USGS science supporting the Elwha River Restoration Project
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The Elwha River Restoration Project has reconnected the water, salmon, and sediment of a pristine river and coast of the Olympic Peninsula of Washington. Coordinated by the National Park Service, restoration of the Elwha River included the removal of two large dams that had blocked salmon and sediment passage for almost 100 years. The largest dam removal in U.S. history began in September 2011 and concluded in the summer of 2014. Salmon are once again spawning in pristine river habitats of the Olympic National Park, and sediment is once again flowing down the river and to the eroding shoreline.
Computer animation showing changes at the mouth of the Elwha River from 2011 through 2016. Brown-shaded areas are elevations above low tide; blue shades indicate seafloor depths below low tide. Watch the animation loop to see the mouth of the Elwha River grow and change as millions of tons of sediment moved downstream from Olympic National Park to the Pacific Ocean.
This Sept. 26, 2012 image from a USGS unoccupied aircraft shows the demolition of Glines Dam and Lake Mills on the Elwha River in Olympic National Park, Washington. Credit: Susan Goplen, USGS
From 2011 to 2014, the Nation’s largest dam removal project to date took place in Washington State, allowing the Elwha River to once again flow unimpeded from its origin in the Olympic Mountains to the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Nearly 100 years of sediment (30 million tons) had accumulated behind two dams, and about two-thirds of that (20 million tons) was released, dramatically affecting the river channel, surrounding estuaries, beaches, and the river mouth. USGS expertise focused on understanding and measuring the physical and ecological impacts of dam removal and recovery of this river system alongside multiple partners: Olympic National Park, Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe, Bureau of Reclamation, Washington Department of Ecology, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Environmental Protection Agency, National Ocean.
USGS divers Steve Rubin and Reg Reisenbichler laying out a survey transect in the Elwha River. Credit: Ian Miller, USGS
The USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center's (PCMSC) diverse suite of data acquisition and analytical tools, as well as expertise, were utilized to assess the progress of the restoration project and to quickly adapt to changing circumstances. The PCMSC mapped the river mouth and seafloor before and after dam removal, and collected water and sediment samples to measure nutrients and other indicators of ecosystem health. Instruments placed on the seafloor near the river mouth measured current velocity, salinity, temperature, light levels, and the amount of sediment suspended in the water. Underwater cameras took photographs periodically to document the changing seafloor environment. Lidar technology recorded landscape changes resulting from the new sediment deposited along the river and the coast. Scuba divers surveyed marine life and habitats near the mouth of the river to evaluate the effects of the high sediment loads.
Before dam removal, the river and coast downstream were starved of sand and gravel essential to the ecosystem that, according to tribal oral histories, formerly supported abundant shellfish. After dam removal, sand started accumulating again along these coastal habitats, helping to reverse long-term erosion. Salmon have begun to recolonize newly available river habitat upstream from both of the former dam sites. The Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe, whose creation site had been submerged since the building of the dams, has now had this culturally significant land returned to them. These are only a few of the ways in which this restoration project has impacted the lives of Washington residents and visitors.
USGS research geologist and Center Director Guy Gelfenbaum drives a surveying personal watercraft offshore of the Elwha River delta to map changes to the seafloor. Credit: Andrew Stevens, USGS
Research geologist Amy East confers with physical scientist Josh Logan, preparing to conduct a lidar survey near the mouth of the Elwha River in Washington.
The information gleaned and lessons learned from the extensive study of the Elwha River will inform decision-making for future dam decommissioning projects. This integration was facilitated through a USGS Powell Center working group on dam removal (2014–2015) that incorporated experiences and results from dozens of small and large dam removals into a better understanding of the effects of dam deconstruction. From this work we will be better able to predict the effects of dam removal on the landscape, wildlife, and communities, and how to best engineer these projects for the safety and well-being of local communities and their natural resources.
