The Cascade Water Alliance opened the doors at the now-defunct White River Project Powerhouse Oct. 1 as part of their Lake Tapps Centennial celebration.

Hundreds of residents lined up to take tours of the 100-year-old facility that until 2004 generated power for the entire region.

The tour featured a look at the turbines and control room, as well as a scale model showing the path of water from Mount Rainier to Mud Mountain Dam to the flumes to Lake Tapps and down to the Powerhouse on East Valley Road in Sumner.

According to Cascade, the powerhouse, when fully operational, employed 30-40 workers to keep the water flowing and power generating. Today, without having to operate the turbines, the entire system is maintained with a personal digital assistant.

Cascade Water Alliance plans to operate the lake as a lake and use the water for drinking water supply in the future.

Photos by Brian Beckley