A proposal to breach four dams in Washington state as part of a strategy to help local salmon populations recover would come “at significant cost and with a major infrastructure program” needed to replace services the dams support, according to a newly-released draft state report.
The draft report prepared by independent consultants for Gov. Jay Inslee (D) estimates the cost at between $10.3 billion and $27.2 billion. That would include breaching the dams’ earthen berms, possibly removing other structures, and a variety of transportation, energy and water infrastructure projects to replace those services.