Making a tiny stream wider- can it be done? (money, property)

[WestGuest]

There are a few tiny streams on a property I am acquiring near the Columbia River- there are some tiny steams (in. blue). on the topo map. They start from about 700 and spill into forest and perhaps the Columbia River. I guess this is actually on the Washington side but political boundaries shouldnt matter.


How can I "improve" a stream into one that is much larger?

[PNW-type-gal]

It does make a difference which state you are in. Depending on the size of the stream, the water right to it might already belong elsewhere, in which case you can't really touch it - water rights are pretty serious business in Oregon and Washington. For Washington state, you'll need to check with Dept of Ecology:

https://ecology.wa.gov/Water-Shoreli...y/Water-rights

[Silverfall]

Originally Posted by WestGuest

There are a few tiny streams on a property I am acquiring near the Columbia River- there are some tiny steams (in. blue). on the topo map. They start from about 700 and spill into forest and perhaps the Columbia River. I guess this is actually on the Washington side but political boundaries shouldnt matter.


How can I "improve" a stream into one that is much larger?

If you are in Oregon or Washington, most likely not. You likely don't have water rights to divert/dam up water. Washington doesn't even allow you to collect rainwater.

[Johnny Z]

Even if it could be done you need more info on things like topography, soils and hydrology to do it properly.

[WestGuest]

The entire stream from start till where it ends would be on my property- tiny means about 1 ft wide.

[leastprime]

hopefully this isnt in the Gorge Protection area?

[WestGuest]

It is not and I will check with building and planning - I am going to use much of this acreage for animals and am meeting with wildlife biologists in 2 weeks.




My question concerns whether this can be PHYSICALLY Done and HOW- not the politics.

[leastprime]

^given enough money, anything can be done physically.
Try ponds, catchment basins, Oregon beavers.

[texasdiver]

Only two ways to make a stream "larger"

1. Add more water to it somehow

2. Slow down the flow with a dam or other obstruction


Doing #1 would require re-routing some other stream or source of water into your stream which is unlikely to be practical absent some sort of major engineering.

Doing #2 could possibly run afoul of a variety of laws governing stream flow and riparian zones depending on where you are. Even small dams generally require permits. Not saying everyone always gets a permit simply to throw some large boulders in the water and create an ad-hoc dam. But that doesn't necessarily make it legal.

[Deserterer]

Originally Posted by WestGuest

There are a few tiny streams on a property I am acquiring near the Columbia River- there are some tiny steams (in. blue). on the topo map. They start from about 700 and spill into forest and perhaps the Columbia River. I guess this is actually on the Washington side but political boundaries shouldnt matter.


How can I "improve" a stream into one that is much larger?

This is a very vague question. What exactly are you wanting to do? More importantly, why?