After completion of Nelson Dam removal and new irrigation diversion in 2023, Phase 2 of the project is underway.
Interwest Construction, Inc. (ICI) of Burlington, WA began work October 14th. Initial work includes mobilization of materials and equipment to the City of Yakima irrigation reservoir site on the south side of Highway 12 near Cowiche Creek. Clearing will also take place in preparation of crossing Cowiche Creek. Work to isolate the work area within Cowiche Creek and provide a temporary diversion for the creek flows will take place over the next few weeks in preparation to install new 32-inch and 42-inch irrigation pipelines across Cowiche Creek.
The Nelson Phase 2 pipeline project will install new irrigation main lines from the new Nelson diversion, east along Hwy 12, to the existing Fruitvale irrigation canal near the N. 40th Avenue interchange.
When complete in spring of 2026, the new pipelines will provide irrigation from the Nelson diversion for the city’s General and Fruitvale irrigation systems, as well as the Old Union Canal system. The pipelines will allow the existing Fruitvale and Old Union irrigation diversions to be abandoned and make way for a flood plain restoration project by Yakima County around the confluence of Cowiche Creek and the Naches River.
The City of Yakima, Yakima County and numerous other state and federal agencies have been collaborating on the design and implementation of this project for the past decade. The Nelson dam removal and new pipelines is one of several major public works projects initiated and supported by the Yakima Basin Integrated Plan.
Initial funding for the Nelson Phase 2 project will come from a $7.6 million grant provided by the Department of Ecology as part of the State of Washington’s biennial budget for the Yakima Basin Integrated Plan.
In addition, once a final grant agreement is in place, $5 million in grant funding will be provided by the US Bureau of Reclamation through their WaterSmart Aquatics Ecosystem Restoration Program. This additional funding is part of a nearly $11 million joint funding package awarded to Yakima County and their Cowiche Confluence Complex project.
For more about the project, contact City of Yakima Water/Irrigation Manager Mike Shane at 509-576-6480 or at mike.shane@新葡京网上赌场.gov.
Text and images below are from May 2023, marking completion of Phase 1.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony on Wednesday, May 24th, 2023, marked the removal of Nelson Dam and completion of Phase 1 of a project to improve fish passage, decrease flooding risks for nearby landowners and improve water supply reliability.
“One of the things I’ve always said about Yakima is that we do best those things we do together, and this is just a perfect example of that,” Yakima City Councilmember Patricia Byers said in remarks during the ceremony.
The 21-minute ceremony can be viewed on the Yakima Public Affairs Channel (Y-PAC) website at Nelson Dam Ribbon Cutting Ceremony 05-24-23 (新葡京网上赌场.gov).
The project began in August 2021 and Phase 1 became complete and operational earlier this month. Partners involved in the $28 million Nelson Dam removal project include the Yakima Basin Integrated Plan, Yakima County, Yakima County Flood Control Zone District, Resources Legacy Fund, Department of Ecology, Department of Fish and Wildlife, Brian Abbott Fish Barrier Removal Board, NOAA Fisheries, the Yakama Nation, Bureau of Reclamation, US Fish and Wildlife Service and the Yakima Basin Fish and Wildlife Recovery Board.
As the Yakima Basin’s second earliest recorded diversion, the Nelson site had provided irrigation water since nearly 1865, initially for the Nelson Homestead then for the first cooperative ditch associations – Union and New Schanno ditches. The original design did not allow any fish passage.
The latest version of Nelson Dam, removed as part of this project, was a large, river-spanning concrete dam built in 1985. It had held back tons of sediment and silt over the years, raising the river bed and causing the Naches River to overflow its banks and move into the surrounding community during even minor flooding.
Removal of Nelson Dam enables the next undertaking, the Cowiche Confluence Complex project. With the planned installation of large new irrigation pipes to North 40th Avenue, irrigation water for the Fruitvale and Old Union irrigation systems will be supplied from the new Nelson diversion, allowing removal of the Fruitvale and Old Union diversions just downstream which are partial barriers to coho and steelhead entering Cowiche Creek.
Together with future floodplain and culvert work on Cowiche Creek, a new FEMA-accredited 100-year levee will reduce City of Yakima flooding. A planned County Park will enhance recreation opportunities and river access to the newly opened reach of the Naches River.
For more about the project, contact Water/Irrigation Manager Mike Shane at 509-576-6480 or by email at Mike.Shane@新葡京网上赌场.gov