Aerial photograph of the mouth of the Elwha River. Aerial assistance by LightHawk and plane piloted by Dr. Milton Bennett. Credit: Jeff Duda, USGS
Re-vegetation in the river valley at the Elwha River restoration site.
USGS research ecologist Jeff Duda collects discharge data on a side channel of the Elwha River. During early stages of the dam removal project, hundreds of thousands of tons of fine-grained sediment (mostly silts and sands), trapped for decades behind the dams, delivering new sediment to the lower river corridor. Credit: Chris Magirl, USGS
Aerial photograph of the mouth of the Elwha River. Aerial assistance by LightHawk and plane piloted by Dr. Hunter Handsfield. Credit: Jeff Duda, USGS
Aerial photograph of the mouth of the Elwha River. Aerial assistance by LightHawk and plane piloted by Dr. Hunter Handsfield. Credit: Jeff Duda, USGS
World’s largest dam removal reverses coastal erosion
Coastal erosion outpaces land generation along many of the world’s deltas and a significant percentage of shorelines, and human-caused alterations to coastal sediment budgets can be important drivers of this erosion. For sediment-starved and erosion-prone coasts, large-scale enhancement of sediment supply may be an important, but poorly understood...
Warrick, Jonathan; Stevens, Andrew W.; Miller, Ian M.; Harrison, Shawn R; Ritchie, Andrew C.; Gelfenbaum, Guy R. Refining the Baseline Sediment Budget for the Klamath River, California
Four dams in the Klamath River Hydroelectric Project (KHP) in Oregon and California (Figure 1) are currently scheduled to be removed over a period of a few weeks or months, beginning in January 2021. The Klamath dam removal will be the largest in the world by almost all measures, and is an unprecedented opportunity to advance science of river...
Anderson, Chauncey W.; Wright, Scott A.; Schenk, Liam N.; Skalak, Katherine; Curtis, Jennifer A.; East, Amy E.; Benthem, Adam Conceptualizing ecological responses to dam removal: If you remove it, what's to come?
One of the desired outcomes of dam decommissioning and removal is the recovery of aquatic and riparian ecosystems. To investigate this common objective, we synthesized information from empirical studies and ecological theory into conceptual models that depict key physical and biological links driving ecological responses to removing dams. We...
Bellmore, J. Ryan; Pess, George R.; Duda, Jeffrey J.; O'Connor, Jim E.; East, Amy E.; Foley, Melissa M.; Wilcox, Andrew C.; Major, Jon J.; Shafroth, Patrick B.; Morley, Sarah A.; Magirl, Christopher S.; Anderson, Chauncey W.; Evans, James E.; Torgersen, Christian E.; Craig, Laura S. Morphodynamic evolution following sediment release from the world’s largest dam removal
Sediment pulses can cause widespread, complex changes to rivers and coastal regions. Quantifying landscape response to sediment-supply changes is a long-standing problem in geomorphology, but the unanticipated nature of most sediment pulses rarely allows for detailed measurement of associated landscape processes and evolution. The intentional...
Ritchie, Andrew C.; Warrick, Jonathan; East, Amy E.; Magirl, Christopher S.; Stevens, Andrew W.; Bountry, Jennifer A.; Randle, Timothy J.; Curran, Christopher A.; Hilldale, Robert C.; Duda, Jeffrey J.; Miller, Ian M.; Pess, George R.; Eidam, Emily; Foley, Melissa M.; McCoy, Randall; Ogston, Andrea S. Geomorphic evolution of a gravel‐bed river under sediment‐starved vs. sediment‐rich conditions: River response to the world's largest dam removal
Understanding river response to sediment pulses is a fundamental problem in geomorphic process studies, with myriad implications for river management. However, because large sediment pulses are rare and usually unanticipated, they are seldom studied at field scale. We examine fluvial response to a massive (~20 Mt) sediment pulse released by...
