SSoommee DDaamm –– HHyyddrroo NNeewwss and Other Stuff i 11/03/2006

Quote of the Day: It is inaccurate to say I hate everything. I am strongly in favor of common sense, common honesty, and common decency. This

H. L. Mencken makes me forever ineligible for any public office. --

for any public office. H. L. Mencken

Dams Army Corps to inspect dams for quake damage The Honolulu Advertiser, October 27, 2006 HILO, Hawai'i — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is deploying a team of eight dam safety specialists to survey dams in the wake of the Oct. 15 earthquakes.

The Army Corps will work with the Federal Emergency Management Agency and state Department of Land and Natural Resources to inspect 84 high-hazard dams starting Oct. 29, with the inspections conducted over two weeks.

"This work will be done under a FEMA Technical Assistance Mission," said Derek Chow, Honolulu District's project manager for the Dam Safety Inspection Mission. "We (the Corps) are coordinating with state officials on the scope, timing and other requirements."

Initial inspections on the Big Island and Maui have been completed by non-Corps resources. However, Big Island dams will be re-inspected by the Corps.

The federal Bureau of Reclamation will complete Maui dam inspections Oct. 28, and no further inspections of Maui dams will be conducted by the Corps.

Five Corps geotechnical engineers will inspect Kauai dams, while three Corps geotechnical engineers will survey the Big Island dams and then the Oahu dams. 1 Copy obtained from the National Performance of Dams Program: http://npdp.stanford.edu

The inspections will be conducted in accordance with the "Hawaii Dam Safety Guidelines: Seismic Analysis & Post-Earthquake Inspections," which can viewed on the state DLNR website under Dam Safety Program at: http://www.hawaii.gov/dlnr/

(You have to read the last paragraph to understand what this is really about!)

Ceremony celebrates removal of dam

$1.7 million project to improve Cuyahoga

By Bob Downing, Beacon Journal, Akron, OH, 10/28/06

MUNROE FALLS - Summit County, Munroe Falls and the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency on Friday celebrated the completion of a $1.7 million dam removal on the Cuyahoga River.

Under rainy skies, 22 members of the Stow-Munroe Falls High School marching band performed in a new riverside amphitheater made of stones from the old dam. A ribbon was cut, speeches were delivered and an oak tree was planted at Brust Park next to the free-flowing river.

``Do you believe how beautiful that is?'' asked Elaine Marsh of the Friends of the Crooked River, an Akron- based group devoted to the Cuyahoga River.

The dam -- 144 feet wide and 11 ½ feet high -- was largely gone by late 2005. The stagnant pool behind the dam disappeared. The narrow river now tumbles over a rocky ledge. Trees and grass are growing on the banks.

Munroe Falls would like to see a restaurant and a bike rental plus park development next to the Cuyahoga River along North Main Street (state Route 91), said Mayor Frank Larson.

The city envisions Brust Park hosting arts and crafts shows, concerts and car shows along with bicycling, canoeing and kayaking, he said.

Removing the Munroe Falls dam and modifying the dam in Kent are expected to improve the Cuyahoga's water quality. The EPA wanted the two dams changed to reduce stagnant pools, improve water flow and increase dissolved oxygen and fish and insect populations.

The Kent dam was modified in 2004 so the river can flow around it. That change has already had a major impact on fish and insect populations, to the point that the river meets EPA standards, said William Skowronski, Ohio EPA district director.

The river at Munroe Falls is expected to attract more fish and aquatic insects very soon, he said.

Summit County and Kent are the biggest beneficiaries of the dam projects. That's because their sewage plants discharge into the Cuyahoga River. They would have faced costly bills for sewer plant improvements if the dams had not been removed.

2 Copy obtained from the National Performance of Dams Program: http://npdp.stanford.edu

(Sometimes fixing a dam is a perplexing problem. No one wants to take responsibility!)

Dams have Middlesex residents upset

One failed; another has forced the closing of the road atop it BY LAWRENCE LATANE III, Richmond, VA TIMES-DISPATCH, 10/30/06 SALUDA Fall colors reflecting off the surfaces of Middlesex County millponds hide longstanding predicaments in the rural, Middle Peninsula county.

At Hilliard Pond, homeowners have been urging state government since September 2004 to replace the dam they say failed because of lack of state oversight.

At Healys Pond, more than a dozen miles away, state Route 629 is closed to through traffic because engineers are afraid the dam the road crosses has been rendered unstable by leaks. The Virginia Department of Transportation closed the road in February and has no plans to fix it because it does not own the dam.

Both situations are fraying the patience of local leaders who are anxious to have the problems fixed.

A drain on the county

State Route 629 was one of the county's busiest secondary roads, channeling 880 vehicles a day through a lush landscape of farm fields and dense forests.

Hilliard Millpond has cost the county financially. The Board of Supervisors took $40,000 from its road fund in 2003 to help residents around the pond build a dam to replace one that had broken.

Now, with the dam breached once more and Hilliard Millpond reduced to a puddle surrounded by acres of mudflats, county finances are being affected again. Commissioner of the Revenue Mary Lou Stephenson said her office cut the values of the 22 parcels surrounding the pond by a total of $260,000 because they can no longer be considered valuable waterfront property. The reductions cost the county $1,352 in lost tax revenue this year.

"We're quite upset," said County Administrator Charlie Culley as he reflected on problems that appear to have no easy solutions.

Waters have been impounded at the two millpond sites for hundreds of years in keeping with the Middle Peninsula's role as a grain-growing region. Numerous tributaries of the Rappahannock and Piankatank rivers yielded natural sites for ponds in the 18th and 19th centuries to power stone grist mills for making flour.

Problems began in 2002

Hilliard Millpond's problems began in April 2002 when the dam broke days after a VDOT contractor used jackhammers to install stone rip-rap along state Route 602 near the dam.

VDOT never accepted blame for the dam breach, but, because it improved the dam in the 1960s and owned a right of way across it, it allowed the county to allocate $40,000 from its road fund toward the dam's repair. The 22 landowners around the pond created the Hilliard Mill Pond Dam Association and raised another $40,000.

Association president Joe Longton said the group then met with members of the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation and its Department of Dam Safety to plan rebuilding.

3 Copy obtained from the National Performance of Dams Program: http://npdp.stanford.edu

The association hired a contractor recommended by the department to replace a portion of the dam. It paid $80,000 to Watershed Services of Mechanicsville to build a new dam that tied to an existing earthen wall. The company completed the work in July 2003. Then a section of the pre-existing wall ruptured in September 2004 and the association paid Watershed $18,500 to repair the damage. That work kept the pond intact until July 2005 when the wall broke for good, causing the millpond to drain.

So far, the dam association has not repaired the damage because it is at loggerheads with the Department of Conservation over who is responsible for new construction.

At odds on responsibility

Scott Cahill, director of Watershed Services, said Longton forced him to stop work on new repairs that should have prevented the wall from failing again. "We've worked on hundreds of dams all over the eastern U.S. and never had a problem like this," Cahill said of the dam and his company's frosty relationship with Longton.

Longton maintains that the state should pay to rebuild the dam because he had been assured by state employees that the dam was being built to state specifications.

When it broke, he discovered that the department had little record of the project and was unwilling to finance new repairs.

"I was working with the Department of Dam Safety and trusting it for direction," Longton said recently as he stood on his deck overlooking a narrow stream flowing across a mudflat once covered by lake water.

To further complicate matters, none of the state employees involved in the original dam construction project still work for the Department of Conservation and Recreation or its Department of Dam Safety, said Del. Harvey B. Morgan, R-Middlesex..

"The department has a new engineer and a new director, neither of whom knows anything about this situation because no one left any records."

Morgan has considered filing a bill to make the state pay for the dam replacement, but faces his own obstacle: "The committee wouldn't consider it unless [Longton] has exhausted all other possibilities, including court action."

Longton said the $58,500 association members spent to replace the dam in 2003 has exhausted the finances of the group, leaving none for launching a civil suit against the contractor.

Association members, he said, "barely scratched together the dollars the first time and the state squandered it by not seeing [the dam] was done right."

The county feels the same way. "We thought we had that one straight," Culley said, noting the supervisors' decision to release road fund money to help pay for the repair job. "It's just money we don't have anymore. We felt it should have been fixed correctly."

The Department of Conservation and Recreation's deputy director, Russ Baxter, met with Longton recently and agreed to try to help repair the dam. Baxter said there may be money through various grant funds, if the dam association agrees to open the pond to public fishing or recreational access. But such financial arrangements are uncertain.

"We did commit at least to trying to think out of the box," Baxter said.

Another pond problem

4 Copy obtained from the National Performance of Dams Program: http://npdp.stanford.edu

Meanwhile, at the Board of Supervisors' request, VDOT is studying options for reopening state Route 629 at Haleys Millpond.

It too offers no clear solutions.

"We're not saying we would do the work," said Marcie Parker, the department's residency administrator in Saluda.

She said all VDOT has is an easement to cross the dam -- a vestige of 1930s legislation that transferred existing roads from county to state control. VDOT has no responsibility to fix the dam because it belongs to a private landowner, Parker said.

"It may be up to the county if they want to participate with the owner of the dam, or if they want the owner to repair it," she said. "I'm not sure what VDOT's final decision is going to be."

Isabella Dam now ranked most at-risk due to new concerns - Part 1 10/31/06, Bakersfield, CA

The Isabella Dam is under new restrictions, now that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has identified a new risk to the dam.

As Eyewitness News was first to uncover, the Isabella dam is now ranked the most at-risk. Risk is determined by the probability of problems in the dam, and how much damage would be caused -- if it failed.

The new concerns at Isabella have led to immediate changes in the dam operation as a precaution, while engineers study the conditions.

Using the Freedom of Information Act, Eyewitness News has tracked the latest studies on the dam, and discovered the new concern about "seepage" at the Auxiliary Dam.

"If it's uncontrolled, that means seepage can become massive," Corps Branch Chief John Hess told Eyewitness News. "It can start eroding the soil either in the foundation of the dam or the dam itself."

Hess says all dams seep, but they're keeping a close watch on the current seepage readings at Isabella. "Again, the structure is safe right now, but we don't want to get an unsafe condition -- and it's possible that could happen rapidly if we don't take some precautions."

As a first precaution, the Corps has now ordered lower levels for the lake. The Corps now wants the lake water 20-feet below the spillway.

Will that reduce the risk? "By lowering the dam a little bit, the 20-feet, then we greatly alleviate the concerns," Dam Safety Manager Ronn Rose says.

Kern Water Master Chuck Williams says local agencies are ready and willing to lower the lake. "When the Corps or someone says, 'hey there may be a problem' -- then we're going to cooperate and we're prepared to do that."

Williams says the Corps has now taken over operation of the dam, which has only been done six or seven times since the dam was built in 1953.

With the lake being lowered, the amount of water released in the Kern River has increased sharply -- and will continue to increase. The river levels could reach 5,000 cubic feet per second through the canyon by next week.

