Ballard Locks
Not far from Puget Sound in Seattle, the Hiram M. Chittenden Locks, better known as the Ballard Locks, includes a spillway, fish ladder and complex plumbing system that complicates salmon migration.
OVERVIEW
Salmon live in a topsy-turvy world upstream of the Ballard Locks
Chinook, coho and sockeye salmon, along with steelhead trout, live in the Lake Washington watershed and navigate a treacherous route through the Ballard Locks on their way to Puget Sound.
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Will Ballard Locks withstand a major earthquake?
For close to 100 years, Seattle's Ballard Locks has been one of the region's busiest waterways, drawing major boat traffic along with millions of tourists. But as it prepares to celebrate its centennial, the aged structure is also drawing the concern of engineers. They worry that an earthquake could cause the locks to fail, draining massive amounts of water from Lake Washington and Lake Union. In some scenarios, the two lakes could drop by as much as 20 feet, stranding boats, disabling bridges and causing big problems for salmon restoration.