Taming the Wenatchee River
Engineers successfully close the gap in a massive new dam, marking a turning point in the effort to harness the region's wild water for industry.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Yesterday morning, between eight and ten o'clock, the gap in the big dam—through which the water of the Wenatchee River has been surging and tumbling in protest of the restraint put on it for the past month—was closed. By the time this paper reaches its readers, the water will be passing through four of the gates that have been made in the dam structure. Building a dam across a river of the size and character of the Wenatchee is no small undertaking and is attended with no small risk. The work can only be done in the winter, during the low stages of water, with the constant danger that a rise in the river may wash out the work of months. So far, the work has proceeded under favorable circumstances, and there is now very little danger of damage. It will take from six weeks to two months longer to complete the work, which can now be pursued leisurely.
“The water of the Wenatchee river has been surging and tumbling in protest of the restraint that has been put on it for the past month.”
This dam was a precursor to the massive infrastructure projects that reshaped the Pacific Northwest's hydrology. Today, the balance between harnessing the Wenatchee River for power and preserving its ecological role for salmon remains a central tension in the valley.
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