The Eklutna Hydroelectric Project, built in 1955, has dried up the lower Eklutna River and cut it off from the lake and upper tributaries for 73 years. Currently, no water flows from Eklutna Lake to Eklutna River, as 90% of the water is diverted for hydropower and 10% for Anchorage drinking and wastewater. This river used to be a thriving salmon river with all 5 species of salmon that the Eklutna People have relied on for generations. These populations still hold on in drastically diminished numbers in the last few miles of the river where Thunderbird Creek contributes adequate flows​.

When the local Eklutna Hydroelectric Project Owners (Chugach Electric, Matanuska Electric, and Municipality of Anchorage) bought the project from the Federal Government in the 1990s, a 1991 purchase agreement set a requirement for the Project Owners to develop a Fish and Wildlife Program. The purpose of this program is to develop and implement measures to “protect, mitigate damages to, and enhance fish and wildlife (including related spawning grounds and habitat)” to counteract impacts of hydroelectric development in the Eklutna Valley. The plan was required to begin implementation by 30 years after the sale date. In April 2024, the Project owners (Municipality of Anchorage, Chugach Electric and Matanuska Electric) sent Proposed Final Fish and Wildlife plan to the Governor for adoption, but the Anchorage Assembly and Mayor LaFrance object to the Portal Valve option in the plan (upon taking office in July, Mayor LaFrance submited a letter​ to the Governor with the MOA’s formal response to the stakeholder comments received. In August, the Governor invited parties to the 1991 Agreement to make presenatations on their positions on the proposed Fish & Wildlife Program. In response, the Municipality of Anchorage submitted a brief to the Governor on its position on the Final Proposed Fish and Wildlife Program and the Anchorage Assembly and Native Village of Eklutna took a landmark joint action to adopt a resolution in support of exploring pumped storage hydropower as an alternative to the option proposed by the minority owners. In October 2024, the Governor issued his final decision​, which allows for an option for the Municipality's Anchorage Hydropower utility and the Native Village of Eklutna to include the study of the Pumped Storage Hydro alternative. The parties are currently studying and pursuing the options.

The Assembly has passed several resolutions and ordinances in recent years stressing its support for full restoration of the Eklutna River. This differs from the Project Owner’s proposal in the 2023 draft Fish and Wildlife Program, which proposes keeping the dam as it is, pulling water from the lake, directing it through an Anchorage Water and Wastewater Utility (AWWU) pipe, and releasing it a mile downstream of the dam. At a cost of $57M, this plan would only release a small amount of water and continue to leave a mile of river directly below the dam dry, causing concern for supporters of full river restoration.​

As part of the ongoing work in the once-in-a-generation effort to restore the Eklutna River, a secondary issue has arisen because the Project Owner’s proposed Draft Fish and Wildlife Program would bind the Municipality’s water rights for decades to come and put Municipal taxpayers on the hook for a large portion of the mitigation project. Since spring 2024, the Assembly has been taking legal actions to better understand this issue and safeguard the Municipality’s water rights and protecting taxpayers from a giant bill.