Elwha dam removal hostage to water plant repairs

By Lynda V. Mapes
Seattle Times

Elwha dam removal is hostage to repairs at water-treatment facilities built as part of the $325 million federal river-restoration project.

The National Park Service, which is leading the dam-removal project, has hired a contractor for the repairs, and said work on taking down the last third of Glines Canyon Dam will resume July 1. The agency predicts work will be complete well before the contract to remove the dams ends in September 2014.

But it could be a much longer wait. Contractors don’t yet have a proven fix for the problems bedeviling the project since last October. And even if they fix the problems by July, some experts say dam removal will likely remain on hold until next year. Read more