Salmon May Return To Walla Walla River Corps Plans To Remove Levees, Revive Habitat, Hike Water Flows

Sun., Nov. 23, 1997

Associated Press

Spring chinook salmon could be swimming the Walla Walla River again in 2002 - 70 years after levees and other manmade obstacles blocked access to the Columbia River tributary.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has developed plans to re-create small sections of natural habitat, increase instream flows and remove three levees on the Walla Walla, said Chris Hyland, corps stream restoration study manager.

“We have the opportunity to give a demonstration of river management, to return it to a more natural condition,” Hyland said. “We think this is the future.”

Projects also could include putting chinook back in the Walla Walla basin and building new levees on the Touchet River. But for now, the corps’ river basin report is just a list of suggested ways to restore the river system, Hyland said.

The corps might remove three levees on state land that were built by previous landowners about 10 miles east of Walla Walla.

The corps hopes removal of the rock mounds - a $220,00 project - would allow the stream to take a more natural course and offer shelter from predators for young steelhead. Removing the levees could also ease downstream flooding.

Hatchery steelhead returns to the Walla Walla have been strong in recent years, but native returns have dropped in the 1990s, said Glen Mendel, fish biologist at the state Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Bringing back spring chinook will require more water in the river. Irrigation diversions leave large sections of the main stem dry, especially during the summer. And the shallow water heats up - sometimes above 80 degrees.

“There is no way a salmonid is going to survive that,” Hyland said.

The corps report suggests several options: pumping in ground water or Columbia River water, storing more water in upstream reservoirs, and lining irrigation canals so more water returns to the river.

But such efforts don’t come cheap. Building storage dams on upstream tributaries could cost between $24 million and $91 million, according to the reports.

Any action is at least four years away. Congress must approve a feasibility study, which could take three years to prepare, and the corps must get financial help from agency and tribal sponsors. Construction could take up to two years.

But if the changes bring back fish, future projects may go more smoothly. “It’s easier to get people interested in something like this if you can show them a place where it’s been successful,” Mendel said.

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