Tetra Tech partnered with the Colville Confederated Tribes to design the Chief Joseph Hatchery complex and apply advanced water treatment and hatchery technologies to increase Chinook salmon populations in the Columbia Basin.
Challenge
To restore native Chinook salmon populations in the Columbia River Basin, the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation and the Bonneville Power Administration sought a new hatchery complex that could support both tribal subsistence needs and regional fisheries. The project required a multifaceted solution capable of producing nearly 3 million fish annually while providing long-term ecological sustainability. Tetra Tech was tasked with designing a full-scale hatchery complex—including hatchery facilities, acclimation sites, visitor facilities, staff residences, and tribal facilities along the Columbia River.
Solution
Using our Leading with Science® approach, Tetra Tech provided planning, design, and construction engineering services for the Chief Joseph Hatchery complex. Partnering with the Colville Tribe, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Bonneville Power Authority, and fisheries biologists, our multidisciplinary team developed a hatchery bioprogram covering genetics, broodstock collection, incubation, rearing, and release strategies. Our expert team designed an advanced water supply network integrating groundwater wells, reservoir water, and a relief tunnel to ensure stable, high-quality hatchery water year-round. The facility features concrete raceways; rearing ponds; acclimation sites; a tribal meeting area; staff residences; public visitor facilities; and tribal fishing areas.
Innovative systems—such as degassing and ultraviolet-treatment, and raceway low-head oxygenators, support fish health. We also conducted hydraulic modelling, designed new river intakes, supported preparation of the Environmental Impact Statement, and introduced predation prevention and biosecurity best practices. Since completion, Tetra Tech continues to support system upgrades, energy recovery, and water-cooling innovations that enhance efficiency and improve sustainability and resistance to climate induced impacts.
Through these efforts, Tetra Tech is helping to secure a resilient future for Chinook salmon in the Okanogan and Columbia Rivers.
Benefits
- Increasing self-sustaining Chinook salmon runs in the Okanogan and Columbia Rivers
- Producing nearly 3 million juvenile fish annually for tribal and regional fisheries
- Integrating advanced water treatment, reuse, and oxygenation technologies
- Enhancing resilient fisheries and long-term operational efficiency
The Chief Joseph Hatchery represents an important step forward for the Colville Confederated Tribes, and the long-awaited promise of returning salmon to the Upper Columbia.
Patrick Phillips, Chief Joseph Hatchery Manager
