Great Free Concerts at the Locks!

The weather finally cooperated for the concerts at the Ballard Locks last Weekend. On Sunday, The Microsoft Orchestra treated the crowd of over 300 people to a couple of sets playing under the grand red oak trees. The selection included lots of classics, such as Gershwin and Sousa, as well as a new score of music featured in the video game Halo.

Check out next weekend's music schedule for Saturday and Sunday. On Saturday, July 3 from 2-4 pm,Dissonance Jazz Combo will play. Sunday, Independence Day, the Seattle Civic Band will play some stirring marching music from 2-3 pm.

There will be lots more free music at the Ballard Locks all summer!

See the previous post or check out the most up-to-date schedule at the USACE events page.

Sockeye Swimming Up the Ladder

Just like clockwork the salmon are returning to the fish ladder at the Chittenden Locks.

Of the 3 Pacific salmon species that use the fish ladder, the sockeye are the first to return each year, coming back from the Gulf of Alaska where they have been feeding for the last 2-3 years. The majority of them were hatched on the Cedar River and are returning there to spawn.

When we see them at the Locks they are silver color, called 'ocean phase,' and are easily identified from other salmon species by the lack of spots on their backs. Sockeye will average 6-8 pounds and 24-30 inches long. As they journey through fresh water to the spawning beds their bodies will take on the distinctive red color called 'freshwater phase.'

Moving through the Canal and lakes they will reach the spawning beds in late September/early October. Each female will lay several thousand eggs in the gravel of the riverbed where they remain for 3 months until hatching into tiny fish called alevins. Both male and female salmon die after spawning, thereby becoming an important part of the ecosystem as their decaying bodies return essential nutrients- nitrogen, phosphorus- to the soils along the streams.

The fish ladder viewing gallery is open daily from 7 a.m.-8:45 p.m., there are displays there and in the Visitor Center (10 - 6:00 daily) with additional information on the salmon life cycle.

Bagpipes on Sunday

Ballard offered up real Scottish weather for the Elliott Bay Bagpipe Band concert at the Locks last Sunday. A small, hardy audience braved the 'highland mist' to hear the band's annual Father's Day performance.

More free concerts to come!

See the previous post or USACE events page.

Fish Ladder is Open! Sockeye are Swimming!

A source at the Ballard Locks has informed us that the fish ladder is open and sockeye salmon are swimming upstream.

Pictures and more words coming soon...

Spring Cleaning: Preparing the Fish Ladder for Salmon!

We're spring cleaning & getting ready for guests--the salmon are coming!

The fish ladder at the Chittenden Locks will be closed May 24-June 4 for annual cleaning, inspection and maintenance; the fish viewing gallery will be closed to the public during this time.

There actually was a fish ladder constructed in 1917 with the spillway dam; it was very primitive as we didn't know much about salmon migration in those days. The ladder was not very effective and many salmon moved upstream through the locks and were injured by boats and propellers or by hitting the barnacle-encrusted walls and gates.

In 1976 the Corps of Engineers completely rebuilt the ladder, increasing the number of weirs (steps, or waterfalls) from 10 to 21, and increasing the flow of water. The rush of water out of the base of the ladder attracts the salmon away from the locks, as salmon instinctively know to go against the flow to trace their way back to their natal stream. The smell and taste of their home stream in genetically imprinted while they are young and they follow that unique smell/taste back upstream to spawn.

Moving quickly up the waterfalls the salmon jump each step or swim through tunnel-like openings between each weir. Weir 18 of the ladder was elongated to make the fish viewing gallery possible; here the salmon often spend a few hours resting and acclimating to fresh water before continuing their journey upstream.

The sockeye salmon is the first salmon species to return to the Lake Washington Ship Canal each year, the early ones usually show up around mid-June and the run normally peaks in early July. The word sockeye is a corruption of "sukkai", the name for the fish used by the Native Peoples of southern British Columbia.

Chinook (king) and Coho (silver) salmon runs follow during the summer months.

Check back often for more information and updates on the salmon runs at the Chittenden Locks!

All photos courtesy of USACE/Historical Collection Lake Washington Ship Canal

Opening Day of Boating Season!

Wow! It’s hard to believe that Opening Day of boating season is just around the corner.

Traditionally, opening day is celebrated on the first Saturday in May. In 2010, that's this coming Saturday, May 1. However, you'll see boat traffic through the locks increase all week as boaters make their way to the lakes & ship canal.

Seattle has a rich maritime tradition; opening day is to boating what robins are to spring.

Now is the time to pull your boat out and get it ready for another exciting season on the water. If you visit the locks you’re sure to see hundreds of boats making the passage.

Many of these boats are on their way to cheer on their favorite team at the Windermere Cup races held in the Montlake Cut. If you’ve never experienced this special day you should make plans. It’s hard to imagine a better place to see a race up close where you can see the strain as each rower gives their all.

Below is a slideshow of some pictures of boats through the locks and ship canal.

Smoltificatious!

Ever wonder what those big white metal tubes were on the spillway dam at the Locks? Read on.

The Corps of Engineers has installed those tubes; they are smolt flumes designed to help juvenile salmon safely bypass the Locks on their migration out to the ocean.

Studies had shown that smolts (juvenile salmon) were having a difficult time going through the Locks, which is their only passageway from the Lake Washington basin out to Puget Sound. Fish would get injured or killed when pulled into the filling tunnels or going over the spillway dam. In 1995 a prototype flume was installed to determine their feasibility, when deemed successful the current models were built at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and installed in May 2000.

The 4 flumes are different sizes to better regulate the outflow of water from the freshwater lakes. The narrow outer ends of the tubes contain an electronic screen to read the PIT tags that are implanted in some of the smolts. PIT is "passive integrated transponder," a microchip type of tracking device.

Standing on the spillway dam late April to early July you may see dozens of small (4"-6") fish shooting out of the flumes with the water, these are the sockeye, chinook and coho smolts headed out to the ocean. What looks to us like a dizzying fall is "just another waterfall" to a smolt and is actually safer than going through the Locks. The cords strung across the spill basin help increase smolt survival by detering seagulls from diving down to feast on the young fish. The smolts remain in the lower basin area for a few weeks acclimating, feeding and growing before they continue their journey to the Pacific.

The term smolt comes from the word "smoltification" which is the biological process the juvenile fish go through which enables them to make the transition from fresh to salt water.

For more info, check out the USACE release on the installation of the smolt flumes.

Note: The fish ladder will be closed June 1-11 for its annual cleaning in preparation for the return of the salmon. Stay tuned!

Pump Out: The Small Lock's Turn

If you are meandering through the Chittenden Locks next week you'll see an amazing sight.

The small lock will be empty! No, they didn't forget to pay the water bill--it is time for the annual inspection, cleaning, and maintenance of the small lock!

Starting at low tide on March 8, the water remaining in the chamber will be pumped out so the lower walls and floor are accessible.

The pumps for this operation are located underneath the Administration Building. If you peek in the basement windows, you may be able to see some of the plumbing for the pumps.

It takes about 4 hours to drain the small lock whereas the large lock (pictured left) requires about 10 hours to pump dry. See previous entries on the Large Lock Pump Out and More Pump Out Pictures.

Barring unforeseen findings, the small lock is scheduled to re-open to boat traffic by March 20.

For current information about the Lake Washington Ship Canal, check out the information from the USACE Seattle District.

Next on the "to-do" list is installation of the smolt flumes on the spillway dam in April and fish ladder cleaning in June.