Bakersfield Water Resources Director Florn Core says there hasn't been that much water in the river since 1998.

Emergency responders are warning people using the river and living near it to be extra careful. "First, stay out of the river," Kern County Sheriff Sgt. Mike Kirkland tells Eyewitness News. 5 Copy obtained from the National Performance of Dams Program: http://npdp.stanford.edu

Kirkland heads up the Sheriff's Search and Rescue units. He has more advice. "If you do go in the river, wear a life vest and avoid drugs and alcohol." County departments are also putting together safey information that will go out to the public by next week.

Eyewitness News was first to uncover the new Corps report that came out March 22nd. It reads in part, Isabella Dam...."was found to have an unacceptably high probability of failure combined with a very high consequences of failure."

In other words, while the probability of failure is still low -- if something went wrong, a large area would be flooded. The new report lists the possible impacts if the dam failed when the lake was full.

"Downstream consequences of dam failure at full pool would include inundation of a significant portion of the town of Lake Isabella just downstream of the Auxiliary Dam, and inundation of most of the City of Bakersfield, California (up to 30 feet deep), along with inundation of major interstate highways, railroads, oil production facilities, etc." reads the report.

After finding this report, Eyewitness News contacted Kern County Emergency Services for their input. Emergency director Georgianna Armstrong had not been notified, and wondered when the Corps intended to do that.

"When you called me, yes I did say that -- but this is very recent," Armstrong says. She thinks the new findings and immediate response mean the local situation is being carefully monitored. And her response to the dam being the Corps' most at-risk?

"Actually, that number-one ranking is going to put us first in line to mitigate that risk. And, that's a good thing," Armstrong told Eyewitness News.

Corps engineers hope for $2-million dollars in next year's federal budget to continue the studies needed to figure out a long-term solution to the concerns at Isabella Dam.

Dam Safety Manager Ronn Rose tells Eyewitness News Isabella got $330,000 this year, which is a lot more than previous years. These funds have gone into the initial studies.

For now, the Corps has ordered that lowering of the lake levels and daily visual inspection of the dam. Plus, the monitoring instruments will now be read every-other day -- that had been done monthly.

The Corps' Hess says Isabella Dam has the agency's attention all the way to their Headquarters. And he adds, "I don't think anybody should feel like there's a risk for immediate dam failure, but we want to make sure the public can have confidence in that structure because it contributes a lot to that community."

Dam safety question still haunts Gila Valley By Steph Slater, Eastern Arizona Courier, 11/1/06 Surrounded by the walls of five dams, residents of the Safford area take comfort in knowing their homes are safe from the raging floodwaters of heavy rainfall or runoff from Mount Graham — but will the dams hold?

Four out of the five dams known as Central Detention, Frye Creek, Stockton Wash and Graveyard Wash, were classified as deficient and unsafe in 1981, more than 20 years before the catastrophic Nuttall Complex wildfire, which cleared 30,000 acres. The only dam holding its own appears to be the Frye Mesa Dam. “When I was brand new on the job in 1981, we had a huge storm that caused flood- waters at the Graveyard Wash Dam to fall 3 feet below the spillway, and we should have evacuated Safford. There was no emergency evacuation plan in place,” Robert Porter, special project coordinator for the city of Safford said.

Porter, the former public works director, said city, county and neighboring communities are now working to coordinate if the maximum flood from what they call the “design storm” occurs.

“In a nutshell, 3.5 inches of rain would have to fall in roughly six hours to fill the spillway,” Porter said.

Although this scenario does not seem likely to most people, in 1978 the warm rains melted snow atop the mountain peaks and caused the dam to crack and then leak. Those living just below the wash were evacuated in the middle of the night. 6 Copy obtained from the National Performance of Dams Program: http://npdp.stanford.edu

“When I learned about the dam crack of ‘78, I’ve been watching it like a hawk,” Porter said.

Safford Utilities Director Jay Howe said the state of the dams is definitely an issue that needs more attention. The city of Safford is working with the local police and fire departments in the community to create an organized course of action. Howe said they are still in the developmental stages of the evacuation plan.

“Some people in the community would rather push this issue under the rug and not worry about what could happen, but that’s not going to be my approach,” Howe said.

In late July of last year, Porter issued a document along with Safford Police Chief John Griffin to summarize the grave situation of one particular dam, Graveyard Wash. Due to the 2004 Nuttall Complex fire and the dam’s age, the 100-year storm protection of that dam was reduced to only a 42-year protection.

“This structure, which was built in 1964, was designed to impound runoff from the Deadman Canyon on Mount Graham. The Nuttall Complex fire burned much of the Deadman Canyon watershed,” Porter said.

During the entire monsoon season, the runoff from Mount Graham exceeded 16 inches, with Safford’s recorded rainfall at about 6.5 inches. Although the rain appears to have improved the health of the mountain, many more rains are needed before it can reach an optimal level of health and replenish the damage of the Nuttall wildfire and many others.

“In the severely burned areas, the vegetation is not returning, so the runoff there is bad. For the most part, the health of the forest is returning,” Safford Ranger District Biologist Anne Casey said.

Casey said although many are concerned with flooding in the Gila Valley, she is happy with the current condition of the forest because it is heading toward a more natural level of runoff.

Thatcher Town Manager Terry Hinton also said he is not concerned with the heavy rains and runoff from Mount Graham. The fact that the dam in his town limits, the Frye Creek Dam, has been labeled unsafe does not seem to raise his eyebrows.

“The government changed the rules after they built these dams. They basically changed the requirements of the size of the spillway,” Hinton said.

As for plans of evacuation and other emergency procedures, Hinton said Thatcher updates these procedures annually. He also said the county, Thatcher and Safford are working together to coordinate these plans.

They are also sharing grants to conduct studies on the needed repairs for each dam.

Hydro (Why is it that our Canadian friends can figure out that hydro can contribute significantly to the renewable energy future and we can’t seem to get it right? In fact, we can’t even get the Congress to admit that hydro is a renewable. Someone has to be blunt about the facts. The environmental lobby has become the greatest obstacle to hydro. Hydro should be a part of the solution to our concerns about the environment, global warming and energy independence.) Hydropower and Other Renewables: Best Source of Electricity for Canadians CNW Group, 11/1/06 Minister Lunn Speaks at the 7th Annual Forum on Hydropower

OTTAWA, Oct. 31 /CNW Telbec/ - Over 120 energy experts from across Canada met in Gatineau, Québec last week to discuss the opportunities and challenges for the renewable electricity industry, and how

7 Copy obtained from the National Performance of Dams Program: http://npdp.stanford.edu

hydropower and other renewables can build on potential synergies for a cleaner and more sustainable future. Since Canada signed the Kyoto Protocol almost ten years ago, air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions have continued rising despite our increasing understanding of the sources and solutions. Oil, gas and coal industries, transportation, and electricity generation represent the main sources of greenhouse gas emissions and air pollutants in Canada. Since 1997, electricity sector emissions alone have increased by 30 percent because new growth in demand has mostly been met by coal and natural gas-fired plants.

Minister Lunn Highlights the Role of Hydropower

"Using additional hydropower capacity could make a substantial contribution to reducing greenhouse gases and air pollution both in the United States and here at home," said federal minister of Natural Resources Gary Lunn, addressing delegates at the seventh Forum on Hydropower. "However, action on regulatory efficiency is essential to ensure the continued development of hydropower and other renewables."

Fulfilling Our Renewable Potential

"With renewable energies working together, Canada can hope to achieve a clean, sustainable, and renewable electricity mix," said Pierre Fortin, president of the Canadian Hydropower Association. "Today hydropower supplies about 60 percent of current electricity production - wind and solar less than 1 percent - but the potential for development is enormous(1)." A recent study(2) reveals an untapped potential of 163,000 MW of hydropower, over twice the amount in operation. "This potential," added Mr. Fortin, "is available in all 13 provinces and territories, and can be developed with respect for the environment and in collaboration with Aboriginal peoples, as recent historical agreements in Québec and Manitoba have shown." Hydropower is the best source to support the development of other renewables such as wind and solar, which need the support of a base load source of energy. As the production of electricity from intermittent sources of renewable energy increases, the need for complementary energy storage systems will also increase. Hydropower and wind energy in particular are a great match because their peak production times complement each other. Wind is at its mightiest in winter when hydropower reservoirs are low.

Lifting Obstacles to Clean, Renewable Development

By further developing hydropower and other renewable sources of electricity, Canada can preserve its traditional role as a world-renowned leader in clean renewable energy. However, to do so Canada must place caps on industry emissions and set more ambitious targets for the development of renewables, including more hydropower. Changes to the environmental permitting of electricity projects are also necessary to ensure that hydropower projects continue to be developed in Canada. The current environmental assessment process puts excessive emphasis on local impacts and does not take into consideration large-scale negative impacts on the environment such as acid rain, smog or global warming, which have serious detrimental effects on the health of Canadians as well as fisheries and forests; that it does not do so privileges fossil fuel power plants over hydropower plants. On average, a hydropower project requires eight to twelve years of preparation, from the preliminary step to its commissioning, whereas a thermal power plant can be operational in two to four years. Hydropower and other renewable sources of electricity provide greater ecological, economic and social advantages than any other energy source. They are the solution to meeting our electricity needs, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and controlling air pollution. However, to ensure the realization of their potential, regulatory obstacles must be lifted.

About the Canadian Hydropower Association

Founded in 1998, the Canadian Hydropower Association (CHA) is the national association dedicated to representing the interests of the hydropower industry. Its principal mandate is to promote hydropower nationally and internationally as a source of renewable energy, to make the economic and environmental advantages of hydropower better known, and to publicize the benefits of hydropower in the search for sustainable energy solutions. CHA members represent more than 95% of the hydropower capacity in Canada. www.canhydropower.org.

8 Copy obtained from the National Performance of Dams Program: http://npdp.stanford.edu

Water (From down under - What’s the old saying: “Whiskey is for drinking, and water is for fighting”?) Tracking water thieves 'hard work' October 25, 2006

The drought is creating a new breed of water thieves but proving they are taking the valuable liquid is incredibly difficult.

NSW Detective Senior Constable Phil McCloskey, at the forefront of investigating the problem in the state, says the job is hard because few clues are left behind.

He is investigating two cases of suspected water theft and says generally the only clues left behind - and then only in some cases - are tyre marks near farm dams and tanks.

Snr Const McCloskey works with the Monaro Rural Crime Investigation Unit and says every report has to be taken at face value because of the lack of clues.

"Dams are naturally drying up anyway because of the drought," he told AAP.

"So trying to prove water has actually been stolen can be tough."

And once the water has been removed from the tank or dam it is untraceable.

"It's not like having your TV stolen, water doesn't have a serial number," Snr Const McCloskey said.

In the regions surrounding Canberra there have been a string of water thefts, including one from a school.

