Tag Archives: hydro

Hydro Power!

Snoqualmie Falls may be impressive but they would be even more so if there weren’t a diversion of a lot of the water.  There are two hydroelectric power stations at the Falls.  The original station is built into the Falls themselves.  Water is taken off at one side and drops down to some turbines before being ejected alongside the base of the falls.  The exiting water can be seen from above.

The second station was built a few years later and has been expanded since.  Water is ducted around the Falls to a holding pond where it then enters some pipes that run it down the side of the hill to a turbine hall.  The hall has been replaced and expanded relatively recently but the style has been kept in keeping with the original.  The pipes also look like they have been replaced because they looked quite new.  As we walked across them, it was hard to imagine just how much power was flowing within.