Wanapum Dam is a run-of-the-river hydroelectric project located on the Columbia River downstream (south) from Vantage, Washington where Interstate 90 crosses the Columbia from Grant County into Kittitas County . It is owned by the Grant County Public Utility District . Its reservoir is named Lake Wanapum .
15-668: The dam, and its lake, are named after the Wanapum Indians. The dam has a rated capacity of 1,185 megawatts and annually generates over 4 million megawatt-hours. The Wanapum dam was originally licensed in 1955 for a period of 50 years. Construction was initiated in 1959 with initial beneficial operation in 1963. 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 approved
30-459: A license extension of 44 years for both the Wanapum dam and the downstream Priest Rapids Dam on April 17, 2008. The license extension was conditioned upon programs to achieve the following goals: On February 27, 2014, a 2-inch (5 cm) wide crack was discovered by inspection divers on one of the 65 feet (20 m) tall concrete monoliths that make up the spillway of the dam. A spokesman for
45-573: 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 approved a license extension of 44 years for both this dam and the upstream Wanapum Dam on April 17, 2008. The license extension
60-455: Is unknown which tribes were overthrown by the Wanapum tribe when they claimed their ancestral land, or what happened to the original settlers that migrated from NE Asia centuries before the Wanapum and other tribes finally settled in the area. Because of the lost primitive and scarce archeology of the region, these secrets may never be known, and those people never acknowledged. The tribe made houses from tule and cut over 300 petroglyphs into
75-662: The Columbia River from above Priest Rapids down to the mouth of the Snake River in what is now the US state of Washington . About 60 Wanapum still live near the present day site of Priest Rapids Dam . The name "Wanapum" is from the Sahaptin wánapam , meaning "river people", from wána , "river", and -pam , "people". In prehistoric times, the tribe's territory was (and still is) an excellent salmon -fishing area. It
90-653: The Hanford Nuclear Reservation , and bridges Yakima County and Grant County , in the U.S. state of Washington . 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
105-570: The Wanapum Dam flooded the riverbanks where the Wanapum had lived in traditional tule houses. About 60 Wanapum petroglyphs were blasted from the rock before being flooded; they may be viewed at Ginkgo Petrified Forest State Park . The Wanapum Heritage Center Museum displays artifacts of the time before the dams, while the Wanapum River Patrol keeps watch over the ancestral lands, monitoring locations of special significance to
120-410: The Grant County PUD indicated that the level of the water was to be lowered by 26 feet (8 m) over a period of days to "reduce the pressure on the spillway while inspectors investigate". During the time that the water level was lowered for repairs, all beaches and water access in the area above the dam were closed to protect sensitive cultural resources and help to ensure public safety. Public access
135-474: The Wanapum to protect those places from depredation, and also providing information to visitors. The indigenist Washat Dreamers Religion that founded by Wanapum Smohalla in 1850 is still practiced by some members of other tribes. Priest Rapids Dam Priest Rapids Dam is a hydroelectric , concrete gravity dam ; located on the Columbia River , between the Yakima Firing Range and
150-516: The basalt cliffs. In 1805, according to the journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition , the Wanapum, led by their chief Cutssahnem, greeted the expedition and treated its members well, sharing food and entertainment. Captain Clark’s journals provide descriptions of their dwellings, clothing, and physical characteristics. In the 1800s, a new Native religion, called Washane , Washani or "Dreamer Religion",
165-611: The dam's reservoir. Priest Rapids Dam is part of the Columbia River Basin system of dams. After the disaster of 1949 Vanport Flood on the lower Columbia River, around Vancouver, Washington , and Portland, Oregon , 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
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#1732801287408180-665: The middle of the federal reservation for the Hanford Engineer Works (part of the Manhattan Project ), and provided daily trucks to transport them from their winter camp on the Columbia River. He did not believe that their loyalty could be questioned. But after WWII they were sealed off from graves and cultural sites on the Hanford site. In 1953 the construction of the Priest Rapids Dam and
195-647: 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
210-629: Was created by a spiritual leader of the Wanapum named Smohalla . Adherents to this religion believed that the white man would disappear, if rituals and traditional life was adhered to; instead of participating in armed conflicts, the people prayed. Whether due to this religion or for other reasons, the tribe never fought white settlers, did not sign a treaty with them, and as a result retained no federally recognized land rights. In 1942 Franklin Matthias allowed about 30 Wanapum to remain in their winter camp, with access to their customary fishing ground in
225-486: Was restored in the spring of 2015. After an 11-week inspection, the primary reason for the crack was determined to be a mathematical error during the pre-construction design of the dam. Repairs of the cracked monolith and the strengthening of the remaining monoliths were made in 2014-2015. The $ 61 million fix, used steel cabling and rods to stitch the dam to the bedrock underneath. Wanapum The Wanapum (also Wanapam) tribe of Native Americans formerly lived along
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