Photograph of the Leavenworth National Fish Hatchery surface water intake site on Icicle Creek

Project Overview

Leavenworth National Fish Hatchery was designed and constructed in the late 1930s as mitigation for the construction and operations of Grand Coulee Dam. The hatchery is owned and operated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and funded by Reclamation and the Bonneville Power Administration. The hatchery raises and releases 1.2 million spring Chinook Salmon smolts into Icicle Creek annually.

LNFH’s primary point of diversion and water delivery system on Icicle Creek is nearly 80 years old and is reaching or exceeding its operational life. Rehabilitation, replacement and modernization of the LNFH surface water intake and delivery system was evaluated in the 2002 USFWS Icicle Creek Restoration Project Final EIS and the 2019 Icicle Creek Water Resource Management Strategy Final Programmatic EIS prepared by the State of Washington Department of Ecology and Chelan County.

Currently, the intake facility does not comply with NMFS criteria for anadromous salmonids and can result in entrainment and mortality of ESA–listed fish. The 2017 NMFS Biological Opinion covering LNFH operations requires the LNFH to have a surface water intake and delivery system that complies with NMFS current screening and fish passage criteria for anadromous fish passage facilities in place and operating by May 2023.

Purpose and Need

To meet legal requirements and address issues of safety, reliability and longevity of the surface water intake and delivery system, LNFH needs to comply with NMFS current screening and fish passage criteria for anadromous fish passage facilities, improve employee safety when operating and maintaining the intake and delivery structures, and increase reliability and longevity of the water delivery system.

The purpose of the SWISP Project is to

  • Minimize take of ESA–listed fish species

  • Provide fish passage that complies with current regulatory criteria

  • Ensure safe, efficient, and reliable delivery of LNFH’s full surface water rights from Icicle Creek

For further information

For more information on the SWISP EIS, please contact Jason Sutter (208-378-5390, BOR-SHA-PNRLSWISP@usbr.gov).

To be added or removed from the mailing list, please contact Megan Stone (303-447-7160, megan.stone@empsi.com).

Persons who use a telecommunications device for the deaf may call the Federal Relay Service (FedRelay) at 1-800-877-8339 TTY/ASCII to contact the above individual during normal business hours or to leave a message or question after hours. You will receive a reply during normal business hours.

Information is also available on Reclamation’s SWISP EIS website.

Project Overview Map

 
 

For more information on the SWISP EIS, please contact Jason Sutter (208-378-5390, BOR-SHA-PNRLSWISP@usbr.gov).

To be added or removed from the mailing list, please contact Megan Stone (303-447-7160, megan.stone@empsi.com).