News Release Archive

Reclamation Installs Safety Buoys

Media Contact: Diana Cross , (208) 378-5020
Tony Hargroves

For Release: August 27, 2003

The Bureau of Reclamation will install buoys on Canal Wasteway #1146 in the Ellensburg Canyon on the Yakima River to enhance its safety measures on September 3 - 4, 2003. The buoys system will remain in place for the duration of flip/flop which should last approximately 30 days.

The system consists of floating buoys the size of 30-gallon drums anchored at four different points in an attempt to further keep the rafters and other recreationists out of the wasteways flows.

The wasteway allows the Kittitas Reclamation District to empty the canal during emergencies. It is normally used at the start of the irrigation season when the system is being primed for irrigation deliveries.

Each fall Bureau of Reclamation uses the first 22 miles of the canal to carry water around a small stretch of the Yakima River while spring Chinook salmon are spawning in the reach between the Cle Elum and Teanaway rivers.

Contractors will be using a 40-ton crane to set two concrete blocks in the river for anchors, and then a river boat would be used to install the buoys to the shore and stream anchors.

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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.