This photo is a simple view of a few Mallards on a pond. The scene is fairly common in our area whenever there is standing water. Give a Mallard a puddle and it is likely to make use of it.

But this photo represents much more than a simple view. These Mallards are part of about 25 that I saw on this pond during the hour I was there filming them. Again, this is not an uncommon situation. What makes this photo important and, hopefully, interesting, is that there is water in a pond in the Horan Natural Area. Yes, enough water has dropped onto or flowed into the Horan that Mallards are exploring areas that they have not accessed for a very long time.

The water has been evident for a week now thanks to unseasonably warm rains. I really do not think that the rainfall itself was sufficient to provide this much water to the Horan ponds. I’m a bit surprised, but I think a large part of the water seen here came from the City of Wenatchee stormwater drainage system. The system treats the water before it enters the Horan pond system and the inflow receives additional benefits from natural filtration in the wetlands that have been drying out for a considerable time.

So, it’s very rewarding for me to see this event – a couple of ducks on a pond. Common, but not so much in this area for years. All brought to you by the City of Wenatchee and the rains we’ve collected. While people in Cashmere and Leavenworth are recovering from floods, the waterfowl in the Horan are celebrating revitalized habitat. Ying and yang – that’s how water is many times. How long the pond water will remain is an open question. Time will tell.

NCW Audubon has been working for years to improve habitat conditions in the Horan Natural Area. Many of the potential benefits we see come from reestablishing a source of water to the ponds and their associated riparian/wetland habitats. The pond system has been largely drying in recent years after termination of both stormwater entry from the City of Wenatchee and irrigation water from the Pioneer Irrigation Users system. Options to restore irrigation water supply to the area have been deemed infeasible by the Chelan PUD so the prospect of sufficient water to fill the ponds, or even a portion of them, is viewed as a long shot. NCW Audubon thinks this is highly regrettable.

The City of Wenatchee complied with a PUD request to cease direction of stormwater to the Horan Area based on a fear of accumulation of a variety of pollutants coming from parking lots and roads in Wenatchee. For over a decade, the stormwater was directed to a location near the Wenatchee River where it would be filtered by soil and rocks in the area. The City of Wenatchee applied to the Washington Department of Ecology (DOE) for funds to support design and installation of state-of-the-art filtration of the North Wenatchee Avenue stormwater system. At one point, the City’s application was the Number One request in the list of DOE list of candidates. The project was funded, and the City celebrated as they pulled the diversion barrier from the stormwater system so water could once again flow to the Horan.

Now, not to be overly optimistic, it only realistic to remember that the water is sporadic and will usually be small in amount. Yet, any water entering the Horan Natural Area will be put to beneficial use by the riparian and wetland plants that it reaches. My personal hope is that enough water is made available to support the key wetland that lies at the north end of the Horan area along the west edge of the area. This area is key to Wood Duck nesting and use. If the incremental water revitalizes or supports the wetland character of the area, we all win.

I recorded about 1.5 inches of rain at my house in Wenatchee over the last three days. I knew that the chances of seeing live water entering the Horan from the City storm drain system were pretty good. My short trip out the culvert crossing under the Loop Trail on Hawley Street was rewarding. I could hear flowing water before I saw it emerging from the box culvert as it entered the culvert to Horan. I visited the detention pond below the culvert outflow to learn that water was gracefully flowing out the east edge and into the Horan. It is unclear exactly where the water is going but it will likely be intercepted by the existing channel that runs north-south along the railroad alignment. Once in that channel, it may make its way north to the critical wetland. I’m hopeful.

My hat goes off to the City of Wenatchee for their persistence in finding a way to make this happen. Specifically, Jessica Shaw deserves a big shout-out for her success.

NCW Audubon has not totally given up on getting irrigation water back to the Horan. Our input about contemporary possibilities to do this are in the hands of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). We will all know the final outcome once the new Rock Island Dam license is issued.

You can watch water flow to the Horan in this VERY short video. It may be a small amount of water but it represents a significant success for the City of Wenatchee and Horan Natural Area. It’s fine to celebrate even a modest success.