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DRMT plans digital river‑flow alerts as Island View water system moves to Stage 2 conservation
Summary
The Dungeness River Management Team discussed a vendor selection for a digital river‑flow alert tool, plans to double roadside flow signage, and a Stage 2 drought alert issued for the Island View water system; managers said the Hoko/Olsen Creek systems show low baseflows and trucking or other measures may be needed if flows drop further.
Dungeness River Management Team members said the group selected a vendor to build a downloadable digital river‑flow alert system and that Jamestown tribal funds will cover initial work. Staff asked DRMT members to expect a near‑term contract and a short update within a few months.
A staff member described a staged rollout: Stage 1 will read the USGS gauge periodically and display current conditions on phones; Stage 2 would add interpretation and possibly weather forecasting features if additional funding is obtained. The staff member said Jamestown has allocated some grant funding and that the contract could be signed in roughly a month.
The team also said they will increase physical roadside signage from two to four signs this season to alert travelers about river conditions and drought messaging. The Nature Center will issue a separate RFP for an exhibit integrating live stream data, SNOTEL and other data feeds, and the tribe is providing major funding for that exhibit; the exhibit funds must be spent by June 3 under the current schedule.
Separately, water‑system staff reported a Stage 2 drought alert for the Island View water system due to low flows in the Hoko watershed and falling Olsen Creek supply. Bowen Kendrick, PUD water and wastewater divisions, said the Island View system uses Olsen Creek surface water and that stage thresholds in the local drought response plan trigger escalated conservation notices and, if necessary, trucking of water. Kendrick said past operations have included trucking to Island View when local supplies were insufficient and that stage 3–4 declarations impose stricter mandatory conservation measures.
Kendrick noted the Hoko base‑flow forecast indicated worsening conditions and identified a critical operational threshold at about 14 cubic feet per second for the Hoko in the County drought plan; managers said four to five weeks of dry conditions could bring system operations to that threshold without rainfall.
The DRMT discussed broader concerns about the availability and stability of federal and state data sources (USGS and NOAA feeds) and suggested the executive committee inventory critical data streams and potential backup sources in case public data portals change or become unavailable.
Ending: The DRMT will proceed with the vendor contract for the phone‑based alert tool, expand roadside signage, and monitor Island View and western Clallam water systems for possible escalation of conservation stages.
