The under-construction underwater fish tower.

Portland General Electric (NYSE: POR) and the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon are investing $108 million on an underwater fish tower designed to allow salmon and steelhead to maneuver around the Pelton Round Butte dams. PGE and the tribes co-own the three dams located near Madras, which generate about 1.5 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity per year.

Slated to be operational in Spring 2009, the 273-foot underwater tower and fish collection facility would attract migrating fish by mimicking natural water temperature and current conditions. Once the fish are drawn to the tower’s fish collection station, they will be sorted by Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife personnel, with young steelhead and salmon being trucked downstream to continue their voyage to the Pacific Ocean. 

The project is intended to restore the hearty salmon runs that took place before the Pelton Round Butte Project was constructed, PGE biologist Don Ratliff wrote on the project’s blog. However, it’s a long-term goal, which will probably not be reached until the fish transition to upstream habitats, which could take a decade, he says.

When they were constructed almost 50 years ago, the dams included fish passages, which proved ineffective. If the new fish tower does its job, salmon and steelhead may swim down the Metolius, Crooked and Deschutes River for the first time almost half a century.
As part of the project, PGE and the Tribes say they are also planning to improve creeks and streams along the passage, which serve as a habitat to the young fish as they travel downstream.

Citing large upgrade costs and concern for fish, PGE began demolishing the 100-year-old Marmot Dam in July 2007. Balancing hydro benefits with the needs of fish has been an issue for utilities much of the last decade. In a 2006 report, Portland-based Save Our Wild Salmon claims that removing four dams from Oregon’s Snake River would save taxpayers up to $5 billion in maintenance costs and generate more than $20 billion in revenue (outdoor recreation and fishing) for the region.