Cle Elum Pool Raise & Fish Passage Projects
The Cle Elum projects provide additional stored water and new infrastructure supporting salmon habitat and migration.
In April 2017, the radial gates at the Cle Elum Dam Spillway were modified to accommodate a three-foot pool raise. The goal of the pool raise project is to raise water levels in Cle Elum Reservoir in Washington state. It is the first new water storage project in the Yakima River basin in more than 80 years.
The Cle Elum Dam Fish Passage Project with an innovative, first of its kind helix-design is a complementary project that is an integral part of the Yakama Nation’s and Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife sockeye reintroduction project.
The pool raise will provide an additional 14,600 acre-feet of storage capacity, increasing reliability for existing users and improving instream flows for fish.
- The pool raise and fish passage projects are crucial for supporting salmon migration, providing additional stored water and infrastructure for out-migration of the fish.
When the projects are completed, the additional water will be dedicated to enhancing instream flows for fish rearing, habitat, and migration. The raised pool level may allow passage operations to occur sooner in the season.
- In 2020, record numbers of sockeye salmon returned to the Yakima basin to spawn above Cle Elum Reservoir. The Yakama Nation Fisheries transported 10,000 sockeye from Priest Rapids on the Columbia River to Lake Cle Elum. Additionally, 5,000 in-basin sockeye returning via the Yakima River were trapped at Roza Dam and hauled to Cle Elum.
Reintroduction of sockeye continues to bring hope of even greater returns once permanent fish passage is operational, which is anticipated in 2025.
View the video to learn more about the Cle Elum Pool Raise project and its benefits.
