Crews have begun removing the causeway linking Bateman Island to the Richland shoreline, restoring waterflow that has been blocked for decades.  

East Wenatchee-based Pipkin, Inc. is performing the work under a $1.2 million federal contract overseen by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Walla Walla District.  

The causeway, located at the confluence of the Yakima and Columbia rivers in Richland, restricts water flow and elevates temperatures west of Bateman Island, conditions that harm salmon migration, favor invasive species and fuel algal blooms and mosquitoes, the Corps said.  

Equipment works shovel by shovel to remove the land making up the Bateman Island causeway.

| Photo by Nathan Finke 

The project aims to restore natural water movement, improve aquatic habitat and strengthen the overall health of the Yakima River Delta ecosystem.   

Phil Rigdon, superintendent of the Yakama Nation Department of Natural Resources, said in a statement that he is hopeful that by February, “we will have the opportunity to see the river restored to its natural state. That’s the exciting part – those things that we value as native people … It’s about the spirit of where our people, our history and our way of life have always been tied to the river, the fish and our connection to the coast.”