Snr Const McCloskey says part of the attraction for thieves in his region is the number of small scale hobby farms.

"It comes back to the demographics of the region ... a lot of hobby farmers who rely on rainwater for their domestic use," he said.

Environment 111 Businesses, Organizations Oppose White House Efforts to End Federal Geothermal, Hydropower Research, Development Programs Funding U.S. Newswire, 11/1/06 9 Copy obtained from the National Performance of Dams Program: http://npdp.stanford.edu

To: City Desk

Contact: Ken Bossong of the Sustainable Energy Network, 301-588-4741

WASHINGTON, Nov. 1 /U.S. Newswire/ -- In a letter sent to the White House today, 111 business, environmental, faith-based, energy-policy and other organizations -- joined by 50 additional individual signers -- urged President Bush to restore funding to the federal geothermal and hydropower research and development programs. The administration is seeking to end support for both programs in its Fiscal Year 2008 budget request. Instead, the letter recommended that these programs be funded "at a level at least equal to that provided in Fiscal Year 2005 (FY'05), if not higher."

The letter stated that "the nation can achieve its goals of curbing energy imports, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, stabilizing energy prices and protecting national security only if it supports the full spectrum of renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies including geothermal and hydropower. Study after study has confirmed the potential of both geothermal energy and a range of hydropower technologies (both conventional and new, such as ocean wave, tidal and hydrokinetic) to address the nation's near-term energy needs economically and in an environmentally sound manner."

"Shutting down DOE research will set-back efforts to utilize our largely untapped geothermal resources," said Karl Gawell, executive director of the Geothermal Energy Association. "Geothermal stands as the only renewable resources of any size that can meet consumer needs for affordable baseload power, reducing the need for greater reliance on fossil fuels and nuclear power. In addition, geothermal can directly contribute to hydrogen generation, clean biomass fuel conversion and other needs."

"Exciting and cutting edge new technologies are underway in both conventional and non-conventional hydropower," added Linda Church Ciocci, executive director of the National Hydropower Association. "New technological advancements, such as ocean, tidal and in-stream power, will bring more clean, climate- friendly and renewable hydropower online at a time when the nation's energy demands continue to grow. However, a commitment from the federal government of R&D support is needed if the hydropower industry is to reach its full potential. Without funding, this valuable work will be halted, resulting in a needless delay in the deployment of these advancements."

The letter also noted that "the Office of Management and Budget as well as the U.S. Department of Energy are proposing that these programs be terminated next year because they are ‘mature’ technologies that can survive in the marketplace on their own. We believe this is an argument more appropriately applied to the range of fossil fuel and nuclear power programs that continue to be heavily subsidized and supported by the federal government. And while it is true that geothermal and hydropower technologies are now making important contributions to the nation's energy supply, significantly increasing this contribution requires federal support for the development and deployment of promising new, more efficient and environmentally friendlier technologies."

The full text of the letter and list of signers is available from the Sustainable Energy Network. Call 301-588- 4741 or email: [email protected] http://www.usnewswire.com/

iThis compilation of articles and other information is provided at no cost and should not be used for any purpose other than as free information for those interested in hydropower, dams, and water resources issues and development.

10 Copy obtained from the National Performance of Dams Program: http://npdp.stanford.edu

SSoommee DDaamm –– HHyyddrroo NNeewwss and Other Stuff i 11/10/2006

Quote of the Day: “Being in politics is like being a football coach. You have to be smart enough to understand the game, and dumb enough to think it’s important.” -- Eugene McCarthy

Dams Nashville could flood if far-off dam fails Seepage could signal disaster in waiting By ANNE PAINE, Staff Writer, The Tennessean, 11/2/06 The potential for a catastrophic failure of the aging Wolf Creek Dam in Kentucky has many Middle Tennessee emergency planners mulling a Katrina-like scenario and preparing evacuation plans.

A break at the dam, where damp spots indicate growing seepage, could send the contents of the largest reservoir east of the Mississippi River roaring down the Cumberland River.

In a worst-case scenario, major flooding would occur in Celina, Hartsville, Gallatin, Hendersonville, Mt. Juliet, Goodlettsville, Lakewood and Nashville, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Corps officials say that while a large-scale disaster is possible, it's not likely, and they're monitoring the situation closely.

"We are in the process of making risk assessment studies to determine how we can lower the risk to public safety downstream of the dam," said Timothy McCleskey, Nashville District Corps soils design and dam safety section chief.

1

Copy obtained from the National Performance of Dams Program: http://npdp.stanford.edu

The Wolf Creek Dam, seen behind Plant Supervisor Dwayne Alley and Power Project Manager Larry Craig, is seeping and, without repairs, could give way, flooding towns downstream.

A $300 million, seven-year project to shore up the dam, which was built above caves and an eroding limestone base, is about to begin.

The limestone formations, called karst, are an issue with any structure in this area that holds back water, said Larry Weber, a geologist with Geosciences Design Group and national president of the American Institute of Professional Geologists.

"We're talking about conduits and holes in the bedrocks," he said. "That's a natural channel for water to bypass whatever structure you're trying to design."

If the Wolf Creek Dam were to give way while water levels are high in Lake Cumberland, the flood could sweep trailers, bridges, propane tanks and a host of other items downstream, adding to the damage.

Nashville could suffer $2.4 billion in damage, and 10,000 buildings could be flooded, a Corps document says.

Don Chambliss of Davidson County is upset that no public meeting has been held in Nashville to tell residents what might happen. "I think people ought to know," he said. "They ought to be able to look at these maps and get flood insurance if they want.

"Look at all the people in Katrina who had none and have lost everything."

Chambliss doesn't live in a flood plain, but his home is high on a bank beside the Cumberland River and his dwelling could be inundated if the dam breaks, according to information he has gleaned.

He bought flood insurance.

Chambliss has attended meetings that Corps officials have held elsewhere, including one last week in Goodlettsville, which straddles the county line between Davidson and Sumner and which could be flooded by water backing up Mansker Creek. About five residents showed up.

Lakewood City Manager Ronnie Pugh said he was concerned. "I want everyone in Lakewood to be aware of the problem the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is having," he said.

2

Copy obtained from the National Performance of Dams Program: http://npdp.stanford.edu

"Not that it's gonna' happen. The way these disasters are happening now, you say it won't, but dagburn it, it happens every day."

Lakewood, wedged between the Cumberland River and Old Hickory Lake, would be taking water from both sides, Corps maps show.

Corps officials began public meetings last August beside the Wolf Creek Dam, drawing large crowds, and they say they will hold sessions wherever they are requested.

Nashville is not on the schedule, but Kevin Penney, acting director of the Metro Office of Emergency Management, said a meeting would be arranged this month.

Metro is prepared with an "umbrella, multi-hazard plan" for disasters, he said, but intends to do an update focusing on the possibility of the dam's giving way.

"This is a recent hazard that has come to our attention. We've always known there was flooding, but nothing like this. There are a lot of things to consider, and it's not something that can happen overnight."

A Corps map with a margin of error of plus or minus 15 feet shows that Opry Mills and MetroCenter business park would be flooded, along with parts of downtown and east Nashville, most of Pennington Bend and land along the many creeks that flow into the Cumberland River.

The debris-strewn waters would peak about 45 feet above the Riverfront Park deck, rising and falling within about two week’s time.

There would be plenty of time for evacuation. The water would be expected to move slowly, overtopping or spreading around Old Hickory and Cordell Hull dams, if they hold.

The water could reach downtown Nashville in about 27 hours, with the level peaking a week later.

Planning under way A meeting scheduled Monday night in Sumner County, where Old Hickory Lake is edged with costly homes, was canceled that morning.

"We want to have some plans in place so we can provide information and answer questions," Sumner County Emergency Management Director Ken Weidner said. He said the gathering would be rescheduled.

"We've got inundation maps, but we want to go in and identify each house and each road."

In Wilson County, Melissa Riley, research and planning officer with that county's emergency management agency, called the Wolf Creek issue "a sleeper."

"People aren't aware of it, but it could have a dramatic impact. If it flooded, they wouldn't be able to get across some interstates and roads."

Highway 70 would be cut off in Mt. Juliet. About 1,200 homes could be flooded and several water plants could be knocked out, but the county has a plan, she said. It includes evacuating residents, securing homes, providing bottled water and encouraging people to have food and water to last two weeks, she said.

3

Copy obtained from the National Performance of Dams Program: http://npdp.stanford.edu

The Corps at work Water levels are being kept lower in Lake Cumberland to relieve pressure on the 54-year-old dam as rehabilitation work begins. Concrete will be pumped into the dam and a reinforcing wall built, officials said.

Some say the lake should be lower still, but that's not a popular idea on the Kentucky reservoir that gets 5 million visitors a year, has a $159 million impact on the local economy and provides drinking water and hydroelectric power.

Still, lowering the water further is under consideration.

"We're looking at impacts upstream and downstream," said Linda Adcock, Nashville District Corps dam safety program manager.

The Corps also is watching for sinkholes, settlement and muddy flow in the dam's tail waters, which could indicate damage to the dam. That would trigger water releases there and at dams downstream to lessen any impact if the dam would fail, Adcock said.

In the 1960s and 1970s, wet spots and sinkholes at Wolf Creek prompted remedial work, including a wall built along part of the dam. The water has found a new path under and maybe through the wall, according to the Corps.

Another Corps dam, at Center Hill Lake on the Caney Fork River in Middle Tennessee, is experiencing similar problems. At that site, water is gushing out beside the dam. A $240 million repair is planned.

Mack Prichard, who lives beside the Cumberland River in Nashville and who attended a Wolf Creek information meeting in Wilson County this summer, said the water could rise over his house.

"This would be a mega-disaster," said Prichard, the state naturalist. "That's like the sword of Damocles hanging over us. You're talking about a lot of water."

Hydro PUD plans for future power needs Nov 06, 2006, By David Cole, Columbia Basin Herald

EPHRATA -- The Grant County Public Utility District's management staff and commissioners have several energy resource options available as they consider their long-term power planning.

"Our responsibility at the PUD is to ensure that we can effectively meet the long-term power demands of our customers -- both old and new," said Tim Culbertson, PUD general manager.

"We are one of the few PUDs that do detailed planning out as far as 10 years," said Culbertson. "When the recent rate of local growth quickly outpaced our existing growth plans, we started a process to take a fresh look at our power supply planning."

4

Copy obtained from the National Performance of Dams Program: http://npdp.stanford.edu

Later this month, the commission is scheduled to review a report from PUD staff members on the county's resource needs and supply options. Currently, the bulk of the utility district's electricity flows from its dams, 62 percent of power output from Priest Rapids Dam, 36.5 percent from Wanapum Dam. Turbine replacements and future upgrades increase the dams' power generating capabilities.