East, Amy E.; Logan, Joshua B.; Mastin, Mark C.; Ritchie, Andrew C.; Bountry, Jennifer A.; Magirl, Christopher S.; Sankey, Joel B. Do we know how much fluvial sediment reaches the sea? Decreased river monitoring of U.S. coastal rivers
Given the present and future changing climate and human changes to land use and river control, river sediment fluxes to coastal systems are changing and will continue to change in the future. To delineate these changes and their effects, it is increasingly important to document the fluxes of river-borne sediment discharged to the sea....
Warrick, Jonathan; Milliman, John D. River response to large‐dam removal in a Mediterranean hydroclimatic setting: Carmel River, California, USA
Dam removal provides a valuable opportunity to measure the fluvial response to changes in both sediment supply and the processes that shape channel morphology. We present the first study of river response to the removal of a large (32‐m‐high) dam in a Mediterranean hydroclimatic setting, on the Carmel River, coastal California, USA. This before‐...
Harrison, Lee R.; East, Amy E.; Smith, Douglas P.; Logan, Joshua B.; Bond, Rosealea; Nicol, Colin; Williams, Thomas H.; Boughton, David A.; Chow, Kaitlyn; Luna, Lauren Removal of San Clemente Dam did more than restore fish passage
No abstract available.
Williams, Thomas H.; East, Amy E.; Smith, Douglas P.; Boughton, David A.; Mantua, Nate; Harrison, Lee R. Increased sediment load during a large-scale dam removal changes nearshore subtidal communities
The coastal marine ecosystem near the Elwha River was altered by a massive sediment influx—over 10 million tonnes—during the staged three-year removal of two hydropower dams. We used time series of bathymetry, substrate grain size, remotely sensed turbidity, scuba dive surveys, and towed video observations collected before and during dam removal...
Rubin, Stephen P.; Miller, Ian M.; Foley, Melissa M.; Berry, Helen D.; Duda, Jeffrey J.; Hudson, Benjamin; Elder, Nancy E.; Beirne, Matthew M.; Warrick, Jonathan; McHenry, Michael L.; Stevens, Andrew W.; Eidam, Emily; Ogston, Andrea; Gelfenbaum, Guy R.; Pedersen, Rob Ephemeral seafloor sedimentation during dam removal: Elwha River, Washington
The removal of the Elwha and Glines Canyon dams from the Elwha River in Washington, USA, resulted in the erosion and transport of over 10 million m3 of sediment from the former reservoirs and into the river during the first two years of the dam removal process. Approximately 90% of this sediment was transported through the Elwha River and to...
Foley, Melissa M.; Warrick, Jonathan Geomorphic responses to dam removal in the United States – a two-decade perspective
Recent decades have seen a marked increase in the number of dams removed in the United States. Investigations following a number of removals are beginning to inform how, and how fast, rivers and their ecosystems respond to released sediment. Though only a few tens of studies detail physical responses to removals, common findings have begun to...
Tsutsumi, Daizo; Laronne, Jonathan B.; Major, Jon J.; East, Amy E.; O'Connor, Jim E.; Grant, Gordon E.; Wilcox, Andrew C.; Magirl, Christopher S.; Collins, Matthias J.; Tullos, Desiree D. Dam removal: Listening in
Dam removal is widely used as an approach for river restoration in the United States. The increase in dam removals—particularly large dams—and associated dam-removal studies over the last few decades motivated a working group at the USGS John Wesley Powell Center for Analysis and Synthesis to review and synthesize available studies of dam removals...
Foley, Melissa M.; Bellmore, James; O'Connor, James E.; Duda, Jeffrey J.; East, Amy E.; Grant, Gordon G.; Anderson, Chauncey W.; Bountry, Jennifer A.; Collins, Mathias J.; Connolly, Patrick J.; Craig, Laura S.; Evans, James E.; Greene, Samantha; Magilligan, Francis J.; Magirl, Christopher S.; Major, Jon J.; Pess, George R.; Randle, Timothy J.; Shafroth, Patrick B.; Torgersen, Christian E.; Tullos, Desiree D.; Wilcox, Andrew C.-
Date published: November 4, 2020Bathymetry and acoustic-backscatter data collected in 2016 offshore the Elwha River mouth, Washington, during USGS Field Activity 2016-605-FA
This data release provides bathymetry and acoustic-backscatter data collected during a 2016 SWATHPlus-M survey offshore the Elwha River mouth, Strait of Juan de Fuca, Washington. Data were collected and processed by the USGS during field activity 2016-605-FA. This survey, along with two other surveys, was conducted to map changes that have occurred following sediment input from dam removals...
