In 2010, CCNRD completed construction of the CMZ 6 side channel project. The objective of the Lower Wenatchee River Channel Migration Zone (CMZ) 6 Side Channel project is to increase habitat diversity and off channel refuge and rearing opportunities for juvenile steelhead and spring and summer Chinook salmon. The project is located at RM 3.5 where construction of US 2 disconnected the river from a 23 acre floodplain and 1,400 foot side channel. The project will create a 500 foot side channel in WSDOT Right-of-Way on the south side of US 2. This channel includes 300 feet of newly excavated channel connecting to 200 feet of existing side channel which was excavated by WSDOT to drain the disconnected oxbow habitat to the north of US 2. The inlet channel will be excavated to mimic existing side-channel habitat on the Wenatchee River by allowing flows through an upstream connection during spring runoff. Summer water depths will be maintained by a backwater connection with the Wenatchee River making the habitat accessible to salmonids year-round. Based on the BPA-funded Alternatives Analysis (Jones and Stokes 2008), complete reconnection of the disconnected floodplain (Alt. 3) would be cost prohibitive at $1.5 million, difficult to promote with landowners due to projected orchard flooding , and questionable from a habitat quality perspective due to existing water quality concerns. The complete alternatives analysis is attached in the documents section.