Priest Rapids Dam
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| Priest Rapids Dam | |
 From the west side of the Columbia River |
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| Construction began | July 1956 |
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| Opening date | 1959 (First Generation) 1961 (Full Completion) |
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Priest Rapids Dam is a hydroelectric, concrete gravity, dam; located on the Columbia River, between the Yakima Firing Range and the Hanford Nuclear Reservation, and bridges Yakima County and Grant County, in the U.S. state of Washington. The dam is 24 miles south of the town of Vantage, and 47 miles northeast of the town of Richland. It is located at mile marker 397.1 from the mouth of the Columbia. It is owned by the Grant County, Washington Public Utility District. Priest Rapids, for which the dam was named, are now submerged beneath the dam's reservoir.
After the disaster of 1948 Vanport Flood on the lower Columbia River, around Vancouver, Washington, and Portland, Oregon, the federal government established the Priest Rapids Project under the Flood Control Act of 1950 (Public Law 81-516; May 17, 1950). The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers decided the project would not be a top priority, so the Grant PUD began looking at taking over the project from the USACE in 1952. With the passage of Public Law 83-544 in 1954, Congress gave Grant PUD the right to proceed. Revenue bonds were issued for construction to began in July of 1956, first generation occurred in 1959, and the dam was completed in 1961. Its reservoir is named Priest Rapids Lake, and extends 18 miles upstream to spillway of Wanapum Dam. Downriver from Priest Rapids Dam is Hanford Reach, the only free-flowing, non-tidal stretch of the Columbia River in the United States.
Priest Rapids Dam is part of the Columbia River Basin system of dams.
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| Columbia River Dams |
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| Bonneville • The Dalles • John Day • McNary • Priest Rapids • Wanapum • Rock Island • Rocky Reach • Wells • Chief Joseph • Grand Coulee • Keenleyside • Revelstoke • Mica |
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