Owned and operated by
Seattle City Light, this Hydro Project supplies more than one-third of Seattle City Light's power. Water stored behind its 340 foot high -- 32 foot thick arch dam forms a lake that stretches 17.5 miles upstream to the Box Canyon Dam and contains 40,000 acre feet of water. When completed in 1967 the project utilized four turbines, each producing up to 208,000 kilowatts of electricity. In 1985 two more turbines and generators were added, bringing its total output to 1,024 Megawatts.
Immediately south of the dam, is the Forebay Recreation Area & Campsite, also owned and operated by Seattle City Light. We visited in early summer of 2017 and the campground was closed in July of 2017 to enable Seattle City Light to initiate a major upgrade to the place. If one were to visit the campground this year (2018) they would likely find that it looks quite different than shown in the accompanying photos.
As a matter of fact, the Spokane Spokesman Review ran a short article on the campground's closure, possibly saving a few of its readers a long trip to a campground that was closed.
Boundary Dam forebay closed during
Pend Oreille River campground redo
By Rich Landers | Thu., Aug. 31, 2017, 7:19 a.m.
PADDLING -- Canoeing, kayaking and camping through Z Canyon on the Pend Oreille River downstream from Metaline Falls has been tough to pull off since July 10 when Seattle City Light closed the Boundary Dam forebay campground and boat launch for a major reconstruction project.
Public access at the dam site is blocked until next year.
Seattle City Light says redeveloping the Forebay Recreation Area is the first project in a 10-year plan for recreational improvements throughout the Boundary Hydroelectric Project area.
Improvements at the forebay include adding more campsites and day-use picnic sites, an extended boat launch and new ADA amenities.
The campground and boat launch will reopen by Spring 2018.
Info:(206) 233-2631
Spokane Spokesman Review