Expect delays through Tumwater Canyon on US Highway 2 near Tumwater Dam on Monday, August 19
In preparation for a Chelan PUD maintenance project planned for the Tumwater Dam, workers plan to install guardrails along the edge of the highway.
According to a PUD press release, Rachel Hansen of Chelan PUD says repair work will begin in late August to reinforce the dam’s skirt – a concrete section below the dam. New concrete will prevent undermining of the structure and include measures to protect fish migration.
The viewing area at Tumwater Dam is closed on Mondays through the end of December.
The project continues a maintenance plan that began in 2020 with concrete repairs to the fish ladder. The repairs meet required safety standards for dams regulated by the state Department of Environmental Conservation.
Chelan PUD uses the dam’s fish ladder to monitor salmon and steelhead populations in the Wenatchee River. In addition, the PUD collects adult fish that are raised in a hatchery to meet habitat protection plan requirements for the Rocky Reach and Rock Island hydroelectric projects.
Tumwater Dam is also a staging area for fish hatcheries operated by Yakama Nation Fisheries and Grant PUD, and a site for fish studies conducted by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.
The Tumwater Dam was used to generate clean energy for trains traveling through the long tunnel at Stevens Pass. Chelan PUD acquired the dam in the 1950s and rebuilt it in the 1980s.
The surprising depths of the Columbia River
Learn about the various depths of the Columbia River as it flows through Washington and Oregon. All depths are recorded on nautical charts and are rough estimates based on assumptions about the quality of the data.
Gallery credit: Jaime Skelton
