Columbia Basin Project were built at the north and south ends of Grand Coulee, the dry canyon south of Grand Coulee Dam, allowing the coulee to be filled with water pumped up from the Columbia River. The resulting reservoir, called Banks Lake, is about long. Banks Lake serves as the CBP's initial storage reservoir. Additional canals, siphons, and reservoirs were built south of Bank Lake, reaching over . Water is lifted from Lake Roosevelt to feed the massive network. The total amount of the Columbia flow that is diverted into the CBP at Grand Coulee varies a little from year to year, and
Laser light show (Grand Coulee Dam) Laser light show (Grand Coulee Dam) "The laser light show" at Grand Coulee Dam, which began in 1989, is one of the largest light shows in the U.S.. The 37 minute show runs daily from Memorial Day through September 30. An addition of fireworks lights up the sky above the dam each Memorial Weekend Sunday and July 4. The Grand Coulee Dam premiered its first non-laser light show in 1957. Approximately 740 flood lamps near the base of the dam lit up the dam, but not enough water flooded down the spillway for the desired effect. Lasers for the show