CRESCENT BAR — The state Department of Ecology (DOE) is now taking the lead on exploring a water raise around Grant County PUD-owned Crescent Bar Island.

Joe Lucas, a senior policy advisor for the utility, said it’s because the cost of altering Wanapum Dam doesn’t justify the low amount of increased power production for the utility.

Grant PUD commissioners have not voted on the matter nor taken any official action, he added.

Commissioners were updated on the issue at a recent workshop and the status of the matter is similar today, he said.

Currently, the DOE is making preliminary inquiries to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) about the raise, said DOE spokesperson Joye Redfield-Wilder.

FERC issued a new license to Grant PUD last year to operate its Columbia River dams. Crescent Bar Island is included within the PUD’s hydroelectric project.

The water raise would require an amendment to the FERC license, Lucas said.

Raising the river by 3.5 feet was also discussed last year in response to the DOE’s pursuance of new water supplies for municipalities and agriculture.

Higher water levels around the island would allow for more water storage, but flood part of the RV park on the island.

Lucas confirmed the RV park is being used on a regular basis by a handful of year round residents. The peak use is in the summer, he said.

The utility learned a water raise would only result in a 2.4 average megawatt increase per year, said Lucas.

Modifying Wanapum Dam’s spill base and spill way costs an estimated $40 million to $50 million, he said.

The DOE would be expected to provide funding to start the environmental review process, Lucas commented.

“It’s not something Grant PUD is pushing because of this,” he said.

Redfield-Wilder said because the pool raise is associated with water supply, not power supply, any study would be funded by the state’s Columbia River Program.

A year ago, Grant County PUD came to the Columbia River team and made the suggestion about possibly raising the pool, she said.

“It has been a partnership with the PUD,” she says.

The PUD’s request triggered some interest because the state Legislature gave the DOE the directive to seek water supplies, she explained.

The Columbia River Program is exploring many avenues for new water. The pool raise is one of many projects being explored, Redfield-Wilder commented.