This stretch of the columbia river was swept by the ice age floods at the end of the most recent ice age. It stretches from there upstream to the rock island dam. The dam and the lake were named in honor however dubious that honor may be of the wanapum indians. Extend the harvest season for sturgeon effective dates. Before the construction of wanapum dam in the 1950s the town of vantage and the bridge across the river lay lower in. Federal regulators and consultants rushed to wanapum dam on the columbia river near the central washington town of vantage after the discovery of the 2inchwide crack last week in a spillway. More delays for wanapum dam crack investigation ifiber. Whether youre spinning, baitcasting or fly fishing your chances of getting a bite here are good. It is owned by the grant county public utility district. The waters of the columbia river flow slowly through the wanapum dam on wednesday.
Native american heritage sites and irrigation intakes were exposed as water receded. Crack in wanapum dam pillar closing, pud looking for. Wanapum dam on the columbia river is compromised but safe and under repairs, officials said. Environmental monitor crack found in wanapum dam on. This graphic form the grant pud shows the sequence of events that led to the crack in wanapum dam. Divers from associated underwater services have completed the installation of 585 concrete stop logs weighing 60 tons each at wanapum dam one month ahead of schedule. Washington dam has 65foot crack, emergency procedures. A 65foot crack has been found in wanapum dam, and lake wanapum has been lowered to record levels while repairs are sought.
The fourth wanapum dam spillway support from the right has a large crack beneath the waters surface that was discovered feb. On february 27, 2014, a 2inch 5 cm wide crack was discovered by inspection. The public utilities district drew down the water in the reservoir by 26 feet, which reduced pressure on the crack and allowed it to close. I was told walleye are caught right below rocky reach dam where they eat the bait fish that get shot through the turbines. Returning the wanapum dam to working order as quickly and safely as possible facebook twitter linkedin email when a crack was discovered at the wanapum dam spillway the project owner, grant county public utility district, immediately consulted with the federal energy regulatory commission ferc, lowered the reservoir, and sought out help. Water levels behind the wanapum dam on the columbia river are being drawn to their lowest levels in 50 years, according to national public. Project details emergency project to repair a horizontal fracture in monolith 4 of the wanapum dam on the columbia river. Nicholsons portion of the work on priest rapids dam will be completed by december 31 and at wanapum dam in may of 2020. Nicholson and grant county pud back together for wanapum. The cracked wanapum dam on the columbia river is causing many problems. A crack discovered in one of spillway monoliths at wanapum dam led to a need to stabilize the structure and prevent further damage. Wanapum dam stabilization associated underwater services. Since a crack has been discovered in the dam, the grant county pud had to lower the water level to reduce pressure in order to fix the crack and lower the risk of further damage. The large crack in part of the wanapum dam spillway may have been there long before it was discovered late last month.
Wdfw extends sturgeon fishing, raises limit in wanapum and priest rapids reservoirs. A 65footlong crack in a columbia river dam in central washington has prompted officials to begin lowering the water level by 20 feet so inspectors can get. King county has 124 dams, almost twice as much as any other the largest dam in washington, in terms of structural volume, reservoir capacity and electricity production, is the grand coulee dam on the columbia river. Cashmere engineer is one of the consultants on wanapum. The owner of the dam, grant county public utility district, immediately mandated a drawdown of the dam s reservoir to relieve pressure on the spillway monoliths. After extensive investigation, it was determined that the crack was caused by mathematical errors in the initial design calculations and late changes to the final spillway design. Glacial lake missoula, lake bonneville and the ice age floods tom foster, pasco wa usa. Crack in wanapum dam may have been there awhile the. On february 27, 2014, a 2inch 5 cm wide crack was discovered by inspection divers on one of the 65 feet 20 m tall concrete monoliths that make up the spillway of the dam.
Rapids reservoir on the columbia river downstream of wanapum dam. I have a place a crescent bar and a big walleye fan. Mattawa grant pud officials need to wait at least three more weeks until they know the shape and depth of a crack at wanapum dam. A massive crack in a major columbia river dam poses enough of a risk of dam failure that grant county authorities have activated an emergencyresponse plan. Wanapum dam river drawdown churns up more old bones nw. That was incorrect in the original version of this story. The wanapum dam, a hydroelectric project located on the columbia river in grant county, wash. Wanapum dam hydroelectric project information columbia. That dam, about 19 miles upriver, was repaired in 2015 after a 65foot crack was found in february 2014 across the width of one of the dam s 12 spillway monoliths. Engineers have lowered the water upstream to relieve pressure on the dam. Potential failure situation developing at wanapum dam news. That was 1964, the year the wanapum dam began full hydropower operations. The crack required the grant county public utility district to draw down water levels 26 feet to examine the damage. The crack was discovered more than a month ago after an employee noticed a section at the top of the dam shifted.
Gave the river, below wanapum dam a try for early walleyes. The nearest weather station for both precipitation and temperature measurements is smy which is approximately 15 miles away and has an elevation of 560 feet 14 feet lower than wanapum lake. The dam is 12 miles downstream of rocky reach dam and downstream of vantage, washington, where interstate 90 crosses from grant county into kitittas county. Wanapum lake topo map in kittitas county, washington. Grant county public utility district worked to investigate the problem, install anchors to stabilize the dam, and return the powerhouse to full operations. The wanapum dam is down i90, just south of vantage, about 35 miles east of ellensburg. According to the washington state department of ecology, there are 1166 dams in the state.
