EPHRATA - The Grant County PUD is spending between $450,000 and $600,000 per month to patrol the riverbank behind Wanapum Dam, which is closed to public access. The water level was dropped Feb. 28 after a crack was discovered in one of the spillway pillars at the dam.

The closure affects about 90 miles of shoreline, PUD security team member Dick Robert said. Utility district officials decided to close the shoreline to ensure public safety and to protect any archeological sites exposed by the low water, he said.

There are a couple of boat launches upstream, one near Rock Island Dam and one in Kittitas County, Robert said, but they are open only for law enforcement use.

Robert and PUD employee Debbie Lowe detailed the measures being taken to keep people out of the area at the regular meeting of the PUD commissioners Tuesday.

The PUD received a letter from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in May, Lowe said, saying the shoreline should be kept closed and requiring notification to FERC before reopening any section of it.

The shoreline may look like it's stable but it's not, Robert said. In some places the fast current has eroded some of the underlying layers, he said, and in others the mud and sand is waist-deep. Public utility district employees identified about 100 archeological sites, Robert said, and the PUD has a legal and moral obligation to protect them, Lowe said.

Utility district officials have contracts with six regional law enforcement agencies and have increased their own patrols, Robert said. Officers patrol on land, but the best way to see what's going on is by water, he said. Some agencies already own a boat, but there are areas where boats can't go, he said.

For that reason the PUD bought four personal watercraft and loan them to law enforcement personnel, Robert said. Utility district personnel are not allowed to use them, he said.

The PUD considered renting Jet Skis, but it was more cost-effective to buy them, Lowe said. They will be sold as surplus when recreation season ends and water levels return to normal, she said.

So far no citations for trespassing have been issued, he said. Lowe said the costs are higher or lower depending on activity, and should decrease as the recreation season winds down.

In other business, PUD officials will work to update the procedures used to calculate budget pay plans, following questions from customers to commissioner Tom Flint and from a customer to PUD officials.

Budget pay allows people to pay a designated amount each month, with the amount adjusted periodically. Some customers saw their bill raise by $50 to $100, Flint said, and he suggested the commissioners should look at the issue.

Assistant General Manager Chuck Berrie said a customer's inquiry already had prompted utility officials to look at the procedure. "We saw an opportunity for improvement," he said. Depending on electrical usage, it could be as long as 18 months between reviews, he said, which influenced the adjustments. As a result the procedure is being reviewed.