Review of the scientific basis for Skagit River water flow management

The Skagit River estuary and the flow of water in the Skagit River are critical to the life cycles of salmon, agriculture in the Skagit Valley, and recreation/domestic use. In 1999, Washington State commissioned a study of the Skagit River estuary to better understand its hydrology and ecology and to inform management decisions related to instream flow levels and water withdrawals. That technical report was published in 2001 and informed the Skagit Instream Flow Rule. The Washington Department of Ecology on behalf of the Joint Legislative Task Force on Water Supply asked WSAS to conduct an independent third-party review of the estuary study portion of that report, as well as review the current state of methodologies, techniques, technologies, and datasets that would be employed if an estuary study was conducted today. WSAS also conducted an independent third-party review of a supply and demand analysis of the Skagit Basin prepared by the Water Research Center at Washington State University and the Climate Impacts Group at the University of Washington.