By Dennis Box-The Courier-Herald

Repairing the White River diversion dam - also known as a barrier dam - near Buckley has become a tricky logistical problem for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The dam consists of a series of flash boards running across the river and it has two functions. It diverts water into the flume feeding Lake Tapps and keeps spawning fish from swimming upstream, directing them into a fish trap.

Nearly half of the flash boards washed away as a result of storms in December and January. The boards that fell are critical for operating the fish trap and diverting water into the flume.

The fallen flash boards on the barrier dam, coupled with cool spring weather, have caused Puget Sound Energy problems with getting the lake filled to recreation levels by Memorial Day.

Also, PSE constructed a backflow dike east of Inlet Island in the spring. The construction schedule was delayed by the weather and PSE did not start filling the lake until late April.

As of last week PSE, which owns Lake Tapps, said the lake would possibly not be filled by the holiday. As of this week it appears it will take a water miracle to get the lake to recreational level by the busy weekend.

Lake Tapps Community Council member Leon Stucki said by using the real-time data available on the U.S. Geologic Survey's Web site it could take until late June or early July for the lake to be filled.

Roger Thompson, PSE spokesman, said Friday it was looking &#8220more and more like sometime in June. Our water experts say barring something unforeseen, the lake should be full somewhere by the middle of June. No one expects it to go as far as July.”

The White River fish trap is another sticky issue surrounding the barrier dam and the lake.

The fish traps collects spawning chinook salmon, bull trout and steelhead trout. All three species are listed as threatened on the federal government's endangered species act. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration or NOAA Fisheries listed steelhead trout in the Puget Sound region most recently.

The trapped fish are driven by truck from Buckley around Mud Mountain Dam, which is located above Enumclaw, to the upper portion of the White River.

Mud Mountain Dam was not constructed with passages for the fish to swim through to spawn in the upper White.

With the barrier dam down, most fish bypass the trap and swim up river. Many will get stopped at the dam and die.

When the barrier dam flash boards were washed away in 2006 they were repaired in March, but this year repairs have yet to be made.

According to Thompson, PSE operates the barrier dam under a contract with the corps.

&#8220The corps calls the shots,” Thompson said. &#8220As of now we have not been given the green light (to fix the dam).”

Jeff Dillon from the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers said the corps operates the dam in agreement with the fish agencies - NOAA, the U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife, the state Department of Fish and Wildlife - and it consults with the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe and Puyallup Tribe of Indians.

&#8220We had a round of discussions in March,” Dillon said. &#8220But the flows were too high and it was too risky from a resources point of view.”

Dillon said the only way to fix the dam in March was to hold water back at Mud Mountain Dam. The agencies and tribes decided the drop in flows would have been too dramatic for the repairs to have been completed.

&#8220This is supposed to be done for the benefit of the fish,” Dillon said.

The problem now facing the corps, agencies and the tribes is how to get the dam repaired in time for spawning.

&#8220We don't enjoy the fish bypassing the barrier dam,” Dillon said. &#8220As soon as we get the river flows down, we will get in and fix it.”

The salmon spawning run begins near the beginning of July, bull trout around mid-July and steelhead in March and April.

According to Dillon this is also the year for the pink salmon to return.

Pinks return on odd years and in 2005 more than 33,000 pinks were counted in the Buckley fish trap, while only two were found in 2006. Dillon said it is expected far more pink salmon will return this year.

In 2003 Dillon said about 13,000 pinks were counted and none in 2004. Dillon said pinks have been spawning in dramatically higher numbers since 2003.

&#8220We weren't seeing them in our trap records before 2003, &#8220Dillon said.

In 2003 Tacoma Water removed a concrete enclosure protecting its water pipe as it crossed the river. Dillon said the structure might have blocked the pinks.

&#8220They're not strong swimmers like some of the other fish, so it is possible, but no one knows for sure,” Dillon said.

Tim Shaw, project manager for the corps, said a new barrier dam and fish trap is at about the 35 percent design phase.

&#8220It will be a concrete dam with three radial gates that will go up and down,” Shaw said. &#8220There will also be a spillway on the side for emergencies.”

Constructing a new fish trap is a more recent addition, but Shaw said it made more economic sense to build a new one than try to address the problems of the old one.

The cost of a new dam and fish trap will cost about $35 million.

Shaw said construction is expected in 2009 or 2010.

Chinook salmon and the endangered species in the river prompted the Federal Regulatory Energy Commission (FERC) in 1997 to issue licensing the requirements making it economically impossible for PSE to operate the White River hydroelectric plant.

Since that time, there has been a battle waged by the Lake Tapps community, political leaders and PSE to save the lake. Converting the lake into a drinking water reservoir is currently considered the best plan for saving the lake.

Dennis Box can be reached at dbox@courierherald.com.