The utility district, Culbertson said, has a greater array of power options than most electric utilities. Some of the PUD's available power resource options, besides the two dams, include:

• The full output of the Quincy Chute Hydroelectric Project and the Potholes East Canal Headworks Project, on Grant County irrigation canals.

• The Nine Canyon Wind Project, operated by Energy Northwest near Kennewick, supplies the PUD with 12 megawatts.

• The PUD's Randolph Road Diesel Generating Station, in Moses Lake, has a generating capacity of 32 megawatts.

• The PUD continues exploring wind power resources in Grant County, a biomass power project and a possible hydropower plant near Cle Elum.

• The PUD continues a power purchase contract with the Bonneville Power Administration through 2011.

• The utility district has an option interest in a coal gasification power plant to be built by Energy Northwest.

• The PUD's power marketers buying and selling power in regional markets each day.

Culbertson said an effective power resource strategy begins by determining the average power demand and peak power demand in Grant County. Summer peaks, driven by irrigation load, are similar to winter peaks, which are pushed upward by home heating. Industrial load remains nearly constant, year around, he said.

"We receive assistance from local economic development groups," said Culbertson, who's a board member of the Grant County Economic Development Council. "They help our power management people estimate growth in the coming years so we can effectively zero in on average and peak power demand."

The PUD integrates demand estimates with power supply information, he said. The end goal is to develop a strategy providing the best combination of power resource costs and risks, while meeting power reliability standards.

The commission, Culbertson said, reviews the power resource report this fall, once it's assembled by the PUD's power management specialists. The commission then considers policy decisions related to power resources, purchase costs and rate impacts.

Environment (It looks like there some people who do not agree on removal of the Snake River dams. And, the writer makes some good points.) Opinion Our Readers' Views November 3, 2006, The Columbian

Battle Ground

5

Copy obtained from the National Performance of Dams Program: http://npdp.stanford.edu

Dam removal is wrong

Removal of the Snake River dams is the wrong approach. It might make sense if Snake River fish were the only ones endangered, but they make up less than a third of the endangered fish in the Pacific Northwest. At least one coastal run with no dams and pristine habitat is also threatened. Snake River dams responsible? Seems unlikely. If the Snake River dams are removed, it will do nothing for the rest of the endangered runs.

If the Snake runs are in such danger of extinction that we have to remove the dams, why has the large increase in harvest over the past few years been allowed? Why is the current 25 to 40 percent harvest rate of endangered Snake River fish allowed? Why is this year's Snake River fall chinook run above the 10-year average, and why is it far above the 30-year average? Also, why do people need to quote 20-year-old statistics to prove how bad the dams are? Why do dams preferentially kill fish that taste good?

These questions need answers before we think about removing a valuable resource that keeps millions of tons of greenhouse gases out of the atmosphere each year.

Robert Neal

(Is this about the environment or hydro, or both?)

Xcel looks to hydro, wind power

BY DENNIS LIEN, Pioneer Press, 11/3/06

Faced with a future shortfall in meeting customer power needs, Xcel Energy is turning to hydroelectric and wind power to fill the gap.

The Minneapolis-based utility wants to buy more hydroelectric power from Manitoba and to buy or build more wind-generated power to meet a projected 375-megawatt shortfall in base-load power in the Upper Midwest. One megawatt typically serves 1,000 customers so a shortage of that magnitude means 375,000 customers could be affected.

In an application to the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission, Xcel proposes a combined hydroelectric/wind-power package starting in 2015 to fill the base-load shortfall. Base-load power is generation that's always available.

"The package is what makes it work,'' said Brian Zelenak, manager of regulatory administration for Xcel Energy, contending the approach has economic and environmental advantages.

Xcel would buy 375 megawatts of power from Manitoba Hydro beginning in 2015 and buy or generate 380 megawatts of wind power by 2015. Wind power, which is not always available, would complement the Manitoba Hydro power, which would be 95 percent hydroelectric and would be available during peak hours.

Xcel said the package would provide the same reliability as a new 375-megawatt coal plant, but would do it at a lower cost and with less pollution.

The utility's decision was hailed by environmental groups that are challenging a proposal from seven other utilities to build a 600-megawatt coal-fired power plant along the Minnesota-South Dakota border. They say the proposed Big Stone II power plant would boost carbon dioxide emissions, contributing to global warming.

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Copy obtained from the National Performance of Dams Program: http://npdp.stanford.edu

"This is a clear case where utilities operating in very similar parts of the region and with access to similar recourses made very different choices about how to meet their base-load energy requirements, and we are not sure why,'' said Bill Grant of the Midwest office of the Izaak Walton League of America, an environmental group. "Except, in one case, Xcel did factor in the future cost of global-warming emissions. In the other case, they did not. They came up with a different answer.''

Other power producers can propose competing projects for Xcel's customers through Dec. 18, with the utilities commission choosing whether one of them or Xcel's plan is better.

(If the hydro industry could get this organized in support of hydropower, then the debate for and against hydro would be played on a level playing field. At this point, NHA cannot do it alone; they need the help of everyone.) Act Now to Remove Klamath River Dams! by Dan Bacher, Nov 6th, 2006, SF Bay Area Independent Media Center Why take down the Klamath Dams?

The Klamath was once the third most productive salmon producing river in the United States. Today, because of ill conceived dams and a legacy of mismanagement, the Klamath is shadow of its former self. Before the dams, a million salmon returned to spawn each year. This year, for the third year in a row, fewer than 30,000 fish returned. That forced fisheries managers to dramatically curtail the salmon fishing season, putting fishermen up and down the California and Oregon coasts out of work.

The problem is a series of hydropower dams owned by energy company PacifiCorp. The dams were constructed without fish ladders, and they block salmon from accessing upwards of 300 miles of spawning habitat. The dams produce little power and provide no flood protection. The only thing they do is harm the Klamath River and its salmon. Additionally, the dams have devastating impacts on water quality in the Klamath River. Recent analysis of water samples from Copco and Iron Gate Reservoirs reveal extremely high levels of the toxic blue-green algae Microcystis aeruginosa, which produces a compound known to cause liver failure and promote tumor growth. Samples taken from areas frequented by recreational users of the reservoirs contained cell counts as much as 3,900 times greater than what the World Health Organization (WHO) considers to be a “moderate health risk.”

PacifiCorp is currently seeking a license from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to operate the dams for another 30-50 years. Despite what some experts consider an ironclad case for the removal of PacifiCorp’s Klamath dams; FERC issued a draft environmental impact statement that recommends only modest changes to current dam operations.

FERC’s staff recommendation ignores the mandates of agencies for fish screens and ladders, and calls for dam removal from Tribes, conservation groups, and even NOAA Fisheries. The proposal to allow PacifiCorp to drive fish around the dams will not only perpetuate the damage caused by PacifiCorp’s dams, but it is illegal too.

FERC is woefully out of step with the rest of the Klamath stakeholders. Filings from the states of California and Oregon, four Klamath basin tribes, 10 environmental groups, and a host of federal agencies all support removing the Klamath dams. Even FERC’s own economic analysis shows that removing the Klamath dams will cost less than constructing the fish ladders and screens PacifiCorp will be required to install under a new license.

FERC is seeking comments from the public on the adequacy of their draft environmental impact statement. It is time FERC heard the voice of those who care for the Klamath and want to see it restored to its former glory. You can help by writing to FERC and telling them: • To mandate the removal of the lower four Klamath Dams. FERC only evaluated removing two dams in its draft environmental impact statement. The lower four dams are where most of the problem exists. All the agencies, tribes, conservation and fishing groups agree that removing the lower four dams will improve water quality and open up a vast amount of habitat for salmon, steelhead, and other species. • Dismiss the current FERC staff recommendation to ‘trap and haul’ fish around the dams in trucks. This preposterous idea does nothing to address the water quality degradation by the dams and gives salmon little hope for repopulating the upper Basin. 7

Copy obtained from the National Performance of Dams Program: http://npdp.stanford.edu

• Consider and incorporate into the final environmental impact statement the sediment study from the California Coastal Conservancy and the ruling of the administrative law judge in the Energy Policy Act hearings. The California Coastal Conservancy conducted a study of the sediment behind the dams. This study concludes dam removal could be done safely and affordably without leading to floods or exposing the river to toxins. Further, the ruling from the administrative law judge concluded “project operations have and continue to adversely affect” river health, including the resident trout fishery and riparian habitat. He also found that the measures required by the agencies would benefit threatened Coho salmon and other anadromous fish, resident trout, Pacific lamprey and riparian habitat.

iThis compilation of articles and other information is provided at no cost and should not be used for any purpose other than as free information for those interested in hydropower, dams, and water resources issues and development.

8

Copy obtained from the National Performance of Dams Program: http://npdp.stanford.edu

and SSoommee DDaamm –– HHyyddrroo NNeewwss and SSoommee DDaamm –– HHOtheyyr Sddtufrrf oo NNeewwss Other Stuff i 11/17/2006 Please excuse the length of this one, there is just too much going on out there.

Quote of the Day: “But to gather the streams from waste and to draw from them energy, labor without brains, and so to save mankind from toil that it can be spared, is to supply what, next to intellect, is the very foundation of all our achievements and all our welfare. If that purpose is not public, we should be at a loss to say what is. The inadequacy of use by the general public as a universal test is established.” -- Excerpts from an opinion written by Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes re an eminentCopy obtained domain from decision the National in Alabama, Performance January of Dams 24, Program: 1916. (Courtesy http://npdp.stanford.edu of Jim Hancock)

(Hydro once again enters into perilous times. It appears that Congressman Dingell will once again be at the helm of the House Energy & Commerce Committee. This will present major challenges. Historically, John Dingell has been a contradiction in motion. In the late 1970s, he badgered the FERC to streamline licensing to encourage more hydro development, and the FERC made a number of changes that did just that. The President at that time, Jimmy Carter, also took a number of actions to encourage hydro development. From the late 1970s and into the early 1980s, the FERC increased the number of hydro projects under its jurisdiction from over 500 to the more than 1600 projects in operation today, an impressive achievement. Then in 1986, the environmental lobby with the help of the Dingell staff and a few miss-guided utilities, coupled with a plethora of miss-information about the FERC’s handling of environmental issues and agency recommendations, pushed through ECPA which has led to where hydro is today. If there ever was a misnomer, ECPA (The Electric Consumer’s Protection Act) has to be it! The original intent of ECPA was to protect private licensees and their customers from the wholesale takeover of their hydro projects at the relicensing stage by publicly owned utilities. As it turned out, a Supreme Court case decided shortly after ECPA was enacted made that protection unnecessary, but it was too late. During the consideration of ECPA, Congressman Dingell almost single- handedly turned the legislation into major environmental law for hydro development and forever changed the FERC’s role in licensing. Even with the recent Energy Act amendments, licensing, in many people’s view, is an arduous, time-consuming, and costly process. The hydro industry will have to work much harder now and even with more effort – will it be enough?)

