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Research about McNary Dam

Source-linked reports with geographic coverage including McNary Dam.

9 recordsLinked to original sources
USGS2010

Juvenile Salmonid survival, passage, and egress at McNary Dam during tests of temporary spillway weirs, 2009

We evaluated behavior, passage, and survival of juvenile salmonids at McNary Dam in relation to the temporary spillway weirs (TSWs) using acoustic telemetry during 2009. The TSWs were located in spill bays 4 and 20 during spring and in spill bays 19 and 20 during summer. Our objectives were to assess the performance of the TSWs as a fish passage alternative. We also examined how tailrace conditions might have influenced fish survival by releasing drift buoys (drogues). The TSWs proved to be a relatively effective way to pass juvenile salmonids at McNary Dam (Summary Tables 1.1, 1.2, and 1.3), as was the case in 2007 and 2008. The TSWs passed about 14% of yearling Chinook salmon and 34% of juvenile steelhead with only 5-10% of total project discharge flowing through the TSWs. The TSWs and adjacent spill bays 16-18 passed 27% of subyearling Chinook salmon in the summer with 6-16% of total project discharge flowing through the TSWs. Based on the number of fish passing per the proportion of water flowing through the spillway (i.e., passage effectiveness), the TSWs were the most effective passage route. Passage effectiveness for fish passing through both TSW structures was 2.0 for yearling Chinook salmon, 5.2 for juvenile steelhead, and 2.7 subyearling Chinook salmon for TSW 20 alone. Higher passage of juvenile steelhead through the TSWs could have resulted from juvenile steelhead being more surface-oriented during migration (Plumb et al. 2004; Beeman et al. 2007; Beeman and Maule 2006). Based on passage performance and effectiveness metrics, TSW 4, located on the north end of the spillway, did not perform as well as TSW 20, located on the south end of the spillway. Passage proportions for TSW 4 were at least half that of the levels observed for TSW 20 for both yearling Chinook salmon and juvenile steelhead. This difference may be attributed to TSW location or other variables such as dam operations. Regardless of which TSW was used by fish passing the dam, survival through both TSWs was high (> 0.98 for paired-release dam survival) for yearling Chinook salmon and juvenile steelhead.

Oregon, Washington↗
USGS2010

Minimizing effects of over-water docks on federally listed fish stocks in McNary Reservoir: A literature review for criteria

McNary Lock and Dam were completed in 1953, creating McNary Reservoir, or Lake Wallula. The shoreline of the reservoir is federally owned and as a result the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) has certain land and fish habitat management responsibilities to balance with other multipurpose benefits. The Endangered Species Act (ESA) listing of Columbia and Snake River salmon stocks has changed the management of salmon harvest, hydropower operations, hatchery practices, and habitat management in recent years. There are 12 salmon Oncorhynchus spp., steelhead Oncorhynchus mykiss, and bull trout Salvelinus confluentus evolutionarily significant units (ESU‘s) that use this reach of the Columbia River at one or more stages in their life history. Of those 12, 8 are listed as threatened or endangered under the federal Endangered Species Act. The entire portion of the Columbia River in the Hanford Reach and McNary Reservoir is designated critical habitat for seven ESA-listed salmon species. The USACE is in the process of updating the 1983 McNary Lakeshore Management Plan. The updated Shoreline Plan provides criteria for private use of the federal shoreline of McNary Reservoir, specifically the permitting of private docks, over-water structures, and modifications to shoreline vegetation by adjacent land owners. The previous Shoreline Plan was written prior to the federal listing of salmon species. At the request of the USACE, the purpose of this report is to review information from the literature and determine the extent to which the criteria proposed by USACE for the docks and over-water structures are supported by the current body of scientific knowledge.

Oregon, Washington↗
USGS2005

Survival and migration behavior of juvenile salmonids at McNary Dam, 2004, Final report of research

During 2004, the USGS Columbia River Research Laboratory conducted a study at McNary Dam using radio telemetry to estimate passage and survival parameters of juvenile salmonids. Our primary objective was to estimate these parameters under ambient environmental and operational conditions, and thus project-wide treatments were not implemented. The primary dam operation consisted of “biop” spill, where spill occurred at night between 1800 and 0600 hours, and no spill occurred between 0600 and 1800 hours for the majority of our study period. During the spring study period, we radio-tagged and released 1,896 yearling Chinook salmon and 1,888 juvenile steelhead. During the summer study period, we radio-tagged and released 1,919 subyearling Chinook salmon. All fish were tagged using gastric techniques to implant transmitters weighing 1.58 g for yearling Chinook salmon, 1.93 g for juvenile steelhead, and 0.96 g for subyearling Chinook salmon. Minimum fish sizes were based on a 6.5% tag:fish weight ratio, and the size of tagged fish represented about 91%, 100%, and 17% of the population, respectively for yearling Chinook salmon, juvenile steelhead, and subyearling Chinook salmon. About 60% of radio-tagged fish were released 10 km upstream of McNary Dam at Hat Rock State Park, Oregon, with the remainder released as control groups 400 m downstream of the dam.

Oregon, Washington↗
USGS2001

Residence times and diel passage distributions of radio-tagged juvenile spring chinook salmon and steelhead in a gatewell and fish collection channel of a Columbia River Dam

The amount of time radio-tagged juvenile spring chinook salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha and juvenile steelhead O. mykiss spent within a gatewell and the juvenile collection channel at McNary Dam, Columbia River, USA, was measured to determine the diel passage behavior and residence times within these portions of the juvenile bypass system. The median gatewell residence times were 8.9 h for juvenile chinook salmon and 3.2 h for steelhead. Juvenile spring chinook salmon spent 83% of their time in the 18-m-deep gatewell at depths of 9 m or less, and juvenile steelhead spent 96% of their time in the upper 11 m. Fish released during midday and those released in the evening generally exited the gatewell in the evening, indicating that fish entering the gatewell during daylight will have prolonged residence times. Median collection-channel residence times of juvenile chinook salmon were much shorter (2.3 min) than those of steelhead (28.0 min), most likely because of the greater size of the steelhead and the high water velocities within the channel (2.1 m/s). This and other studies indicate most juvenile salmonids enter gatewells of several Columbia and Snake river dams in the evening and pass into the collection channels quickly. However, this is not consistent with the natural in-river migration patterns of these species and represents a delay in dam passage.

Washington; Oregon↗