This independent board of consultants is working with the grant county puds own engineers and federal officials to determine what caused a 65footlong crack to form across the entire width of wanapum dam s number 4 concrete spillway pier. These web pages provide information about the location, construction date, pool elevation, and powerhouse capacity of the major federal and nonfederal hydroelectric projects in the columbia basin. Wanapum dam is a hydroelectric project located on the columbia river downstream south from vantage, washington where interstate 90 crosses the columbia from grant county into kittitas county. Mattawa video a 65foot long crack in wanapum dam closed by an inch after the water in the reservoir was lowered. The resulting waterline is lower than it has been in decades. A large crack was discovered in wanapum dam on the columbia river in central washington. Wanapum dam spillway recovery and mitigation kuney. Priest rapids dams scope includes 128 drain holes located in the.
Pressure from the water behind wanapum dam may have contributed to the big crack that has disrupted operations at the structure, the grant. The grant county public utility district reinforced the dam s spillway in 2014 after a crack was discovered. Officials said there is no threat to the public from the crack in the wanapum dam, which is just down stream from where interstate 90 crosses the river. The wanapum dam water level was lowered over the weekend after utility managers discovered a 65foot crack along the base of the power plant on washingtons columbia river. Dam, said paul krumm, operations manager for nicholsons salt lake city office. Wanapum lake is a reservoir on the columbia river in the u.
Crack in wanapum dam a symptom of several big problems. An engineering survey found the damaged section of the pillar moved upstream after the grant pud lowered the water behind the dam, dawn woodward. Cracked wanapum dam can handle migrating fish, grant pud. An extensive investigation by the grant county utility district revealed tuesday that a host of problems caused the massive crack in wanapum dam on the columbia river in central washington. The crack was found last week in the fourth of 12 spillway piers at wanapum dam on the columbia river, as shown in this photo delivered as part of a report tuesday night to the grant county. This resulted in a cascade of potentially significant impacts for a variety of stakeholders. On march 1, a 65footlong crack was found in the columbia rivers hydroelectric wanapum dam. In the case of wanapum dam, the crack fixed itself. The crack at wanapum dam is on the dam s upriver side. Potential failure situation developing at wanapum dam.
The lake levels are still extremely low due to contruction on the dam. Engineers have started emergency procedures to stabilize a washington dam after they found a 65foot crack in the structure. Ive given up trying to find them myself and am buying a fishing map of wanapum lake if i can find one. Fish protections, irrigator access and hydro power generation are chief among the concerns at the midcolumbia rivers wanapum dam, where on feb. Spokane modifications on the cracked wanapum dam will allow migrating salmon to pass through the structure starting this week on their journey to spawning grounds, the grant county public. Wanapum reservoir area wont open for memorial day the. When a crack was discovered at the wanapum dam spillway the project owner, grant county public utility district, immediately consulted with the federal. Wanapum dam a few recent images posted below showing wanapum dam and the surrounding area. When the crack was discovered february 24, 2014, the forebay was lowered approximately 26 feet below its normal operating level due to dam safety concerns.
The dam is located on the columbia river, 6 miles downstream of vantage. White sturgeon between 38 and 72 inches fork length location. Divers discovered a 65footlong crack spanning a concrete support pillar supporting the dams spillway. A spokesman for the grant county pud indicated that the level of the water was to be lowered by 26 feet 8 m over a period of days to reduce the pressure on the spillway while inspectors investigate. Even so, divers used steel cabling and rods to anchor the dam to the bedrock. The work necessary to fix the crack, and the whole dam, could mean the reservoir wont be partially refilled until october or later, according to information provided during the regular board of. Vantage, washington lies almost halfway between seattle and spokane adjacent to i90 exit 6 and on the western shore of the columbia river. Priest rapids reservoir from priest rapids dam to wanapum dam and wanapum reservoir from wanapum dam to rock island dam. With spring chinook on the way upstream fish passage high priority fish protections, irrigator access and hydro power generation are chief among the concerns at the midcolumbia. It was created in 1963 with the construction of wanapum dam. Not surprisingly, the reservoir formed by the dam is called lake wanapum.
Beverly, wash as dozens of engineers and technical experts continue to inspect a 65foot crack found thursday in one of the twelve spillways of the wanapum dam, inspectors believe. Previous projects with grant county pud include posttensioned anchor installation to repair a crack in wanapum dam s spillway and several projects, including investigative coring,for priest rapids dam. A town devastated by the sichuan earthquake was flooded today as soldiers worked to drain a dangerous quake lake. Seals itself wanapum dam now a nonfailure emergency. List of dams and reservoirs in washington wikipedia. This dam generates over 4 million megawatt hours annually, providing power to over 45,000 local. Wanapum dam drawdown reveals human remains tricity herald. The dam, and its lake, are named after the wanapum indians. Because the nearest station and this geographic feature may have differences in. The discovery of a crack in a concrete pier at wanapum dam has led the grant county pud to lower the dam reservoir by 6 feet to relieve. A crack in a spillway pier at the wanapum dam on the columbia river is a serious situation, but not a threat of downstream flooding even in a worstcase scenario, a spokesman for the grant county.
As a result, the water level was lowered in lake wanapum revealing new shorelines and ancient bones. Beverly grant county pud has alerted emergency officials, state agencies, other dam operators and downstream property owners that a potential failure situation is developing at wanapum dam. Repair works on priest rapids and wanapum dams, united states. Engineers have lowered the water upstream to relieve pressure. He says, anytime you have a river or lake that has gone down or. We fished some other areas on our way back to the launch, but no luck. Grant pud continues to inspect and evaluate the crack found on a spillway section at wanapum dam on february 27.
1043 278 222 201 1321 217 1558 308 817 1503 1335 1005 1332 1632 81 794 1050 675 48 290 1593 778 906 892 100 794 971 922 121 336 532 985 1326