Dam's removal will have to wait

The long road to dam removal on the Elwha River just got longer: Work may not even begin on the country's largest dam demolition until 2012, instead of 2009, as had been expected.

The National Park Service now says that two water projects associated with the dam takedown may take as long as five years to complete. That pushes back the start date on dam removal, said Barb Maynes, spokeswoman for Olympic National Park.

Two new water-treatment plants must be built to provide clean water for Port Angeles, a paper mill and two fish hatcheries.

"What has changed is just that we are closer now, we are out of the planning and design phase, and we are at the very beginning of the first construction," Maynes said. "You go forward with your best estimate and the best timeline you have. As you get close to implementation, the picture just becomes much more clear.

"We don't have a firm timeline, and we won't until we get further into construction. The water projects may take as long as five years, and dam removal starts after that."

Advocates for the long-awaited project on the Olympic Peninsula said they are disappointed but will continue to push for the earliest-possible removal.

"It's frustrating for us," said George Behan, chief of staff for U.S. Rep. Norm Dicks, D-Bremerton. "Regrettably it sounds like we are going to have to live with a little more delay, but we will keep the pressure on. The clock is ticking; we need to move this along ... . The more we delay, the more the costs will go up."

The Elwha and Glines Canyon dams are slated for removal as one of the best chances for salmon recovery in the region. The dams have blocked fish passage on the river for nearly a century.

Removal is expected to help boost recovery of threatened Puget Sound chinook, which could in turn help endangered orcas, which dine almost exclusively on chinook salmon.

Generations of ancestors of the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe also depended on the river and its salmon. So the delay is all the more disappointing, said Tribal Chairwoman Frances Charles.

"We are just continuing on, and waiting for the day to see the dams come down," she said. "Our elders want to see it in their lifetime."

It has been 14 years since Congress first approved removing the dams.

"We don't have any more time to lose," said Kathy Fletcher, executive director of People for Puget Sound. "We are at a tipping point with the Puget Sound ecosystem, and it argues strongly to do the things we know we can do, as quickly as possible."

Lynda V. Mapes: 206-464-2736

or lmapes@seattletimes.com