Yakima County, in collaboration with the City of Yakima, gets $10.9M federal grants for Cowiche Creek Confluence Projects to restore floodplains and protect the City of Yakima from flooding; Chelan County also receives grant for floodplain restoration on lower Chiwawa River
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) announced that Yakima County will receive $9,976,792 to implement Phase I of the Cowiche Creek Confluence Project, which will address recurring flooding of Cowiche Creek, improve fish passage and habitat, and maintain water delivery by constructing a new irrigation delivery pipeline, removing obsolete irrigation structures, and restoring adjacent floodplains and riparian areas along Cowiche Creek. Yakima County will also receive $1,002,149 for Phase II of the Cowiche Creek Confluence Project to complete the study and design on additional floodplain restoration and salmon habitat projects along Cowiche Creek and at the confluence of Cowiche Creek and Naches River.
The Chelan County Natural Resource Department will also receive $806,511 to work with the Yakama Nation to complete designs of a floodplain restoration project at the lower Chiwawa River in the Wenatchee Basin. The grants were awarded from Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding for the Bureau of Reclamation’s WaterSMART Aquatic Ecosystem Restoration Program.
“Restored floodplains can provide rich fish habitat and protect homes, community infrastructure, and farms from flooding,” said Sen. Cantwell. “These federal funds will enable Yakima County to restore the Cowiche Creek floodplains, helping to reduce flooding, clearing the way for salmon to pass, and improving water delivery to Yakima residents. This funding will also help Chelan County restore a floodplain in the lower Chiwawa River that will revive once-thriving salmon habitat in the Wenatchee Basin.”
Cowiche Creek overflowed into Yakima in 2016 and 2017, and the once-productive floodplain no longer provides optimal spawning habitat for native populations of Steelhead trout and Coho salmon.
With this funding, Yakima County will make progress on two critical projects:
Cowiche Creek Confluence Project Phase I
- Construct a new irrigation delivery pipeline to connect to existing surface water irrigation delivery systems on the Naches River to the City of Yakima;
- Remove surface irrigation diversion facilities including a dam, fish screen, and bypass facilities to allow restoration of the lower Cowiche Creek to a more natural alignment;
- Restore adjacent floodplains and riparian zones on property owned by the Flood Control Zone;
- Construct approximately 800 feet of side channel habitat fed by existing cold-water springs in the project area;
- Convert approximately 67 acres of current and former orchard into native floodplain vegetation;
- Reconfigure existing flood control levees; and
- Design a wider Powerhouse Road bridge over Cowiche Creek to further expand the floodplain of Cowiche Creek.
Cowiche Creek Confluence Project Phase II
- Complete the 60% design to replace an undersized bridge, remove obsolete irrigation infrastructure, regrade disturbed areas to mimic natural floodplain topography, and replant with native riparian vegetation;
- Reorganize lands, easements, and covenants held by the County to facilitate development of a future park; and
- Reduce flood potential across 136-acres of floodplain, improve fish passage and riparian habitat in over two river miles of the confluence area, and create a park that will provide recreation opportunities.
With its funding, Chelan County, in partnership with the Yakama Nation, will complete designs for a floodplain restoration project on the lower 13 miles of the Chiwawa River and the lower 0.2 miles of Big Meadow Creek. The project area is afflicted by low baseflows, homogeneous, plane-bed habitat with limited large wood, and high stream temperatures — all of which limits its utility as habitat for endangered salmon.
Throughout her time in the Senate, Sen. Cantwell has been a staunch advocate for protecting and strengthening critical salmon populations. Sen. Cantwell secured a historic $2.85 billion investment in salmon and ecosystem restoration programs in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, including $400 million for a new community-based restoration program focused on removing fish passage barriers.
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