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Priest Rapids Dam is a hydroelectric, concrete gravity dam; located on the Columbia River, between the Yakima Firing Range and the
After the disaster of 1949
"Feds approve new license for Grant PUD dams"
- ''
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Priest River Dam at Grant County PUD
{{Authority control Dams on the Columbia River Dams in Washington (state) Buildings and structures in Grant County, Washington Hydroelectric power plants in Washington (state) Buildings and structures in Yakima County, Washington United States local public utility dams Dams completed in 1959 Energy infrastructure completed in 1959 Energy infrastructure completed in 1961 Gravity dams 1959 establishments in Washington (state)
Hanford Nuclear Reservation
The Hanford Site is a decommissioned nuclear production complex operated by the United States federal government on the Columbia River in Benton County in the U.S. state of Washington. The site has been known by many names, including SiteW ...
, and bridges Yakima County
Yakima County is a county in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, its population was 256,728. The county seat and largest city is Yakima. The county was formed out of Ferguson County in January 1865 and is named for the Yakama t ...
and Grant County Grant County may refer to:
Places
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* County of Grant, Victoria
;United States
*Grant County, Arkansas
*Grant County, Indiana
*Grant County, Kansas
*Grant County, Kentucky
*Grant County, Minnesota
*Grant County, Nebraska
*Grant Co ...
, in the U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...
of Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
. The dam is 24 miles south of the town of Vantage, and 47 miles northwest of the city of Richland. It is located at mile marker 397.1 from the mouth of the Columbia. It is owned by the Grant County Public Utility District (PUD). Priest Rapids, for which the dam was named, are now submerged beneath the dam's reservoir.
Priest Rapids Dam is part of the Columbia River Basin system of dams.
History
After the disaster of 1949 Vanport Flood
The 1948 Columbia River flood (or Vanport Flood) was a regional flood that occurred in the Pacific Northwest of the United States and Canada. Large portions of the Columbia River watershed where impacted, including the Portland area, Eastern Wa ...
on the lower Columbia River, around Vancouver, Washington
Vancouver is a city on the north bank of the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington, located in Clark County, Washington, Clark County. Incorporated in 1857, Vancouver has a population of 190,915 as of the 2020 Unit ...
, and Portland, Oregon
Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populou ...
, the federal government established the Priest Rapids Project under the Flood Control Act of 1950 (Public Law 81-516; May 17, 1950). The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers decided the project would not be a top priority, so the Grant PUD began looking at taking over the project from the USACE in 1952. With the passage of Public Law 83-544 in 1955, Congress gave Grant PUD the right to proceed. Revenue bonds were issued for construction to begin in July 1956, first generation occurred in 1959, and the dam was completed in 1961. Its reservoir is named Priest Rapids Lake, and extends 18 miles upstream to spillway of Wanapum Dam. Downriver from Priest Rapids Dam is Hanford Reach, the only free-flowing, non-tidal stretch of the Columbia River in the United States.
The initial license expired in 2005, after which the Grant County PUD operated the dam on yearly license extensions while negotiations for license extension proceeded. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is the United States federal agency that regulates the transmission and wholesale sale of electricity and natural gas in interstate commerce and regulates the transportation of oil by pipeline in ...
approved a license extension of 44 years for both this dam and the upstream Wanapum Dam on April 17, 2008. The license extension was conditioned upon programs to:Pratt, Christine. "Feds approve new license for Grant PUD dams"
- ''
Wenatchee World
''The Wenatchee World'' is the leading daily newspaper in Wenatchee and East Wenatchee, Washington, United States. Serving Chelan, Douglas and other North Central Washington counties since 1905, ''The Wenatchee World'' prints on its front page ...
'' - April 18, 2008"New license OK'd for Priest Rapids, Wanapum dams on Columbia"-
Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. n ...
- (c/o ''Tri-City Herald
The ''Tri-City Herald'' is a daily newspaper based in Kennewick, Washington, United States. Owned by The McClatchy Company, the newspaper serves southeastern Washington state, including the three cities of Kennewick, Pasco and Richland (which ...
'') - April 19, 2008
:* modernize the power generation capability of the dam
:* monitor water quality
:* improve wildlife habitat
:* protect nearly 700 Wanapum Tribe archaeological sites in the vicinity
:* enhance recreation with new campsites, picnic areas and trails
Problems
An explosion injured six employees on October 8, 2015. Grant County PUD was fined $35,000 for safety violations. Leaks have been discovered in the spillway monoliths. A "non-failure emergency" was declared, and the water level behind the dam was reduced by about three feet.See also
*List of dams in the Columbia River watershed
There are more than 60 dams in the Columbia River watershed in the United States and Canada. Tributaries of the Columbia River and their dammed tributaries, as well as the main stem itself, each have their own list below. The dams are listed ...
References
External links
Priest River Dam at Grant County PUD
{{Authority control Dams on the Columbia River Dams in Washington (state) Buildings and structures in Grant County, Washington Hydroelectric power plants in Washington (state) Buildings and structures in Yakima County, Washington United States local public utility dams Dams completed in 1959 Energy infrastructure completed in 1959 Energy infrastructure completed in 1961 Gravity dams 1959 establishments in Washington (state)