Elwha River Ecosystem to Restored
After restoration of the Elwha River is complete, the pristine waters have the potential of supplying optimum habitat for the thousands of salmonids that return each year.(Photo: Scott Church) Beginning in the fall of 2011 the process of removing 2 large hydropower dams on the Elwha River on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State will begin. The removal of these two dams will represent one of the largest dam removal efforts ever undertaken in the United States and will be the centerpiece of a project to restore the Elwha River ecosystem and its one-time abundant anadromous fishery in Olympic National Park.
Prior to 1911, the Elwha River, which headwaters in Olympic National Park and flows north to the Strait Juan de Fuca, supported ten stocks of salmon and steelhead. Elwha Dam was built on the Elwha River in 1911 and Glines Canyon Dam in 1925, limiting anadromous fish to the lower 4.9 river miles ever since. The projects have also caused the inundation and degradation of important riverine and terrestrial habitat, eliminated or reduced runs of salmon and steelhead, and degraded water quality (increased temperatures, reduced nutrients) downstream. Salmon, which prior to construction of the dams, returned annually to spawn and die - utilizing over 60 miles of the Elwha River and its tributaries within Olympic National Park. The loss of salmon “biomass” from this ecosystem in turn influenced the entire ecology of the river and it’s watershed.
In 1992 after consultation with and cooperation by affected parties and local governments, Congress enacted PL 102-495 directing the Secretary of the Interior to fully restore the Elwha River ecosystem and native anadromous fisheries. PL 102-495 is a negotiated settlement that satisfies the interests of and is supported by the former owner of the dams (Georgia Pacific), the former operator of the dams (Nippon Paper Industries), the City of Port Angeles, the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe, the State of Washington, numerous environmental groups, and Federal fish and wildlife agencies.
The dams were purchased on February 29, 2000 for $29.5 million (as stipulated by PL 102-495). Two environmental impact statements (EIS) were completed in 1996. A final supplemental EIS (SEIS) was released in September 2005 to account for changes in mitigation requirements resulting from new Washington Department of Health water quality standards and listing of Elwha River Chinook salmon and bull trout.
Current Status:
As of July 2009, the project is underway with significant progress made in construction of new water diversion and treatment facilities and other essential improvements required before dam deconstruction. Dam removal is now planned to commence in 2011 and is anticipated to be completed by 2014. Residual sediment impacts related to dam removal are anticipated to wind down by 2016. The National Park Service Water Resources Division has worked closely with Olympic National Park and the US Bureau of Reclamation in planning sediment management aspects of the dam removal since the inception of the project and continues involvement today with assistance in development and implementation of the adaptive management sediment monitoring program.
Additional Information on the Elwha River Ecosystem Restoration Project can be found by clicking here.