“The opportunity to provide resources in support of the joint KPUD and NWCPUD McNary Fishway Project is a testament to our values and traditions in the Pacific Northwest. The terrestrial and aquatic improvements that we can support through directly funding the McNary Fisheries Compensation Committee are critically important to our region now and into the future. Many thanks to the committee members for all of their excellent work.
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Funding efforts to increase natural fish production above McNary Dam.
In 1990, Northern Wasco County People’s Utility District (NWCPUD) launched an effort to build a 10 MW hydroelectric power plant on the north shore of McNary Dam. In August of 1995, Klickitat County PUD joined NWCPUD as a joint owner,
(Owners). The turbine would be powered by the Auxiliary Water Supply System (AWSS), about 1600 CFS, which supplements the flow at the fish ladder entrance.
The AWSS intake is 80 feet below the reservoir forebay elevation, near the bottom of the dam, and could not be easily screened to
prevent juvenile fish from entering. Consequently, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), as a condition of
the license, stipulated that the owners come to an agreement with Fisheries Agencies on how to mitigate possible fish losses due to an
unscreened turbine intake.
Negotiations resulted in the establishment of a trust fund. The PUD’s would make an annual contribution to the trust fund and those funds would be available for projects above McNary Dam to increase production of anadromous fish. Representatives from the fish management agencies, and the PUD, would decide which projects to fund. For complete details follow the link below.
You can also see the details of the Trust Fund and the contact information of the current committee members by clicking on the links below.
Thank you for your interest in the McNary Fisheries Compensation Committee.
If you have any questions please contact Rick Martinson, the Committee Coordinator at 541-980-7727.