Rocky Reach Dam

Rocky Reach Dam
LocationChelan / Douglas counties, Washington
Coordinates47°32′00″N 120°17′44″W / 47.53333°N 120.29556°W / 47.53333; -120.29556
Construction began1956 (Phase One)
1969 (Phase Two)
Construction cost$273.1 million
Operator(s)Chelan County Public Utility District
Dam and spillways
ImpoundsColumbia River
Reservoir
CreatesLake Entiat
Total capacity382,000 acre⋅ft (0.471 km3)
Power Station
Turbines11 [1]
Installed capacity1299.6 MW [1]
Army Corps of Engineers illustration of juvenile fish bypass
Salmon ladder below dam

Rocky Reach Dam is a run-of-the-river hydroelectric dam in the U.S. state of Washington owned and operated by Chelan County Public Utility District. It has 11 generators rated in total 1300 MW. The project is on the Columbia River in north central Washington state about seven miles (11 km) upstream from the city of Wenatchee. The dam is 473 miles (761 km) above the mouth of the Columbia. The reservoir impounded by the dam is Lake Entiat. The project provides energy for more than 7 million people throughout the Pacific Northwest.

Rocky Reach is nationally recognized for efforts to protect the environment.[2] A first-of-its-kind juvenile fish bypass system was completed in 2003 to help young salmon and steelhead on their way to the ocean.[3] A major powerhouse upgrade started in 1995 includes new turbines that are more fish friendly.[4] Improvements to turbines and generators are also designed to improve efficiency and reliability.[2]

  1. ^ a b "Preliminary Monthly Electric Generator Inventory (Based on Form EIA-860M as a supplement to Form EIA-860) - U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)".
  2. ^ a b "Rocky Reach Hydro Project". Chelan County Public utility district. Retrieved 2008-03-13.
  3. ^ "Pumps Assist Migrating Salmon on the Columbia River". Fluent NEWS. Fluent. Winter 2001. Archived from the original on 2007-09-12. Retrieved 2007-10-11.
  4. ^ McKee, C, and G. Rossi, "Rocky Reach Kaplan Turbines: Development of Fish-Friendly Runners," Hydropower into the Next Century, Barcelona, Spain, 1995, as cited in www.tva.gov/environment/pdf/rri_aree.pdf.