RICHLAND, Wash. – Boaters at the Columbia Park marina are feeling the impact of the Bateman Island causeway removal project.
The Columbia Park marina must be removed and users are being told to move their boats.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Walla Walla District plans to remove the Bateman Island causeway. This move aims to improve salmon habitat in both the Columbia and Yakima rivers.
Kathryn Herzog with the Corps of Engineers explained that the decision is part of the October 2024 Yakima Delta Ecological Restoration Feasibility Report.
“Leading us to a recommended full removal of the causeway. And so the main focus is providing habitat benefits for salmonids in the area. But again, the causeway is causing warm water stagnate, which is lethal for salmon in the Bateman causeway area,” Herzog said.
The Corps initially believed the causeway removal would not affect the marina. Herzog said the state said the marina could not withstand stronger currents and would need removal.
While the Corps considered adding marina protections in their initial report, Herzog said they found no significant impact from a breakwater.
Despite displacing the 106-slip boat marina in Richland, Herzog believes the project will improve local habitats.
“I think that this project has been a really important project and especially bringing so many stakeholders together to provide an improvement to the area, not only for salmonids but also just for clean water in the area,” Herzog said. “Trying to remove that stagnant water, which creates the mosquitoes and other problems,”
The project is currently in the design phase and is expected to be completed by summer. Construction is expected to begin at the end of 2025 or early 2026.
