Your PUD News Release

Safety emphasized for kayak test runs at Chelan Gorge

Chelan County PUD
News Release
7/2/2009

CHELAN -- Public viewing of kayakers making their way through the Chelan River Gorge the weekend of July 11-12 will be limited to areas already open to the public near the upper and lower ends of the Chelan River. High cliffs above several of the most challenging sections of the Gorge will be restricted from public access, as they are posted “no trespassing” year-round by the Chelan County PUD.

The Gorge is a hazardous one-third-of-a-mile section before the 4-mile-long Chelan River flattens into smooth water that flows into the Columbia River near Chelan Falls. More than 20 expert kayakers so far have registered as part of a three-year test to determine the feasibility of offering suitable flows for whitewater boating. The tests, being done in collaboration with American Whitewater, are part of Chelan PUD’s federal license to operate the Lake Chelan Hydro Project for the next 50 years. Special operating conditions are required to provide kayaking flows that range from about 300 to 450 cubic feet per second (cfs).

Another weekend of kayaking is scheduled July 25-26. In 2010-11, kayak test runs are expected to be held on two weekends in July and two weekends in September.

Kayakers are required to preregister on the PUD Web site in order to participate, and they will be given access badges the morning of the runs. Badges will also be required for immediate members of support teams and for media who want access to restricted areas. All who kayak or enter the hazardous parts of the Gorge will be required to sign liability waivers. The Gorge area is considered highly dangerous with steep cliffs and difficult terrain.

Participants, support team members and the media are asked to check in at Chelan Falls Park starting at 8 a.m. the day of the tests. A video from the test run in 2000 is available on the Web, and kayakers will be required to inspect the river before being able to launch starting at 11 a.m. at the upper end of the river below the Chelan Dam. All kayakers must begin their runs by 2 p.m. Public viewing of launching is available along a trail in the flatter area of the upper river.
Limited public viewing will also be available from an abandoned highway bridge near the lower end of the river where kayakers will still be navigating a stretch of river full of large boulders.

Photographs of the test runs will be available on the PUD Web site following the weekends.

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For further information, contact:
Steve Lachowicz
Communications director
509-661-4639, direct line
509-679-0148, cell
steve.lachowicz@chelanpud.org