Priest Rapids Hatchery Operations and Maintenance Annual Report: July 1, 2010 to June 30, 2011

Priest Rapids Hatchery was designed as a mitigation facility for Fall Chinook after Priest Rapids and Wanapum Dams were constructed, and is funded by the Grant County Public Utility District and by Army Corp of Engineers for the John Day portion of the fish. It has been in continuous operation since September 1963, and is operated by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. It is part of the WDFW’s Priest Rapids Hatchery Complex, which also includes the Ringold, Meseberg, Naches and Columbia Basin hatcheries.

Annual release goal for Grant County PUD is 5 million smolts at 50 fish per pound. All trapping, spawning and rearing take place at Priest Rapids Hatchery. Up to 15 million eggs are taken annually to meet hatchery goals and for other programs in the Columbia River drainage. Beginning in 1992, 1.7 million Fall Chinook have also been reared and released at Priest Rapids Hatchery at 50 fish per pound, as part of John Day Mitigation. The Army Corp of Engineers funds this portion, and eggs are taken at Priest Rapids.

Three full time employees and one career seasonal employee staff Priest Rapids Hatchery. In addition, up to three temporary employees are utilized during trapping, spawning, and rearing to handle heavy workloads. These temporary employees are required to live in the bunkroom onsite during egg and sac-fry incubation. This allows them to provide an immediate response to alarms, as housing for full time employees on standby is located twenty minutes from the hatchery. Temporary security positions are also filled annually during the time the Fall Chinook come up into the trap.

Trapping of returning Fall Chinook salmon takes place approximately one mile south of the main facility, and fish are transported by truck to two of five channel ponds for holding. Spawning occurs adjacent to the holding ponds, and eggs are transferred by vehicle to be incubated in the main building. After hatch, fish are transferred by truck to vinyl raceways, where they are introduced to feed. Ten to fourteen days later they are transferred to the five channel ponds for final rearing and release.

In addition to the incubation room, the main building is comprised of two offices, a bathroom and kitchen, boot room, storage room, and bunkroom. Other buildings on station include a walkin freezer and utility room for feed storage, a large shop with two semi-open covered bays for storage and enclosed shop area, six wells providing 6,650 gallons per minute of pathogen-free well water, a river-water intake, three degassing towers, and a multitude of other plumbing and electrical buildings. Eight raceways and two holding areas used by the PUD for rearing of study fish in the base of the old adult holding pond may possibly be utilized by WDFW in the future.