Hood River Watershed Group has started a project on the Hood River just below where the Powerdale Dam used to be to add some side channels in the old flood plain.  Watershed Group Executive Director Cindy Thieman said a pipe to send water down to the Powerdale Powerhouse created a berm along the river that cutoff the flood plain.  This project is removing some of that fill at connection points to create another perennial side channel to provide good habitat for fish.  Thieman adds there is one channel there already that the project is mimicking where coho salmon spawn.  The project will take about a month-and-a-half to complete.