OLYMPIC NATIONAL PARK — Water spilled from a floodgate on the the Glines Canyon Dam Wednesday in another phase of the preparation for the dismantling of two dams on the Elwha River.
The Bureau of Reclamation is lowering the level of Lake Mills by 18 feet over the next eight days.
The process will accelerate erosion along the new pilot channel dug in the delta at the top of the lake to flush out sediments that will eventually replenish the river ecosystem when Glines Canyon and the Lower Elwha dams are removed beginning next September.
The dam removal project is the largest undertaking of its kind to date in the nation.
Once it is completed in March 2014, the 70-mile river and its tributaries will be opened to salmon, which have been blocked by the dams since they were built — Glines Canyon in 1927 and the Elwha Dam in 1910.
The Lake Mills drawdown is expected to last until Friday, Oct. 29. The lake will remain closed to boaters, since the water level will be too low for the boat ramp to be used.
Fall and winter rains are expected to refill the reservoir.
The channel was dug in late September and early October.
