$220M project set to begin on Green River. Here’s what it entails for Tacoma, salmon
To secure salmon recovery in the Puget Sound region and increase water-storage capacity for Tacoma Public Utilities, U.S. Corps of Engineers will construct a downstream fish passage at the Howard Hanson Dam on the Green River, near Palmer.
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act will fund the design and construction of the $220 million project. Construction is set to start December 2026 and be completed December 2030.
Tacoma Public Utilities director Jackie Flowers, U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, U.S. Rep. Kim Schrier, representatives from the Muckleshoot Tribe and other regional leaders celebrated the announcement earlier this week.
“I don’t need to tell everyone here just how many challenges are facing our salmon — this is something we need to tackle from every angle,” Murray said. “Wild salmon populations in Washington state are declining on the whole, threatening our ecosystems and our way of life.”
The project will help restore chinook and coho salmon and steelhead populations by allowing the fish to safely navigate the dam. Completion of the downstream fish passage facility will reopen more than 60 miles of the upper Green River watershed, a critical habitat for Chinook salmon which are essential to the survival of the southern resident orcas, according to U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell.
The project will increase municipal and industrial water supply for Tacoma Public Utilities customers by increasing storage capacity and maintaining the dam’s functionality for flood risk management.
“While more funding will be needed to get the project across the finish line, the broad regional support we see here at the Howard Hanson Dam today underlines the project’s critical importance to salmon and orca recovery, all while benefiting Tacoma Water customers,” Flowers said in a news
release.
The Green River Municipal Watershed has been Tacoma Water’s primary water sources since 1913.