American Whitewater spent several years participating in the relicensing of a hydropower dam on Utah's Weber River that dewaters a stretch of whitewater known as the Scrambled Eggs run. In 2018 we reached an agreement with all parties calling for improved take-out access, as well as four pulse flow releases each year that support whitewater paddling and the river's ecology. This agreement was core to the dam owner's 2018 federal dam license application, which we supported in formal comments.
Local paddler and AW volunteer Charlie Vincent worked closely with American Whitewater staff on this project (thanks Charlie!). The potential outcomes on this project were tightly constrained by land ownership and management concerns, water rights, geography, hydrology, project economics, and a lack of reservoir storage.
A new license for the dam was issued on March 19, 2021, which includes provisions for 4 annual whitewater paddling releases, flow information, access, and fish passage.