From a Peninsula Daily News reader on Monday afternoon:
“Have you looked at the Elwha Dam lately? Wow – the channel is definitely open!
“When I looked this morning, there was a little bit of water coming down on the left side, then later in the morning nothing, and then early this evening, a torrent! Fun to watch.”
What’s it look like . . . today?
We have a new permanent link on our home page — www.peninsuladailynews.com — to the six webcams along the Elwha River so you can track the progress of the dam removal project.
“Click Here to View the Elwha River Dams/Resoration Webcams” is the link, in red, just below “Search Online Local News” at www.peninsuladailynews.com.
Or click here to go directly to the webcams: http://www.video-monitoring.com/construction/olympic/js.htm
Webcams face both the Elwha and Glines Canyon dams, the deltas at the southern ends of the Lake Aldwell and Lake Mills reservoirs, and along the northern shore of each reservoir.
The primary purpose of the cameras is to monitor sediment movement, but viewers also get a direct view of each dam as the removal process progresses.
The $325 million effort to remove the 210-foot Glines Canyon Dam and the 108-foot Elwha Dam is expected to last three years and will eventually restore the river to its wild state and restore salmon runs.
Here are two other useful links:
— View a video replay of the Sept. 17 Elwha Dam ceremony as originally broadcast by the National Park Service — https://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20110919/NEWS/110919953
— See video animation of how the two dams will be demolished — http://tinyurl.com/elwhavideo.