Other Stuff: (What? We’ve been saying this all along and now I guess because the Rand Corp. says the same, it has credibility. Huh! One problem – they don’t see a future for hydro, something the hydro industry will have to address.) 1 Copy obtained from the National Performance of Dams Program: http://npdp.stanford.edu

Alternative energy going more mainstream

Rand Corp. says goal of boosting U.S. renewable energy use to 25% of total consumption can be reached if trends continue. By Steve Hargreaves, CNNMoney.com staff writer, November 13 2006

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The United States could get a quarter of its energy from renewable sources by the year 2025 at little or no additional cost if oil prices stay high and the cost of renewable energy keeps falling, a study by Rand Corp. said Monday. Currently, renewable fuels such as ethanol, solar, water and wind power, account for about 6 percent of the country's energy usage, according to Rand, a nonprofit research group.

"Renewable technologies are not as far off the money at this point," said Rand energy economist Mike Toman. "None of this would wreck the economy." The study came in response to boosting the amount of renewable energy to 25 percent of total energy consumption by 2025, a goal generally supported by both the Bush administration and Democrats in Congress.

While many politicians, and now Rand Corp., believe reaching that goal is possible, the view is in stark contrast to oil companies, notably ExxonMobil. Exxon predicts renewables will only account for few percentage points of total energy usage by 2030 and cites that as a reason why it hasn't invested more heavily in the sector. Other oil companies, like BP, Shell, and ConocoPhillips, seem more open to renewable technologies, although their actual spending on them is difficult to determine.

Although 6 percent of U.S. energy comes from renewable sources, nearly half of that comes from large scale hydro-electric projects that have little growth potential going forward. Most of the rest of comes from ethanol and other so-called "biomass" fuels while wind and solar each make up a fraction of a percent, according to the Energy Information Administration.

Rand saidCopy the obtainedcost of renewables from the National needs to Performance fall by 20 percent of Dams between Program: now andhttp://npdp.stanford.edu 2025 for its prediction to be accurate - a decline that would be in line with historical trends. And Toman said the price of oil would have to remain high, above $45 a barrel, for the growth it projects for renewables.

He said the study assumed that cellulosic ethanol - ethanol made from any plant matter like wood chips or switchgrass and not just the food-bearing plants - would be economical in the near future. Currently the enzymes used to break down the plant fibers to make cellulosic ethanol are too expensive for that technology to be competitive.

Toman said the study assumed biodiesel and ethanol would partially replace fossil fuels in the transportation sector in the short term, with other technologies like hydrogen coming after 2025.

He said wind, biomass and limited solar would partially replace fossil fuels in generating electricity. Toman noted that the infrastructure to bring fuels like ethanol to market will be expensive. But he said diversifying away from oil would help lower its price, thereby offsetting the infrastructure costs and resulting in little or no net drag on the economy.

Dams

2 Copy obtained from the National Performance of Dams Program: http://npdp.stanford.edu

Dams help control area rivers Nov 07, 2006, The Daily News, Longview, WA

Although local rivers have exceeded flood stage, hydroelectric dams on the Lewis and Cowlitz rivers are helping to keep river levels much lower than they would be naturally.

The flow out of Mayfield Dam in Lewis County was 22,300 cubic feet per second this morning. That's only a fraction of the 95,000 cfs that the upper Cowlitz was dumping into upstream reservoirs, according to Sue Veseth, spokeswoman for Mayfield owner Tacoma Public Utilities. This means the Cowlitz hydroelectric dams were reducing flows out of the upper Cowlitz by about 75 percent.

Riffe Lake, the 23-mile long storage reservoir that Tacoma operates on the upper Cowlitz, still had about 33 feet of storage space in it, the amount the utility's federal license requires.

There were no immediate plans to increase flows out of Mayfield, Veseth said, but "that will depend on what happens" with the weather. Pacific Power's system of three dams on the Lewis River also substantially reduced flows to the lower. This morning, the flow out of Merwin Dam was about 40,000 cubic feet per second, less than half as much water as was flowing out of the upper Lewis Basin, said company spokesman Dave Kvamme.

"Our operations have focused on shaving off peak flows fro people. We were able to manage water in a way that we cut potential peak flow from 82,000 to 40,000 cfs," Kvamme said.

By comparison, the flow out of Merwin Dam during the disastrous February 1986 flood peaked at about 85,000 cfs, Kvamme said. Storm runoff into the upper Lewis Basis was dropping this morning, Kvamme said, and the reservoir system still had 30 feet of flood storage remaining.

"There is no snow in the upper basin right now and we're lucky in that we're not seeing a snowmelt situation. February 1996 was a markedly different situation. There were heavy snow packs. There was widespread regional rain. The columiba river was also at flood stage. That greatly affected the inflows from steams like the Lewis,"Copy Kvamme obtained said. from the National Performance of Dams Program: http://npdp.stanford.edu

(Maybe these folks need to change the name of this paper!) Emergency plans drafted for dams November 12, 2006, By BILL ZAJAC, The Republican

HOLYOKE - The city is in the process of having emergency response plans prepared for two of its reservoir dams, both of which carry the highest hazard potential.

Although the Tighe-Carmody dam in Southampton and the Whiting Street dam each carry the potential for loss of life in the event of severe flooding, Water Department Manager David M. Conti said this week that both present no imminent danger.

The emergency response plan is required by the state as part of periodic inspections. The plans, which are due by Dec. 31, are being prepared by the consulting engineering firm, Tighe & Bond. Dams that carry high hazard status require detailed inspection reports every two years, according to the state.

"The hazard potential addresses potential damage," said Vanessa A. Gulati of the state Department of Conservation and Recreation. "It does not address its condition. A brand-new dam could have a high hazard potential."

The city failed in an attempt several years ago to have the Whiting Street Reservoir dam's status lowered from high to significant hazard potential, Conti said. The Whiting Street Reservoir has not been used for the city's water supply for about 10 years, and its level is kept at a minimum of two feet below the spillway's water crest, he said.

3 Copy obtained from the National Performance of Dams Program: http://npdp.stanford.edu

The city's other reservoir dams carry a significant hazard potential status, which means that property damage could result from a major breach or flooding. The state requires detailed inspection reports every five years on dams with significant hazard status.

Inspection reports on dams at McLean Reservoir, Ashley Reservoir in Holyoke, and White Reservoir in Southampton were completed about two years ago, Conti said. Inspections will not be required for another three years on those dams, he said.

None of the city's reservoir dams carry low hazard potential status, which is the least severe of the three potential ratings. The city's water supply is fed by the city-owned Tighe-Carmody Reservoir in Southampton. The city-owned White Reservoir is drained and not in use.

Hydro (While this is a real success story in the annals of relicensing and a case that shows that it can be done by a can do organization, is 9 years really a reasonable time frame?) Chelan County PUD locks down long-term dam license Puget Sound Business Journal, 11/07/06 After a nine-year effort, a Chelan County public utility district has finally won regulatory approval to continue operating the Lake Chelan dam.

"This license would not have been possible without the collaborative relationships established though the Copy obtained from the National Performance of Dams Program: http://npdp.stanford.edu relicensing process and all the parties that came together to find solutions to some very difficult issues," said

Chelan County PUD Hydro Services Director Gregg Carrington in a release. "The new license strikes a balance between our core business function of producing power, environmental concerns, recreation and economic issues."

Under its new 50-year licensing agreement with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the public utility district will spend $53 million over the next half century on improving fish habitat, restoring streams and maintaining surrounding parks.

The new license follows a settlement agreement between the utility and the city of Chelan, the People for Lake Chelan, the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Nation, American Whitewater, the National Marine Fisheries Service, the U.S. Forest Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Park Service and the state departments of Fish and Wildlife and Ecology.

The utility began working on its application in 1997, seven years prior to the March 2004 license expiration date. Since then, the Chelan County PUD has operated the 48-megawatt hydroelectric plan under a series of annual licenses before receiving FERC approval in mid-October.

The new licensing agreement includes provisions for regulating lake levels, maintaining a minimum year- round flow of 80 cubic feet per second in the Chelan River, restoring streams, improving fish habitat and adding new trail. The PUD will also undertake erosion control and dock repairs and will continue to operate

4 Copy obtained from the National Performance of Dams Program: http://npdp.stanford.edu

Riverwalk, Old Mill and Manson Bay parks. Additionally, the utility will also be required to add a new pump station on the lower Chelan River to provide flow to streams fed by the lake.

The Chelan County PUD has until Nov. 17 to appeal any portion of the new licensing agreement. The utility is also seeking regulatory approval of its license application to operate the Rocky Reach dam on the Columbia River. The federal agency is expected to take action on that application by 2008.

(North of the border - why do they make it seem so much easier to develop hydro?)

Update - Hydroelectric Projects

CNW Group, 11/11/06

VANCOUVER, Nov. 10 /CNW/ - Highwater Power Corporation (TSX-V: HWP), (OTCPK: HWPFF) reports on the development and financing of the Company's Log Creek and Kookipi Creek run of river hydroelectric projects. Discussions have advanced on obtaining the required project financing. A non-binding Letter of Understanding to provide the balance of funds required to develop and construct the two projects has been entered into with another company. The Letter of Understanding is subject to a Due Diligence review period to December 1, 2006 and there is no guarantee that the review will result in the financing being successfully concluded. The forecast capital budget for the two projects is $50 million plus interest. The Letter of Understanding contains a non-disclosure clause and the name of the financing partner cannot be disclosed at this time. Highwater Power Corporation is continuing to complete the engineering, environmental and First Nations issues for the two projects, with each project being the holder of a 40 year E.P.A. with B.C. Hydro and Power Authority. Copy obtained from the National Performance of Dams Program: http://npdp.stanford.edu Highwater Power Corporation is a partner in a 7MW hydro electric plant which commenced power generation in 1995 under a 20 year B.C. Hydro electricity purchase agreement. The Company in July 2006 was awarded two 40 year Electricity Purchase Agreements from B.C. Hydro for the Log Creek and Kookipi Creek projects which are located 28 km northwest of Boston Bar, B.C.

Environment (It looks like voo doo economics has returned. Imagine, a fish is worth $200, when I can buy a can of salmon for less than $2.00 and fresh Salmon from the Northwest at the Whole Foods for about $10 per pound and that includes S&H. Discussion of jobs created by dam removal do not mention that they are temporary jobs. And, there is no mention of the increase in cost of power from losing cheap hydropower and replacing it with most likely gas turbines. And, very little is mentioned about a number of other negative economic factors, too numerous to mention. Oh well!)

Study: Dam removal would provide significant boost to Siskiyou County Economy California Chronicle, 11/12/06 Tourism and construction industries would see biggest benefit. Happy Camp, CA – Last week the Karuk Tribe filed a report with FERC that outlines the economic benefits of dam removal for Siskiyou County. The study was performed by Ecotrust, a Portland based NGO.

