CRESCENT BAR - The Grant County PUD will speed up a plan to excavate the access channel at the Crescent Bar boat launch, under the terms of an agreement between the utility and Crescent Bar Inc. The channel connects the boat launch with the Columbia River.

Under the agreement, the PUD will remove about 45,000 cubic yards of mud, sand and debris in the access channel, PUD spokesperson Chuck Allen said. Preliminary work should begin in mid-August, Allen said.

The excavation will remove enough material to allow any boat that can fit at the boat launch to pass through the channel, Allen said.

Most of the actual work will take place after Labor Day weekend, Allen said, to reduce any impact to residents or on recreation season. The project should take six to 10 weeks to complete, and should be finished before PUD officials raise the water behind Wanapum Dam, he said.

The water level behind Wanapum Dam was lowered after PUD officials discovered a crack at the base of a pillar supporting a spill gate on Feb. 27. The PUD has submitted a plan for repairs, and preliminary work is underway, Allen said. Utility district officials have estimated that the Wanapum Dam pool will remain at its current level until sometime in the fourth quarter 2014.

The PUD is required to deepen the channel as part of its operating license, Allen said. (Recreation enhancement is a requirement in Federal Energy Regulatory Commission operating agreements.)

Doing the work while the channel is dry "will reduce environmental impacts, provide better quality control and allow for a shorter construction period," Allen said. In turn that will translate into savings for PUD customers, he said.

The bid and contract award process will be shortened so that the work can begin by mid-August, Allen said. "This is the right time to do this project and we believe it will provide a great benefit for recreation in the area for many years to come when it's finished," PUD board chair Bob Bernd said.

"This is something that will be good for the whole community," Randy Hoefer, of Crescent Bar Inc., said.