The consolidated ditch diversion structure is located approximately 1.7 river miles downstream of the wallowa lake DAM

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, through the National Fish Passage Program (CFDA 15.685), awarded a $2,000,000 Cooperative Agreement to the Wallowa Lake Irrigation District in Oregon. The funding will be used to replace an existing diversion structure on the Wallowa River with a new adjustable diversion and fish ladder system. The project will also upgrade the intake structure for the Consolidated Ditch to include a vertical plate system with a fish bypass facility. This will improve water management and fish passage at the site, which supplies irrigation water to the Wallowa Valley. The project period is from July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2029.

The consolidated ditch is one of several irrigation ditches supplying water to irrigators in the wallowa valley. The existing structure includes an instream fixed weir diversion across the wallowa river where wooden stoplogs are used to raise the water surface elevation in the wallowa river upstream of the consolidated ditch. The intake structure for the consolidated ditch consists of a wooden barrier and walkway with a series of gates that can be manually adjusted to regulate flows entering the ditch.proposed upgrades to this structure include replacing the existing wallowa river diversion with a new adjustable diversion and fish ladder. The new diversion will be used to raise the water surface elevation in the wallowa river to direct water to the consolidated ditch and to operate the new fish ladder. The intake structure for the consolidated ditch will be replaced with a new gate structure and include a vertical plate system with a fish bypass facility to return fish back to the wallowa river. The system will also include an automated screen cleaning system.