Federal Agencies Release Plan For Snow Lake Water Control Replacement Project

The Bureau of Reclamation and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service issued the final Environmental Assessment for the proposed removal and replacement of the Upper Snow Lake water discharge control valve.

The existing valve has exceeded its expected 10-year service life and cannot meet the 80 cubic feet per second discharge capacity required by the Icicle and Peshastin irrigation districts and Leavenworth National Fish Hatchery. Reclamation and the Service prepared the Environmental Assessment to evaluate the environmental impacts of removing and replacing the valve, including ways to transport materials, equipment, supplies, and contract personnel to the remote location.

Their plan is to use a helicopter to drop off the equipment at Upper Snow Lake, with crew members hiking in and camping at the site.

But as Marcus Bellissimo reports it likely won’t happen until next year.