5 Copy obtained from the National Performance of Dams Program: http://npdp.stanford.edu

“Dam removal is about more than fish, it’s about jobs and the economy,” according to Karuk Vice chairman Leaf Hilllman. “This could be the biggest injection of capital this county has seen since the construction of Interstate 5.” Estimates of dam removal costs range from $100 to $200 million.

Hillman believes the funding will come from state, federal, and corporate coffers. “There’s a lot of pressure on elected officials to solve the Klamath Crisis. Dam removal is an investment that will pay big dividends by creating jobs, improving the fishery, and improving our water quality.”

Citing construction industry data, the study reveals that each dollar spent in the construction industry circulates through the local economy 2.35 times. “This means that if you spent $100 million on dam removal, you provide a $235 million boost to the local economy,” explains Hillman.

The study describes how dam removal grows jobs as well. The millions spent on dam removal would create over 2,000 temporary construction jobs, while creating sustainable long term jobs in ecotourism, fishing, and related businesses. “Jobs and fish are mutually inclusive,” says Hillman.

PacifiCorp currently employs 18 people to manage the dams.

Tribes and fishermen have been advocating for the removal of the lower four Klamath dams since the relicensing of PacifiCorp’s Klamath dams began in 2004. The dams were constructed between 1917 and 1964 for hydropower. Today, the dams are considered by many to be outdated. Explains Hillman, “These dams are relics of a bygone era. Its like trying to get your ’74 Pinto to pass a smog check. At some point its time to junk the Pinto and invest in a new car with modern emissions.”

Last month FERC, who oversees dam relicensings, issued a draft EIS. In it, FERC staff compared PacifiCorp’s ‘trap and haul’ proposal, installation of ladders as mandated by federal agencies, and the removal of two dams, Iron Gate and Copco 1. They concluded that dam removal would provide the most benefit for fish and water quality. They also found dam removal to be cheaper than installing ladders – saving PacifiCorp ratepayers $22 million a year. Copy obtained from the National Performance of Dams Program: http://npdp.stanford.edu Although FERC recommended trap and haul in the report, two days after it was filed a federal Judge ruled against PacifiCorp’s challenges to the feds’ mandate for fish ladders. Most relicensing experts agree that this ruling will likely lead FERC to include the mandate for ladders in the final EIS. Tribes hope that the cost of ladders will motivate PacifiCorp to surrender the dams instead of relicensing them.

“Dam removal is a winner for everyone,” said Hillman. “It would improve the fishery and along with it economies up and down the west coast as well as in the Basin. Secondly, dam removal will save PacifiCorp ratepayers money as we now know it’s the cheapest alternative that PacifiCorp can legally pursue. Finally, dam removal would create thousands of construction and restoration related jobs right here in Siskiyou County.”

Hillman concludes, “The time has come to restore of our most important resource, the Klamath River. We can’t afford to allow PacifiCorp or other dam huggers to stand in the way of economic growth in Siskiyou County,” concludes Hillman.

The Tribe hopes that County leaders will commit to helping develop a follow up study to evaluate impacts on individual property owners and develop mitigation strategies for anyone negatively impacted by dam removal.

Economic Benefits Identified by the Study

• Each fish caught by recreational fishermen is worth $200 to the local economy. If the number of fish caught by anglers were to double, this would be worth over $4.4 million annually to river communities.

• Each dollar spent in the construction industry in California cycles through local economies 2.35 times. This means that if $100 million was spent on dam removal it would provide a $235 million boost to the economy.

• For every $1 million spent in the construction industry in California, 21.5 jobs are created. This means that if $100 was spent on dam removal, 2,150 jobs would be created.[1] 6 Copy obtained from the National Performance of Dams Program: http://npdp.stanford.edu

• Doubling the number of fish in the river would create 71 permanent jobs directly related to the fishery; 48 in recreational industry, 24 in commercial industry. Currently PacifiCorp employs only 18 people to operate the dams.

Future studies should address the following:

Impacts on private property owners – Although no thorough analysis has been performed to estimate how dam removal would affect private property owners around Iron Gate and Copco reservoirs, many studies exist that demonstrate a strong positive correlation between water quality and land values.

Mitigation strategies for affected parties – A better understanding of the costs and benefits to affected parties, such as private property owners and county governments is needed. This evaluation should develop potential mitigation strategies for individuals or counties that would experience a net negative economic impact upon dam removal.

SMUD dams face changes

U.S. seeks upgrade under relicensing

November 12, 2006, Sacramento Bee

The U.S. Forest Service is demanding major changes at American River dams owned by the Sacramento Municipal Utility District, changes that could improve one of the Sierra Nevada's most popular recreation areas.

The demands came in a massive Oct. 18 filing with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which is relicensing SMUD's 11 dams and eight powerhouses on the American River's south fork. The new license would allow SMUD to continue operating these facilities for 30 to 50 years. The Forest Service and others hope to improve recreation and wildlife habitat affected by the SMUD system. Copy obtained from the National Performance of Dams Program: http://npdp.stanford.edu

Bill Center, owner of Camp Lotus and a leader in the rafting community, stands on a rock below the Slab Creek Reservoir. He would like to see stream flows increased enough to allow rafting on this section of the American River, one of several changes proposed for SMUD's network of reservoirs and power plants on the river. Some of the other proposed changes: • Establishment of target reservoir levels for the summer months. • Improvements to recreational facilities around the system. • Payments to government agencies that provide services throughout the area.

Tensions have been high in the licensing process, which began in 2001 and is among the nation's most complex. Negotiations among the Forest Service, SMUD and other entities including recreation groups came to a halt in May amid disagreement over complicated water management issues. "It's one of the most important series of negotiations that have taken place in this region for some time," said Bill Center, president of the American River Recreation Association, a party to the negotiations.

The Forest Service filing raises the stakes. Under federal rules, its recommendations will dictate how SMUD operates the dams -- unless the parties agree to different rules in a settlement by Nov. 17. The document 7 Copy obtained from the National Performance of Dams Program: http://npdp.stanford.edu carries extra weight because it is the consensus of 13 government agencies and nonprofit groups including conservation and recreation advocates. SMUD has resisted major changes to its American River operations to protect its power-generating ability and avoid rate increases. The Forest Service and its partners, on the other hand, seek to bring the system in line with current environmental standards.

The dams' current operating rules were set in 1957 -- well before any major environmental laws. "We are at a critical juncture," said Genevieve Shiroma, president of the SMUD Board of Directors. "We acknowledge there is some sharp difference of opinion about what the ultimate relicensing should look like."

SMUD's dams and powerhouses, collectively known as the Upper American River Project, store a total of 425,000 acre-feet of water and generate 688 megawatts of energy. The system makes about 17 percent of SMUD's electricity on average, or enough to serve 180,000 homes. The system is unique in that it spans a vast mountain ecosystem. It begins with Rubicon Reservoir at an elevation of 6,545 feet in Desolation Wilderness, then drops through 10 more reservoirs to White Rock Powerhouse near Placerville, at 993 feet.

Some of the Forest Service's goals include:

• More water flow in affected streams, especially in spring. Details vary by location, season and weather, but in most cases flows would increase 10 percent to 30 percent year-round, and double or triple in spring.

• More stability for reservoir levels. Currently, waters rise and fall dramatically with power production, causing an ugly "bathtub ring" and limiting access for swimmers, boaters and anglers.

• Renovated campgrounds, boat launches, picnic areas and trails throughout the system, including its largest reservoirs: Buck Island, Loon Lake, Union Valley and Ice House reservoirs.

• Annual payments of $1.2 million to the Forest Service for law enforcement and recreation management, a four-fold increase over what SMUD pays now; $387,000 for the U.S. Bureau of Land Management; $218,000Copy for the obtained state Department from the National of Parks Performance and Recreation. of Dams Program: http://npdp.stanford.edu

"In almost every relicensing, the recreation and the ecological benefits are probably the two most important issues," said Beth Paulson, hydroelectric coordinator for the Eldorado National Forest. "We worked really hard to try to balance all the interests."

Critics say the system has a stranglehold on the water flow of the American River's south fork. SMUD's current federal license allows flows as low as 36 cubic feet per second in some areas where natural flows might be near 1,000 cfs. Much of the natural runoff from the Rubicon River, Silver Creek and the American River's south fork is diverted, instead, through tunnels into hydroelectric turbines. This changes the timing and intensity of river flow, affecting fish habitat and boating opportunities, said Chris Shutes, a consultant monitoring the relicensing for the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance.

"There has been very little water put into these streams in the past," Shutes said. "By making some changes that are not very drastic, they could provide a lot of opportunities that aren't there today." Both the Forest Service and the state Department of Fish and Game want stream flows closer to natural conditions. In many areas, this means boosting flows in spring, when many species of wildlife are breeding.

For instance, more spring flows could benefit the foothill yellow-legged frog, a federally designated "sensitive" species that survives below Slab Creek and Camino dams. A sensitive fish, the native hardhead, also lives below Slab Creek Dam. More flow at the right time could help these species and encourage plant growth that would provide habitat.

The Forest Service also wants firmer rules on reservoir elevation, especially in summer when recreation increases. Power production can cause these reservoirs to rise and fall sharply. Many consider this unattractive, and it limits shoreline access.

8 Copy obtained from the National Performance of Dams Program: http://npdp.stanford.edu

No matter what happens, these changes will end up reducing SMUD's ability to generate power. SMUD depends on the dams to respond quickly to sudden energy demand. It is also relatively cheap and clean energy, produced without air pollution and without having to buy fuel.

The Forest Service and its partners estimate their proposal would cut power output by 8 percent. Such reductions are expected in hydroelectric relicensings nationwide, which are required by law to restore some of the public benefits that dams have diminished for generations. It remains to be seen if SMUD will accept such losses. But Shiroma said SMUD does not plan to increase customer rates.

"SMUD went into this understanding we'd have less generation and potentially less flexibility in the use of the (hydroelectric) plants," said Jim Shetler, SMUD assistant general manager. "But we're trying to find what's that appropriate level."

SMUD's plan to build a new facility, called the Iowa Hill pumped storage project, could offset any losses. It would generate as much as 400 megawatts by pumping water uphill when energy costs are low, then making electricity with that water when energy rates are high.

The Eldorado National Forest oversees recreation, law enforcement and habitat on lands around the SMUD reservoirs. This includes Crystal Basin Recreation Area, which draws 1 million visitors a year -- 40 percent of them from Sacramento County. "It's the most heavily used recreation area on our national forest," Paulson said.

These visitors strain the area's 400 campsites, numerous boat launching ramps, fishing areas, roads and trails. Many of the facilities are in disrepair, are not accessible to people with disabilities, or can't handle the visitor load. The Forest Service wants SMUD to spend millions of dollars upgrading these facilities.

