Issaquah Creek Integrated Fish Passage Project

Issaquah Creek Integrated Fish Passage Project –
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW)
and City of Issaquah
PROJECT DESCRIPTION:
A 12-foot high diversion dam, built to supply
water to the Issaquah Hatchery, was removed
from Issaquah Creek and replaced with a series of 13
rock weirs to stabilize the channel and provide fish
passage. A new fish-passable water intake for the
hatchery was also constructed.
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Hatchery Dam
before removal
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INTENDED OUTCOME: The dam was deconstructed
and replaced with a fish-friendly series of weirs, allowing
salmon access to upstream habitat. To further improve
habitat, the project added streamside plants, placed large
woody debris in the stream, and improved fish passage
on the adjacent Cabin Creek tributary that enters the site.
Streamside plantings will continue for several years, with
help from Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust, the City’s
partner in many habitat restoration projects.
A new gravity water intake structure was built to provide
water to the hatchery for years to come. Its innovative
and low-maintenance design allows unobstructed flow,
eliminating the fish passage problem.
The Issaquah Salmon Hatchery is an important production
facility for tribal and sport fisheries and is the most visited
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PURPOSE/NEED: Built in the 1930’s with a small,
steep fish ladder, the Hatchery Dam severely restricted
fish passage to more than 11 miles of high quality salmon
habitat. It also caused direct salmon mortality as fish were
stranded during low flows. The dam, which was also
deteriorating, was recognized as a significant problem in
the 2005 Chinook Salmon Conservation Plan for the Lake
Washington/Cedar/Sammamish Watershed (WRIA 8).
Removal was widely endorsed by local, state and federal
officials, agencies, and tribes.
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Stranded fish at old
Hatchery Dam
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WRIA 8 BOUNDARY
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of the WDFW hatcheries, with thousands of visitors each
year—especially during October’s Issaquah Salmon Days.
STATUS: The project was constructed in 2013.
Re-establishing plants and monitoring is ongoing with help
from Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust.
FUNDING/PARTNERS:The Washington State Salmon
Recovery Funding Board (through WRIA 8) in 2008
awarded a grant to the City of Issaquah, in partnership with
WDFW, for a feasibility study to evaluate dam removal
options. In 2010, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
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Issaquah Creek Integrated Fish Passage Project – Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) and City of Issaquah
Administration’s Open Rivers Initiative provided a grant
to design the chosen alternative. The State of Washington
Jobs Now Act allocated $4 million for construction in 2012,
which was completed in 2013 under WDFW direction.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Kerry Ritland, City of
Issaquah, kerryr@issaquahwa.gov, Tim Ward, WDFW,
Timothy.Ward@dfw.wa.gov or visit www.issaquahwa.gov/
index.aspx?nid=1158
COST: $4.8 million (feasibility, design, permitting and
construction)
The old dam is deconstructed.
Heavy equipment is used to build new rock weirs.
This aerial view of the completed project with water in the channel shows the weirs in action.
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