If You Unbuild It, They Will Come: Condit Dam Decommissioning 10 Years Later

OPB recently aired a well-done documentary commemorating the nearly 10-year anniversary of decommissioning the Condit Dam on the White Salmon River. JR Merit was the prime general contractor for this dam decommissioning project, working closely with dam owner and long-time JR Merit client PacifiCorp. The dam was removed after PacifiCorp determined it wasn’t economically feasible to retrofit the dam with the necessary fish passage infrastructure needed to renew its licensing with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

The Condit Dam stood for nearly a century. In October 2011, dam decommissioning began by carefully blasting a hole in the dam’s base. Immediately, the reservoir rushed to return downstream to the Columbia River, along with 2.4 million cubic feet of built-up sediment. Over the next year, JR Merit’s project team executed all aspects of the dam removal, including demolition and removal of nearly 34,000 cubic yards of concrete debris. The dam removal and restoration project was a multi-stage process and was completed in the Fall of 2012.

In the decade since the dam breaching and removal efforts, the river has made great strides in returning to its natural state. The area is welcoming back renewed vegetation; habitat for salmon, steelhead, and lamprey—wildlife that had been gone from the White Salmon River for nearly a century; cultural significance for the Yakima Nation; and recreation opportunities for river rafters and kayakers who can now traverse the While Salmon’s famed rapids all the way to the Columbia River. Ongoing restoration continues to renew and revitalize the area, and more data is collected every year to monitor the health of salmon populations.

The JR Merit team was honored to be part of this dam removal project and bringing the White Salmon River back to life. Along with the surrounding community, we look forward to seeing the renewal that another 10 years will surely bring.