Columbia Springs, a Vancouver environmental education center, received a $1.8 million grant from the state’s capital budget to replace its West Biddle Lake Dam.
A geotechnical study found that the dam, which is about a century old, is likely leaking water into the surrounding soil and needs to be upgraded.
The organization is currently wrapping up the design phase of the project and beginning the permitting phase. According to a Friday announcement, the project’s schedule will likely see a contractor selected near the end of 2021, with construction beginning in summer of 2022.
Columbia Springs plans to continue its summer camp and field trip programs through the construction period, according to the press release.
The West Biddle Lake Dam supports the Columbia Springs hatchery, where hundreds of thousands of rainbow trout hatch and steelhead and around a quarter-million chum salmon fry are raised each year.