Bill Center, who also owns the Camp Lotus rafting resort, said El Dorado County's recreation economy depends on stream flows, but SMUD water diversions make some areas inaccessible to boating. So the Forest ServiceCopy obtained and its partners from the also National want predictable Performance flows of Damsso rafters Program: and kayakers http://npdp.stanford.edu aren't subject to the whims of power generation. One area of dispute is the stretch of river below Slab Creek Dam. Center wants flows boosted there, at least for brief periods. But this may require SMUD to spend millions of dollars installing a larger release valve in the dam.

SMUD has resisted, claiming there isn't sufficient interest in boating on this stretch of river. "There's huge interest in it," Center argued. "It's a 9-mile stretch of some of the finest whitewater in the country." Center said SMUD has been reluctant to accept that the relicensing process gives others the right to demand such changes, a complaint partly acknowledged by Shetler.

"It gets back to the issue of who's most knowledgeable in their area of expertise," Shetler said. "SMUD would argue the (other) agencies do not have expertise to run power plants and understand the impacts of changing the timing and flexibility of that operation."

The parties have until Friday to reach a settlement. After that, the FERC rule-making process takes over, which could result in terms less than ideal to both sides. SMUD recently asked for negotiations to resume, and meetings are planned every day this week.

9 Copy obtained from the National Performance of Dams Program: http://npdp.stanford.edu

"We think the gaps can be bridged, and we think a settlement is possible as well," Shetler said.

Copy obtained from the National Performance of Dams Program: http://npdp.stanford.edu

iThis compilation of articles and other information is provided at no cost and should not be used for any purpose other than as free information for those interested in hydropower, dams, and water resources issues and development.

10 Copy obtained from the National Performance of Dams Program: http://npdp.stanford.edu

SSoommee DDaamm –– HHyyddrroo NNeewwss and Other Stuff i 11/24/2006

Quote of the Day: “No mind is thoroughly well-organized that is deficient

in a sense of humor.” – Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Dams (Well, it took about a millisecond and here we go again! The environmental lobby now has the Congress it wants and back in its hip pocket. Dams and hydro are doomed.

Comment submitted to Writer: “The article -" Analysis: Wind strong enough to doom dams?" is so incorrect and flawed that it doesn't deserve comment, but I'll try. First, the article quotes statements by dam removal advocates that in 2004 over 80 % of Idaho's power was generated by hydro and 2.6 % by renewables. The statement shows a bias or an individual who is so ill-informed that he doesn't even know that hydro is a renewable, and the most efficient renewable with an efficiency over 90 %. In addition, the notion that you can replace over 3000 MW of efficient and dependable hydropower with less efficient and undependable wind power with hundreds of 200+ foot high wind towers dotting the scenic landscape of the mountains is utter nonsense. Furthermore, the mentioned economic study is fraught with errors tilted toward a foregone conclusion. This is not the solution. Why don't we start with over-fishing in the oceans?)

Analysis: Wind strong enough to doom dams?

By HIL ANDERSON, UPI Energy Correspondent, 11/20/06

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 20 (UPI) -- Bolstered by new statistics and new leadership in the U.S. Congress, an alliance of environmental groups is preparing for another offensive against four hydroelectric dams on the Lower Snake River.

The aim will be the removal of all, or at least some, of the dams so the Snake will flow more freely and help the entire Pacific Northwest salmon population recover to the bountiful levels of decades ago.

1 Copy obtained from the National Performance of Dams Program: http://npdp.stanford.edu

"At one time, 50 percent of the entire Columbia Basin salmon production came out of the Snake River Basin," said Trey Carskadan of the Northwest Sportfishing Association. "And we certainly know we are not seeing that production now."

Proponents of dam removal say it's a clear choice between the dams and the fish, and a new study released by the salmon crowd contends that advances in the development of energy efficiency and wind generation, plus the potential of a revved-up fishing industry stretching from the mountains of Idaho to the Pacific Coast, means no one will particularly miss those dams.

And with an impending changeover in Washington to a Democratic-led Congress and the possibility of a Democrat in the White House in two years, the lobbying campaign is set to begin.

"The first thing that has to be made clear is that there is not going to be an economic disaster for Idaho if these dams come out and, in fact, it could be a benefit for Idaho," said Sara Patton, executive director of the Northwest Energy Coalition.

Patton's remark came in response to a reporter's question about the prevailing stance among Pacific Northwest lawmakers against knocking down the dams. The notion of losing a combined generating capacity of more than 3,000 megawatts is a tough sell to politicians in an area where the economy has come to depend on low-cost hydropower.

But the new study, titled "Revenue Streams," contends that power could be largely replaced through a growing wind-power industry based in the region's mountains.

"There is excellent potential and we're seeing it being developed very quickly," Patton said. "Much more quickly than a lot of us expected."

Coming up with the ability to provide reliable electricity at an economical price is a huge priority in the campaign to eliminate the Snake dams. In Idaho, for example, 80.1 percent of the state's megawatt hours came from hydroelectric dams in 2004 compared to 2.6 percent for renewable sources, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the Department of Energy's data arm. Washington State sourced 70.1 percent of its electricity from hydroelectric and 2.3 percent from renewables.

Projections call for continuing growth in renewables nationwide, and it would seem likely that the Snake River basin might see accelerated development of wind and biomass generation by private power producers if it looks like the generating capacity of the four dams will indeed be eliminated.

"It is possible they will be developed anyway if there is a market for the power in California," Patton said.

That rise in alternative energy will, under the scenario painted in Revenue Streams," make it possible to save taxpayers about $5 billion in operational costs of the "aging" dams. At the same time, the growth of tourism in the Snake Basin will result in a net benefit to both the federal government and the entire region.

While not everyone in Idaho will work within the fishing industry, the money should come easier for those who choose to when anglers from around the country flock to the free-flowing Snake for fishing seasons that could run several months per year.

At the same time, the federal government will be able to solve a long-running headache caused by legal requirements that the salmon of the Snake Basin - not to mention the Columbia Basin downstream - be saved from extinction.

"Even with Hells Canyon Dam (in the Upper Snake) still in place, you would still have about 5,500 miles to tributary habitat that makes up, according to Idaho Fish and Game, about 70 percent of the recoverable habitat in the whole basin," said Michael Garrity, the associate director of Columbia Basin Programs at American Rivers.

2 Copy obtained from the National Performance of Dams Program: http://npdp.stanford.edu

The idea of breaching the Snake River dams and not just saving the salmon, but turning them into an economic asset for the region, has been around for about 10 years and the promise of new jobs will no doubt require more study; however the environmental community is more convinced than ever that their proposal will get a serious hearing in Washington.

David Jenkins, government affairs director of Republicans for Environmental Protection, saw the report as providing a political basis for discussion and eventual movement on the issue.

"This can be a catalyst to more in-depth studies on the job creation and other things that any member of Congress - Republican and Democrat, regardless of their past positions on this issue - can use to take a fresh look at this," Jenkins said. "I mean the best thing you can do for your district and the region is to look at the facts and then be willing to adjust your position and do what is in the best interest of your region and the country."

(And, now for the other view of hydro.)

Op-Ed: Shedding light on the power of water

By Bangor Daily News Staff, November 20, 2006 - Bangor Daily News

By Homere A. Dansereau

Now that the Democrats will have a modest say in our country’s direction, the environmentalists will be elbowing their way to the table where the federal pork is being served. Many of their proposals will be sensible, but some are not well-thought out and will lead to unintended consequences. I suspect that one of these problem areas is our rush to replace imported gasoline with ethanol. Our tailpipe emissions might become more environmentally friendly, but have we considered the harm to the environment [by using] the additional farmland necessary to grow enough crops to produce enough alcohol to supply the demand. Corn, soy bans and other grain crops mostly are grown on large corporate farms and distributed by a cartel of large international grain merchants.

Today, most grain is used for human or animal feed, but how much more land will we need to till to run our automobiles? And how many more chemical fertilizers and insecticides will growers spread which will run off and further pollute our water?

Until the hydrogen-powered fuel cell becomes practical, perhaps we should look in another direction to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. One serious offender is the way we generate electricity. We burn fuel, carbon-based or nuclear, to boil water to make steam to turn turbines to turn generators. There are several alternatives; of popular interest is wind power. If we all lived on rural farms, windmills would suffice, but I wonder how much cleared land would be necessary for the wind farms and how many windmills would be needed to supply the electricity for Portland, or Bangor, or New York City. And where would the electricity come from when there was no wind? Another popular solution is photovoltaic or solar cells. For the individual suburban home they might be practical, but what about the 500-unit apartment house, and where does the electricity come from on dark days?

It so happens that we humans have a gigantic perpetual-motion machine that burns no fuel. It is powered by sunlight and gravity. Environmentally speaking, it’s free for the taking. It is called the hydrological cycle: The sun evaporates water from the oceans and lakes and forms clouds, the jet stream carries the clouds over land where it rains, and the rain percolates into the ground and runs off in streams and rivers that replenish the ocean. By temporarily interrupting this down stream flow with a dam, the water behind the dam becomes stored power. By channeling the water through a penstock through the base of the dam, the flow of the water will turn the turbine which turns the generator. No fuel is needed, and it doesn’t depend on the vagaries of the weather. Since it is old technology, first applied in 1870, it would employ engineers (to build the dams), rather than scientists to invent them.

There are several objections to generating this form of power that have obvious economic motives. Undoubtedly pressure comes from oil-, coal- and gas-burning merchants, who supply 41.2 percent of Bangor Hydro’s power. Another is the atomic power industry which supplies 26.9 percent of our power, and 3 Copy obtained from the National Performance of Dams Program: http://npdp.stanford.edu

the industrial fossil fuel co-generation power, which supplies another 7.9 percent. Three fourths of our power comes from carbon-dioxide-producing, environmentally destructive or dangerous (3 Mile Island, Chernobyl), and terrorist-vulnerable sources.

In August 1978, Sens. Muskie and Hathaway fought for the Dickey-Lincoln Hydroelectric dams and entered into the Congressional Record several salient reasons for the government to proceed with the project. It would replace 2.3 million barrels of oil per year, is embargo proof (and price-gouging proof) and would save Maine consumers $12 million per year (in 1978 dollars). It would provide 25 percent of Maine’s peak power, and 15 percent of New England’s peak. It would become a center for the local tourist economy, attract energy intensive businesses, create jobs and control the spring floods.

At that time, the public was into government bashing, held a nearly religious belief in the efficiency of unseen hand of the market, and believed that competition and free enterprise would lead us to the Promised Land. There ensured a frenzy of deregulation, privatization of services, abandonment of government responsibilities, tax cuts for the wealthy and tax increases on wage earners. Federal programs were cut and states were forced to raise their taxes to provide minimal services. It was in this frame of mind that the public scuttled the Dickey-Lincoln project.

If we are serious about cutting air pollution and curtailing environmental damage without degrading our customary comforts, we should consider hydro-power as our principal source of electricity. Other nations which have our fortuitous topography and rivers to harness have taken advantage of this clean source of power. The West Coast would never have grown as it has without the hydroelectric dams to supply water and electricity. Our principal industrial competitor, China, is busily harnessing their rivers.