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Date published: May 1, 2018Oceanographic measurements obtained offshore of the Elwha River delta in coordination with the Elwha River Restoration Project, Washington, USA, 2010-2014
Time-series data of velocity, pressure, turbidity, conductivity, and temperature were collected near the mouth of the Elwha River, Washington, USA, from December 2010 through October 2014, for the Department of Interior’s Elwha River Restoration project. As part of this project, the USGS studied the effects of renewed sediment supplies on the coastal ecosystems before, during, and following...
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Date published: February 7, 2018Data in support of 5-year sediment budget and morphodynamic analysis of Elwha River following dam removals
Dam removal changed the river's sediment budget and water flow, which affected the river's morphology. This data release presents digital elevation models, orthomosaic images, dam height measurements, sediment measurements, and river streamgage data that were collected to support studies on morphodynamic and sediment budget responses of the Elwha River to the removal of dams.
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Date published: January 1, 2018River-channel topography on the Elwha River, Washington, 2006 to 2017
This portion of the data release presents topographic data collected at 5 study sites along Elwha River, Washington between 2006 and 2017. Elevations along channel-perpendicular transects were surveyed using a total station and prism rod. Initial geodetic control was established using static global positioning system (GPS) occupations. A total station was subsequently used to expand and mai...
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Date published: August 11, 2017Ecological parameters in the Elwha River estuary before and during dam removal
The Elwha and Glines Canyon dams were removed from the Elwha River in Washington State from 2011 to 2014. We collected data for a variety of metrics in the estuary and on the river delta before (2006-2011) and during (2012-2014) dam removal to assess how increased sediment transport and deposition affected habitats, vegetation, invertebrates, and fish.
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Date published: January 1, 2017Bathymetry, topography, and sediment grain-size data from the Elwha River delta, Washington
This data release contains bathymetry and topography data from surveys performed on the Elwha River delta between 2010 and 2017. Sediment grain-size data are available for selected surveys performed after May 2012. This data release will be updated as additional bathymetry, topography, and surface-sediment grain-size data from future surveys become available.
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Date published: January 1, 2017
Characterization of seafloor photographs near the mouth of the Elwha River during the first two years of dam removal (2011-2013)
We characterized seafloor sediment conditions near the mouth of the Elwha River from underwater photographs taken every four hours from September 2011 to December 2013. A digital camera was affixed to a tripod that was deployed in approximately 10 meters of water. Each photograph was qualitatively characterized as one of six categories: (1) base, or no sediment; (2) low sediment;
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Date published: October 31, 2016Dam Removal Information Portal (DRIP)
The Dam Removal Information Portal (DRIP) is a web application where partners, scientists, and practitioners can find information on dam removals and associated scientific studies. It is a visualization tool, including a map and interactive charts, of a dam-removal literature review designed and developed by a working group at the USGS John...
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Date published: June 3, 2016USGS Dam Removal Information Portal (DRIP)
The Dam Removal Information Portal is a location where partners, scientists, and practitioners can find scientific studies associated with dam removal projects. The database is intended to be regularly updated, at least annually, so that it represents the most up to date information about the scientific studies associated with dam removal.
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Date published: June 1, 2016
Dam Removal Information Portal (DRIP)
The Dam Removal Information Portal (DRIP) is an online representation and visualization tool for the USGS Dam Removal Science Database, and provides a map-based visualization of information of dam removals and associated scientific studies.
