News Release Archive

Reclamation Awards $12.8 Million Contract for Work at Cle Elum Fish Passage Facility

Media Contact: Michael Williamson , (208) 378-5212, 08/11/2016 10:45
Walt Larrick , wlarrick@usbr.gov

For Release: August 11, 2016

BOISE, Idaho – The Bureau of Reclamation awarded a $12.8 million contract on July 22 to Condon-Johnson & Associates, Inc., based in Kent, Washington. The construction work involves building a secant or concrete shaft adjacent to the Cle Elum Dam, located 75 miles northwest of Yakima, Washington.

The secant shaft is an underground vault that will eventually house the juvenile fish passage structure, allowing young salmon to safely bypass the dam to the river below. The Fish Passage Facility is a component of the Yakima River Basin Integrated Water Resource Management Plan, which focuses on water conservation, irrigation needs, fisheries and watershed health.

On-site work is expected to begin in the spring of 2017 and be completed by March 2019.

“This is exciting because we are constructing a unique and innovative fish passage system,” said Regional Director Lorri Lee. “By working in partnership with the Yakama Nation, the state of Washington and others, we are one step closer to restoring a historic and culturally significant salmon run to the Yakima Basin.”

Condon-Johnson & Associates specialize in heavy civil geotechnical construction and engineering. It has completed hundreds of projects involving specialty foundation services and ground improvement methods since 1976.

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The Bureau of Reclamation is a federal agency under the U.S. Department of the Interior and is the nation's largest wholesale water supplier and second largest producer of hydroelectric power. Our facilities also provide substantial flood control, recreation opportunities, and environmental benefits. Visit our website at https://www.usbr.gov and follow us on Twitter @USBR; Facebook @bureau.of.reclamation; LinkedIn @Bureau of Reclamation; Instagram @bureau_of_reclamation; and YouTube @reclamation.

Relevant Link:

fish passage structure

Yakima River Basin Integrated Water Resource Management Plan