Feds Poised to Remove Northwest Dam

 

THE U.S. BUREAU OF RECLAMATION this month is expected to begin the largest dam demolition project in the United States - the $324.7 million removal of the Elwha and Glines Canyon Power Plants on the Elwha River in a protected area of the Olympic National Park in Washington State.

Environmentalists say the move is a one-of-a-kind opportunity to show scientists and environmentalists what can happen when dams are demolished in a protected river with few roads, no other dams and little pollution or development.

"This is a pristine lab that will allow us to study how a river can come back once you take out the dams," said Amy Kober, a spokeswoman for American Rivers in Portland, Ore. She said other dams removed to date have been on rivers that were not protected.

Before the dams were built, the Elwha was home to Chinook salmon that weighed up to 100 pounds and that were critical to the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe, according to American Rivers. Five species of salmon originally swam in 70 miles of spawning habitat, but the dams reduced the habitat to 4.9 miles. What's more, the dams decimated the salmon runs, cutting salmon numbers from 400,000 to 4,000, the river-protection organization says. That hurt 137 other species that relied on salmon for their diet.

Kober said American Rivers expects to see the river bounce back quickly within three years of the dams' removal. In addition to salmon, the organization anticipates new vegetation and rapids for paddlers and for wildlife such as eagles, black bear and elk. Within 30 years, 300,000 salmon are expected to spawn in the river, Kober said.

The 12-megawatt Elwha Dam started producing power in 1913, and the 16-megawatt Glines Canyon Dam came online 14 years later. They were originally owned by Crown Zellerbach and provided power to the company's pulp and paper mill. The projects, now owned by the federal government, produced about 19 megawatts annually, said Bob Hamilton, resource management coordinator and activity manager for the Bureau of Reclamation. The Bonneville Power Administration has been responsible for marketing the power.

The dam removal is the next phase of a process that began in 1992, when Congress passed the Elwha River Restoration Act, requiring restoration of the river and its runs.

Hamilton, who has been assigned to this project since the Act was passed, said it is not uncommon for dam removals to span decades. Before this project, he was assigned to the removal of the Savage Rapids dam on the Rogue River in Oregon. "It took 22 years to do that," he said.

In the Elwha River case, the delays were caused by lack of funding from Congress and delays in completing environmental studies, among other issues, Hamilton said. "Not until 2000 did Congress come up with the money to buy the projects from the owners," he said.

Kober added that some politicians held up the dam removal by opposing it. In addition, infrastructure changes were needed before the dams could come out. For example, the city of Port Angeles needed a new water treatment plant before demolition could begin. The city obtains its drinking water from the Elwha and the dam removal will initially affect water quality.

Now that demolition is about to start, the biggest challenge is safely removing the dams without releasing too much water down the river, Hamilton said. "We're trying to minimize damage to existing archeological sites," he said. A main goal of the project is to restore sacred tribal sites along with salmon for the tribes.

This will require additional time and patience, Hamilton said. "It's hard for people to wrap their minds around how long this takes."

However, as soon as the dams are out, the payoff will be big, Kober said. When dams are removed, people are often surprised at how quickly the rivers are restored, she said.

"The lesson we have learned is that the river knows what to do," she said. "It will find its channel again. Time after time, we see these things happen pretty quickly."