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After years of legal wrangling and collaborating, an agreement was reached to remove it. The decision to remove it was a business one; the dam was not equipped with fish ladders, and the costs to customers of bringing the project up to modern standards was simply too high.Last week, a huge hole was blown in the side of the dam, the lake behind it drained, and a different era ensued.The occasion generated tears and cheers. The dam had reliably and affordably provided clean energy to power and warm homes and businesses through the Great Depression, World Wars I and II, and our recent recession. It helped minimize and prevent downstream flooding, and it could have continued to perform these critical services for many years to come. Only time will tell whether significant benefits accrue to salmon, ostensibly the prime reason for removal, since the amount and quality of habitat in the White Salmon is not great. But, I hope the salmon return.Today, as executive director of Northwest RiverPartners, I defend, and advocate for, the federal hydropower system on the Columbia and Snake river dams on behalf of families and businesses that depend on them for clean, reliable power; flood protection; food; and an ingenious river navigation system that contributes $19 billion in trade, commerce and thousands of jobs.I am concerned that anti-dam activists will use Condit's removal to renew their calls for removal of the Snake River dams. This is where I draw a line and point out that there simply is no comparing Condit or other small, antique dams with the larger, more modernized facilities in the federal system.
Wasn't this the subject of a prior thread?Anywho, the lake looks like it became, over the years, a silt retention pond. I'd like to see a salmon swim upstream in that muck.
