Olympic National Park will mark an important milestone in Elwha River restoration this Friday with a ceremonial ground-breaking for a new water treatment plant. The new plant will protect the municipal water supply for neighboring Port Angeles during removal of two dams on the Elwha River. Congressman Norm Dicks, along with City of Port Angeles Mayor Karen Rogers, the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe’s Chairwoman Frances Charles and Superintendent Bill Laitner will dig the first few shovels of dirt to begin the first active phase of Elwha River restoration.
Construction of this water treatment plant marks the first active phase of Elwha River restoration, a culmination of years of planning, design and close working relationships with many partners including the City of Port Angeles, Washington state and the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe. Late last week, Denver Service Center announced a joint venture of Watts Constructors LLC and John Korsmo Company (Watts/Korsmo A JV) as the prime contractor to construct the new water treatment plant.
As stipulated in the Elwha River Ecosystem and Fisheries Restoration Act of 1992, water quality protection measures for Port Angeles and other Elwha River water users must be in place before dam removal can begin.
The new treatment plant will cost approximately $24.5 million and is designed to provide up to 10.6 million gallons of treated water each day. Construction is expected to take about two years.
Another major contracting process for Elwha restoration is also underway. A Request for Proposals was issued last week for construction of a second set of water and flood protection facilities, also required by the Elwha Act. The estimated range of construction for this project is $50 to $70 million.
Meanwhile, scientists continue to work on other phases of Elwha restoration, including restoration plans for fish and vegetation and establishing baseline information about the Elwha ecosystem prior to dam removal.
Removal of two dams on the Elwha River - our nation’s largest dam removal to date – will restore the river to its natural free-flowing state, allowing all five species of Pacific salmon and other anadromous fish to once again reach habitat and spawning grounds. The Elwha watershed is the largest in Olympic National Park; restoration of salmon to the over 70 miles of river and tributaries will return vital nutrients to the watershed and will restore the entire ecosystem. For the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe, this project will bring cultural, spiritual and economic healing as salmon return after a century’s absence and flooded sacred sites are restored.
Dam removal will begin after the water quality protection facilities are complete.
