Methow River Side Channel Enhancement
The Methow River Side Chanel Enhancement Project started in 2017 to utilize saved water from various irrigation projects in the Methow Valley.
One of the largest side channel restoration projects in Washington State with the goal of returning saved water to the Methow River. It is one thing to store water but another in releasing it back to the river in a way that benefits a river system in the best possible way.
The ponds on the site are home to flora and fauna that help enrich the river with nutrients.
By releasing the water in a controlled manner into a side channel, you can maximize the potential benefits of the water and its return back to the river.
There will be a point of diversion placed on MRERC Ranch and water will be diverted into the side channel increasing the water flow. The Diversion will create a reservoir of nutrient-rich cool water released slowly back to the Methow River from May through October.
The benefits of this increased water flow may well prove exponential as MRERC seeks to assimilate information on the changes as a result of this diversion, as well as providing a unique laboratory-like environment with opportunities for control studies going forward:
- Provide water flow to existing Riparian Area
- To Improve and expand existing pond and waterways
- To help create and improve a robust Beaver/Wildfowl Habitat
- Add to support the existing Riparian environment while improving the water released back to the Methow River during the critical Summer Months.
- This project will encourage beaver activity. Beavers create deep ponds and channels under their dams that are cool in temperature. These deep ponds increase the volume of water in a river and provide shelter for other wetland species.
The numbers on the aerial map correspond with the ponds on the MRERC Ranch.
