Dams

Government

Multiple false alarms warning of a dam failure have Carnation residents on edge

If the Tolt River Dam failed, it would be catastrophic for the roughly 2000 people that live in Carnation. Fortunately, the city has an alarm system that would alert residents of a dam failure so they could evacuate. Unfortunately, residents have unexpectedly and pointlessly heard that sound eight times in the last four years.

Arts & Life

Remembering the music that put Grand Coulee on the map

80 years ago Washington state was forever changed by the Grand Coulee Dam. The Dam still provides tons of hydropower today, and created a reservoir for farmers to divert and use as the breadbasket of the state today. When it was finally completed in January of 1943, US Government officials enlisted folk music legend Woody Guthrie to write a series of 26 songs about the dam. It’s a quirky moment in US and music’s history – but it produced instant classics that many will recognize, like “Roll on Columbia.”

Environment

Getting fish passage over Skagit dams will take decades

After years of drama with Tribes who say the dams are getting in the way of the salmon. If successful, it’ll be introducing fish into a region it hasn’t been in for 50 or even more years.

For tribes, welcoming salmon to the Upper Columbia is a reminder of ‘lifelong work’

Each Spring, Northwest tribes celebrate the first foods of the season. At a Colville ceremony marking the return of migrating salmon, ecological challenges were top of mind.

Environment

Can fish and dams coexist on the Skagit River? New plan may be first step

Seattle City Light has released a new plan for managing three hydroelectric dams on the Skagit River. The dams provide 20% of Seattle’s electric power, and have been the subject of a series of lawsuits by tribes arguing that the dams stop salmon from flourishing.