I think we should take a second look at the Dickey-Lincoln hydro project.

Homere A. Dansereau is a resident of Addison.

Hydro (Reports on this deal indicate that SMUD’s power production will decrease by about 8 %.) SMUD reaches deal on hydroelectric system Sacramento Business Journal, 11/16/06 The Sacramento Municipal Utility District said it has reached an agreement with federal and state agencies, environmental groups and whitewater rafting advocates on the licensing of the utility's hydroelectric system.

SMUD's federal license to operate the Upper American River Project expires July 31. The U.S. Forest Service and other groups objected to SMUD's original plan for future management of the dams and reservoirs because they said it did not provide adequate flows of water for fish and whitewater recreation.

The agreement in principle requires SMUD to increase flows in mountain streams, release more water for whitewater boating and pay for upgrades to recreational facilities over the next 20 years. The Forest Service manages campgrounds and boat launches around the reservoirs.

4 Copy obtained from the National Performance of Dams Program: http://npdp.stanford.edu

The pact also allows SMUD to license the proposed 400-megawatt Iowa Hill Pumped Storage Development. One megawatt is about enough power for 1,000 homes. The Iowa Hill project would add to the hydroelectric system's existing 688-megawatt capacity.

SMUD is applying for a 50-year license from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

Hydroelectric plant repairs not yet done

Ukiah Daily Journal Staff, 11/16/2006 The Daily Journal

Not even Ukiah's hydroelectric power plant -- an entity meant to harness the force of water for beneficial use -- was spared from flood damage last winter.

When the New Year's weekend storm hit the Ukiah Valley, the plant located below Lake Mendocino's Coyote Valley Dam was inundated with water.

Large valves left open upstream from the plant's turbines, in combination with an unusually high volume of water coming through the dam due to heavy rains, were to blame for the flooding of the plant's powerhouse. It had been out of service since 1998 and was undergoing inspections in an effort for its reopening at the time.

Pumps in the plant were unable to keep up with the inflow of water through the open valves, and eventually the water level became so high it displaced approximately 100 to 150 gallons of oil and hydraulic fluid.

The contaminated water, which damaged mechanical and electrical equipment, would cost close to $200,000 to clean up, and lead to needed refurbishment of equipment exceeding $900,000.

Ukiah's Electrical Distribution Engineer Liz Kirkley told The Daily Journal in late September that the city hoped to receive $1.2 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency in recovery costs. She said preliminary tests done before the storm provided documentation of the plant's capability that was useful in showing FEMA the damages actually caused by the storm.

Prior to the flood, the hydroplant was scheduled to reopen in the spring, however, in performing cleaning and repairs, which included the disassembly, decontamination, reassembly and testing of affected equipment, more damage was found.

Now, operations at the plant are anticipated to restart in January.

Hastings speaks on saving dams Nov 16, 2006 By Bill Stevenson, Columbia Basin Herald editor

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Congressman Doc Hastings, R-4th Dist., spoke out against another call to remove four Snake River dams Wednesday.

"These groups will go to any extreme to push their dam removal agenda. They'll manufacture a study or ignore scientific facts, whatever it takes to tear out our dams," Hastings said.

A coalition of environmental groups held a press conference Wednesday in Washington, D.C., claiming removal of the dams would save tax payers $5 billion a year in operating costs. The organizations, including Save Our Wild Salmon, Taxpayers for Common Sense, Republicans for Environmental Protection and others, constructed a study termed Revenue Stream.

The study claims the Snake River region surrounding the Lower Granite, Little Goose, Lower Monumental

5 Copy obtained from the National Performance of Dams Program: http://npdp.stanford.edu

and Ice Harbor dams could generate $20 billion in revenue from increases in outdoor recreation and improved commercial fishing conditions.

The Bonneville Power Administration reports the removal of the dams would cost $373 million annually for 100 years to implement, restore transportation, replace water supplies, and create new sources of power. The benefits would be roughly $106 million in avoided operational costs, additional fishing, according to the BPA. The federal agency projects the cost of removing the dams at $26.7 billion.

"The high-use projections, which present a net increase in the value of recreation of about $300 million annually, are not considered realistic," notes the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in an Environmental Impact Statement and Lower Snake River Juvenile Salmon Migration Feasibility Report.

"For six years I've stopped any action in the U.S. House on Representative (Jim) McDermott's dam removal legislation. One can expect these groups will be pushing hard for action next year. With Speaker-to-be Nancy Pelosi on record in support of breaching Northwest dams, those who share my commitment to protecting our dams need to be on high alert," said Hastings.

The coalition of environmentalists also claims hydroelectric ratepayers are continually paying more for failed attempts to increase salmon returns to the Snake River.

The state Department of Fish and Wildlife reported record setting spring Chinook salmon runs in 2003, Columbia River steelhead returns reached a 22 year high in 2002 and the highest number of Chinook salmon passing the Lower Granite Dam on the Snake River took place in 2001, a record since counting began in 1975.

"These special interest groups can try to ignore and dismiss the scientific data showing salmon are returning in record numbers, but the majority of those living in the Pacific Northwest know we can have both healthy salmon runs and the clean, renewable hydropower that our dams provide." Hastings said.

Water (Facing water shortages will become more common in the near future. Will societies come to the reality that we will have to make choices and those choices will include reservoirs?)

George: Colorado in water crisis

DNR head says state needs reservoirs

Donna Gray, Post Independent, Glenwood Springs, CO, 11/15/2006

GLENWOOD SPRINGS, Colo. — Russell George made a kind of sentimental journey to Glenwood Springs Tuesday when he spoke to a gathering of rancher and farmer conservationists.

George, the executive director of the state Department of Natural Resources, grew up on a farm in Rifle. He spoke to the annual state meeting of the Colorado Association of Conservation Districts at the Hotel Colorado. George said he felt right at home with the group and recalled making trips to what was then the Rifle soil conservation office with his father, grandfather and uncles, all of whom were farmers.

Growing up on a farm, "I learned a lot about our life blood, water, and how it was used," he said. "I went to law school because I thought I might do something with water." George, who earned his law degree at Harvard, went on to become the Speaker of the Colorado House of Representatives and has headed up the

6 Copy obtained from the National Performance of Dams Program: http://npdp.stanford.edu

Department of Natural Resources since 2004.

Colorado is in a water crisis brought on by natural and social forces, George said. Situated on the eastern end of the Great American Desert, he said Colorado is naturally dry. In fact, it took the large irrigation projects of the 1880s when the state was being settled to allow a population to take root and grow to what it is today. Colorado has always contended with drought, but today it faces another form of drought, "a demand exceeds supply drought," he said. "It is my belief that we have a people-caused drought."

Coloradans saw the effect of these two forces this summer when irrigation wells were shut down by the state along the South Platte River because of water shortages. The shutdown caused crops to fail. "We understand brutally and painfully the convergence of these two droughts ... where the demand has so far exceeded supply. It's tragic economically; it's tragic culturally," he said.

Decisions about how to fill the demand and where to find the water will remain political and unsatisfactory to many as long as "people have power to make it go were they want," he said. George also sees opportunity to create more water supplies, although the political climate in Colorado now makes that a difficult task.

"All the easy water is gone. Most of the headwaters and streams have no more yield," he said. "We've gotten to the point politically now that it almost can't be done. We are so bound up in our competition for transbasin diversions. It gets stalled in legal maneuvers."

If the political stalemate over water is not broken, Colorado will dry up again just as it did in the 1800s. "If we don't change our habits it's going to get back to that," he said.

What Colorado needs, and what many see as politically incorrect, is storage in reservoirs, George said.

"The increasing attitude is dams and storage is bad for the environment," George said. "It's hard to see how we can solve this crisis without storage somewhere. ... Because of the politics we can't talk about trans- basin diversion."

There are, however, encouraging signs in the state, he said. A three-year study of water shortages and availability, the Statewide Water Supply Initiative, and legislation that led to the formation of nine river basin roundtables, could help "solve the local demand issues with new reservoirs and rehabilitated dams," he said.

The solution to the problem will also involve water conservation measures. But people want their green lawns and golf courses, "and they have the money and influence (to keep them). It's a tradeoff of values. That's what a free society is all about. It's going to be painful as we try to reconcile these things."

Environment Tribes, irrigators differ on removing Klamath River dams 11/15/2006, OregonLive.com, The Associated Press

KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. (AP) — As federal regulators consider the future of four hydroelectric dams on the Klamath River, tribal members urged them to remove the dams to restore salmon, and irrigators argued that they should be kept to maintain low-cost hydropower critical to agriculture.

The first in a series of Federal Energy Regulatory Commission hearings was held Tuesday on its draft environmental impact statement for relicensing four dams on the Klamath River owned by PacifiCorp, based

7 Copy obtained from the National Performance of Dams Program: http://npdp.stanford.edu

in Portland. Other hearings are being held in Yreka, Calif., Eureka, Calif., Newport, Ore., and North Bend, Ore. The agency is considering options ranging from trucking fish around dams, which PacifiCorp favors, to installation of fish ladders.

NOAA Fisheries, the federal agency in charge of restoring struggling salmon runs, has urged that salmon be allowed to swim past the dams on their own to reach 350 miles of spawning habitat blocked for nearly a century. The agency has said removing the dams is the best way to do that.

Several Klamath Tribes members called for removing the dams. "We're hungry for that fish not only physically, but also spiritually," said fisherman Don Gentry. "Please return those fish so we can be the people the creator intended us to be." Tribal members said their 1864 treaty with the U.S. government gave Indians the right to fish area streams forever. They added that a promise by California-Oregon Power Co. to install fish ladders at the Klamath River's first dam went unfulfilled. "I view all rivers as blood to the world," said Spayne Martinez, a 15-year-old Chiloquin High School sophomore. "The people who depend on the salmon have suffered too long."

Irrigators said removing dams would drive power costs to unacceptable levels. "We depend on low-cost power to keep our communities whole," said Scott Seus. "Today, more than ever, low-cost power is essential to irrigated agriculture." He and others said the Klamath Reclamation Project benefits the Klamath River, and therefore the salmon, by returning almost all of the diverted water used for irrigation. "Without the Klamath irrigation project and the water stored within, there would be inconsistent flows that would result in less power production and a volatile ecosystem," Seus said.

An administrative law judge this week recommended that the California Public Utilities Commission deny farmers' request to hang onto electric rates that are less than 10 percent of those paid by other irrigators, which have been in place since 1917. The judge found that they failed to show the irrigation district regulates and increases the amount of water available to the dams, so could not claim compensation from PacifiCorp.

iThis compilation of articles and other information is provided at no cost and should not be used for any purpose other than as free information for those interested in hydropower, dams, and water resources issues and development.

8 Copy obtained from the National Performance of Dams Program: http://npdp.stanford.edu