project will deliver permanent donation of a 10 cubic feet per second (CFS) water right to state trust, conversion of 1.18 miles of open earthen irrigation canal to pipe infrastructure, and 550 acres of fuel reduction forest health treatments (450 acres on federal land). These actions will increase instream flow by 1,181 acre-feet annually, reduce catastrophic wildfire risk, improve forest health, and lower stream temperatures to benefit Endangered Species Act-listed Upper Columbia steelhead populations.

The project addresses multiple integrated risks within a drought-prone landscape by combining irrigation efficiency improvements with water right donation and forest management. Key deliverables include the decommissioning of the Wenatchee Chiwawa Irrigation District's Clear Creek diversion in exchange for canal infrastructure upgrades, elimination of approximately 40 percent water seepage losses, and landscape-scale forest treatments that will reduce transpiration demands. The initiative represents over a decade of collaborative stakeholder engagement and is scheduled for completion by September 30, 2028, providing sustainable solutions to water supply reliability, ecosystem restoration, and wildfire resilience across federal, state, and private lands in the Upper Columbia River Basin.

This project will implement a holistic approach to increasing instream flow and addressing drought susceptibility in the lower chiwawa watershed by combining forest health fuel reduction treatments with irrigation efficiencies and water right donation for instream flow improvement. The lower chiwawa river and clear creek provide irrigation water for the wenatchee chiwawa irrigation district (wcid), provide spawning habitat for endangered species act (ESA)-listed upper columbia (UC) steelhead, and are located in extreme wildfire risk communities within drought-prone chelan county. Elevated stream temperatures and low baseflows in the lower chiwawa threaten the viability of ESA-listed species. The factors that lead to critical low flows are multi-scalar and include the two active wcid irrigation diversions (clear creek and mainstem chiwawa), antiquated and inefficient irrigation infrastructure (an estimated 40 percent of water conveyed in the wcid canal is lost to seepage), and a heavily forested landscape that is dominated by over-stocked stands with high transpiration demands. Moreover, these forests, under both federal and private ownership, are under an extreme risk of catastrophic wildfire. The project will address these integrated risks to instream flow, water supply, and wildfire and result in permanent donation of the wcid 10 CFS clear creek water right to state trust and 550 acres of fuel reduction forest health treatments (450 of which are on federal land). These actions will result in an increase of 1,181 acre-foot year to instream flow, reduce wildfire risk and increase forest health, and reduce stream temperatures to benefit ESA-listed species. The trust water right donation is the result of over a decade of collaboration with wcid, who has agreed to decommission their clear creek diversion in exchange for conversion of 1.18 miles of the open earthen wcid canal to pipe, which will also be implemented as part of this project. Other project partners include WA department of natural resources (wadnr), the united states forest service (USFS) and thousand trails campground (private landowner). The project addresses specific recommendation in the wenatchee watershed plan, upper columbia salmon recovery plan, and chelan countys climate resilience strategy.