Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy has established the final Eklutna fish and wildlife program, which will restore year-round water flows to 11 of the 12 miles of the Eklutna River and creates a framework for adaptive management. The plan also includes consideration of a pumped storage hydro project as a way to restore fish passage.
The 47 MW Eklutna Hydroelectric Project is located in south-central Alaska roughly 30 miles northeast of Anchorage and was constructed in 1955 by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. In 1964, the dam was damaged by the Great Alaska Earthquake, which primarily affected the power plant’s water intake. After the dam was deemed unsafe, a taller embankment dam was constructed downstream, with construction and rehabilitation lasting until 1966.
A Fish & Wildlife Agreement signed in 1991 requires the project owners to develop and propose to the Governor a program to protect, mitigate damages to, and enhance fish and wildlife impacted by the development of the hydroelectric project. The agreement mandates that the Governor give equal consideration to eight factors and seek to reconcile differences between the various parties subject to the agreement.
The project was sold in 1997 to the Municipality of Anchorage (MOA), Chugach Electric Association (Chugach) and Matanuska Electric Association (MEA) for $6 million. 
Map of the Eklutna Hydroelectric Project and surrounding areas (Credit: Eklutna Hydro)
The final program released by the Governor includes:
- Construction of a new valve and release structure adjacent to the Anchorage Water and Wastewater Utility (AWWU) portal valve to restore year-round flow to the Eklutna River 1 mile downstream from Eklutna Dam
- Automation of the existing outlet gate at the base of the spillway at Eklutna Dam for remote operation
- Development of a channel maintenance flow regime to support fish habitat over the long term
- Construction of eight bridges for AWWU to access water pipeline infrastructure currently accessible by fording the river
- One-time payment of $234,000 for lakeside trail repairs
- Creation of a monitoring and adaptive management plan that includes the establishment of a monitoring and adaptive management committee
- Three limited reopeners for the study and potential construction of a fixed wheel gate to replace the overflow spillway, provisions to review fish passage alternatives, and the study of pumped storage hydro that may restore fish passage
- Immediate implementation of the final program
- Reserving any remaining funds from the study of the fixed wheel gate for other protection, mitigation and enhancement measures for fish and wildlife
- Addition of one more member, appointed by the Governor, to the Monitoring and Adaptive Management Committee
The final approved program accepted a request by the Municipality of Anchorage and Native Village of Eklutna to include the study of the pumped storage hydro alternative.
The final program also accepted a request by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service to specify that any remaining funds from the $10 million designated for a fixed wheel gate be made available for additional studies or measures that protect, mitigate damage to, or enhance fish and wildlife habitat if the gate is determined to not be structurally or economically feasible.
“The Program is designed to be an iterative one that will be able to adapt to changing conditions and technologies well before the process is required to repeat itself,” said Governor Dunleavy. “I want to thank the Parties, the Native Village of Eklutna, and the members of the public who helped shape this Final Program with their time, resources, input, and participation over the past five years. This is not the end of the process, and I am committed to seeing this Final Program successfully enacted.”