Attribution: Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center
Elwha River floating weir: a tool to study adult salmon during and following dam removal
This video introduces a multi-agency team of scientists and their project to install and operate a resistance board floating weir in the Elwha River. The weir is a fish trap used within a larger program for monitoring salmon populations in the Nation's largest dam removal and river restoration project.
Lower Elwha River, Ground-Based Lidar Fly-Through
This video shows a virtual fly-through of a detailed, highly accurate three-dimensional model of the lower Elwha River, Washington. The video begins about 0.8 river kilometers upstream (south) of the bridge on Elwha River Road. The virtual flight path then proceeds downstream approximately 5.5 kilometers, in a northerly direction to the mouth of the river on the Juan de
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Date published: September 5, 2018Moving Mountains: Elwha River Still Changing Five Years After World’s Largest Dam-Removal Project: More than 20 million tons of sediment flushed to the sea
Starting in 2011, the National Park Service removed two obsolete dams from the Elwha River in Olympic National Park, Washington. It was the world’s largest dam-removal project. Over the next five years, water carrying newly freed rocks, sand, silt and old tree trunks reshaped more than 13 miles of river and built a larger delta into the Pacific Ocean.
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Date published: September 4, 2018USGS Scientists Receive Interior Department Award for Elwha River Dam-Removal Study
Nineteen current and former U.S. Geological Survey scientists and their collaborators from other state, federal, and tribal agencies received a U.S. Department of the Interior “Unit Award for Excellence of Service”
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Date published: May 24, 2018USGS partnership with Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe featured in new fact sheet on Elwha River dam removals
The USGS has published a new Fact Sheet, “Science Partnership between U.S. Geological Survey and the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe: Understanding the Elwha River Dam Removal Project.”
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Date published: October 3, 2016Salmon Seen Upstream from Former Dam Sites on Washington’s Elwha River
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Date published: September 13, 2016International Recognition for Historic Elwha River Restoration
NEW DELHI, INDIA – The collaborative work of the U.S. Department of the Interior and the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe to restore the Elwha River of Washington, USA was recognized as a world-renowned restoration project during the awarding of the 2016 Thiess International Riverprize.
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Date published: February 17, 2015Largest Dam Removal in U.S. History Scientifically Characterized
SEATTLE — The effects of dam removal are better known as a result of several new studies released this week by government, tribal and university researchers. The scientists worked together to characterize the effects of the largest dam removal project in U.S. history occurring on the Elwha River of Washington State.
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Date published: February 11, 2014Elwha Sediment Detailed in New Document
As the largest dam-removal project in history moves into its third year, scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey released a new report that documents the movement of sediment down the Elwha River in Washington State.
Attribution: Region 9: Columbia-Pacific Northwest -
Date published: October 23, 2012
Sediment Muddies the Water
SANTA CRUZ, Calif. — The largest dam-removal project in history has increased river water cloudiness caused by suspended particles, known as turbidity, a process that could affect aquatic life. The dismantling of two large dams on the Elwha River in Washington began in September of last year and has increased river turbidity significantly, even though most of the sediment trapped behind the...
Attribution: Region 9: Columbia-Pacific Northwest -
Date published: July 27, 2012
Underwater Ecosystem Inundated by Sediment Plume
PORT ANGELES, Wash. — Scuba-diver scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey, with support teams from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe, and Washington Sea Grant, are returning to the mouth of Washington’s Elwha River this week to explore and catalogue the effect of released sediment on marine life following the nation’s largest dam removal effort.
Attribution: Region 9: Columbia-Pacific Northwest -
Date published: September 13, 2011Elwha River Restoration Science Explained at Science Symposium
Selected and compressed for your convenience, here is the Elwha River science that the USGS has been working on, often as part of an interagency collaboration. The topics are presented in chronological order with session information. USGS scientists involved are listed. Complete listings can be found in the symposium program.
Attribution: Region 9: Columbia-Pacific Northwest