Some Dam – Hydro News - Stanford...

1 Copy obtained from the National Performance of Dams Program httpnpdpstanfordedu

i 11022007

Other Stuff (Excerpt Itrsquos getting ugly) Here comes $100 oil and $3 gas With crude setting new highs every day experts say theres no way motorists wont see a spike at the pump By Steve Hargreaves CNNMoneycom October 26 2007 NEW YORK (CNNMoneycom) -- With oil prices setting records over $90 a barrel - and $100 looking ever more likely - experts say theres a good chance drivers will see $3 gasoline before the end of the year Three dollar gasoline in this market is unavoidable said Stephen Schork publisher of the industry newsletter the Schork Report At this rate were going to see $4 a gallon

Dams (Note to American Rivers ndash deficient does NOT mean imminent failure) Voinovich introduces dam rehab legislation News-Messenger Central Ohio Oct27 2007

WASHINGTON DC -- Fremonts Ballville Dam in Sandusky County is one example of Ohio At-Risk Dams that would be eligible for funding under a new program proposed in the US Senate officials say US Sen George V Voinovich along with US Sen Daniel Akaka D-Hawaii has introduced the Dam Rehabilitation and Repair Act of 2007 legislation to establish a program within FEMA to fund dam rehabilitation and repairs The fund would award grants to states to repair rehabilitate or remove publicly-owned deficient dams Deficient dams are defined as dams that as determined by a state fail to meet minimum state dam safety standards and pose an unacceptable risk to the public I have long been concerned with our nations infrastructure and for years have lauded the accuracy of experts who warned that the infrastructure supporting our economy and quality of life is crumbling said Voinovich a Republican Yet we have continually failed to invest in the improvements necessary to keep pace with our growing population and increasing demands As a former governor of Ohio I believe that the federal government should bear some responsibility in rehabilitating public infrastructure including dams This legislation is truly a step in the right direction

SSoommee DDaamm ndashndash HHyyddrroo NNeewwss aanndd OOtthheerr SSttuuffff

Quote of Note ldquoNothing great in the world has been accomplished

without passionrdquo - - Georg Wilhelm


Currently Ohio has 825 deficient dams -- the most deficient dams in the country -- including 240 high-hazard dams (dams whose failure can cause loss of life and significant property destruction) The state has failed to inspect about 600 high-hazard dams that could kill residents or cause significant property damage if they burst due to lack of funds This legislation would authorize a total of $200 million to help rehabilitate deficient dams The federal share of the grants cannot exceed 65 percent of the total cost of the rehabilitation or repair The funding would be broken down by year as follows $10 million for 2008 $15 million for 2009 $25 million for 2010 $50 million for 2011 $100 million for 2012 $400000 for each of fiscal years 2008 to 2010 for additional FEMA staff

New maps almost ready showing where Isabella Lake water would go Eyewitness News 29 Bakersfield CA Oct 28 2007

Finally new maps are almost ready that will show where water would go if theres a problem at the Isabella Dam Kern County supervisors will get a look at the new information next Tuesday and they say its vital to public safety As Eyewitness News was first to uncover the dams are ranked among the most at-risk in the nation Experts say if the dams fail -- up to a half million people could be affected On Tuesday the US Army Corps of Engineers will be in Bakersfield to give an update on the situation at the dam New concerns have been identified over earthquake risk and higher than expected seepage in the Auxiliary Dam Eyewitness News has obtained the maps which have been available so far about water releases from the dam But these so-called inundation maps are at least 12 years old Local emergency planners say they need new and updated data in order to design the best disaster plans and evacuation routes Corps geologist Ronn Rose tells Eyewitness News he will give a Power Point presentation on the new inundation maps to supervisors And while that will be visible to the audience this information will not be released to the public -- yet First off the data is still a draft -- and draft reports are never released But Eyewitness News has also obtained a Corps of Engineers memo on inundation map policy That memo says inundation maps are usually designated for officials use only because the information pay pose a security risk Experts say dams could be a target for terrorists But the new maps will be given to Kern County officials When the maps or data is final Rose told Eyewitness News We will release it to the County -- no restrictions Apparently at that point the county could ask for an exemption to the no public release policy in the case of Isabella Dam Its now expected the Corps will have the final inundation maps ready in January Kern leaders want the information as soon as they can get it Supervisor Mike Maggard says he was at one of the big fires in southern California this week and that drove home how important disaster planning is Supervisor Michael Rubio says its been over a year and a half since Kern County was notified about the new concerns at Isabella Dam He calls it unacceptable that the countys waited so long for information vital to getting a good emergency response plans to the public Rubio promises to take a hard look at the Corps presentation on Tuesday and hell ask some tough questions

Dayton Hollow Dam still in good shape The Dayton Daily Journal October 27 2007 MN Dayton Hollow hydroelectric station came on line in April 1909 making Otter Tail Power Company an operating electric utility Today 98 years later the consensus is that Dayton Hollow Dam is still safe and in good condition reports Hoot Lake Plant Manager Jeff Olson who is accountable for Otter Tail Power Companys five hydroelectric stations in the Fergus Falls MN area Otter Tail Power Company lowered the water level in the Dayton Hollow Dam reservoir two feet on Sept 24 so an engineering firm could inspect the dam after annual piezometer readings indicated a slight elevation of the water in the dam structure On Sept 28 divers inspected both the lower and upper portions of the dam and found the structural integrity of the concrete to be good Six new piezometers were installed for a total of 18 to continuously monitor the water line in and around the dam site On Oct 9 the company submitted its report to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) which was followed by FERC conducting a routine potential failure mode analysis (PFMA) last week FERC was here Oct 16 through 19 for site inspection and meetings to review our data said Olson Weve concluded our discussions regarding the stability of the dam and our concerns regarding the piezometric levels were alleviated Otter Tail Power Company initiated the dam drawdown as a safety measure while we worked with our consultant to determine the safety factor for the dam FERC was very pleased with our reaction and the steps taken to assure that safety is our highest priority We are raising the pool elevation back to a normal stage of 1107 feet in a phased approach that may take up to two weeks to complete Olson said We appreciate Dayton Hollow area residents patience and understanding during our evaluation of the dam


(At least the Aussies have a sense of humor and know good looks when they see them) Baring their dam views The dailycomau 29 October 2007

No dam stickers have already graced the rear ends of cars and the message is making its way on to the rear ends of Coast women The new No Dam bikini hit the beach yesterday six months after farmer and one-time fashion designer Victor Hill was inspired by the iconic triangular logo at the height of the Traveston dam protests ldquoThey screamed bikini when I first saw themrdquo Mr Hill said Kandanga resident Ashleigh Ensbey 18 was one of the first women to try out the swimmers at yesterdayrsquos No Dam bikini launch at Noosa Main Beach ldquoWhen I first saw them I thought lsquowow they would really stand out and catch attentionrsquordquo Ms Ensbey said Bikinis can be purchased for $45 at the Save the Mary River Centre at the Kandanga Railway or can be mail ordered for $50 Profits from the sale of No Dam bikinis go to the SMR Coordinating Group Contact 5488 4800 to order the bikini

Cal commission recommends ripping out Klamath Dams The Oregonian 10292007 By JEFF BARNARD The Associated Press

GRANTS PASS Ore (AP) mdash California Energy Commission analysts urged Oregon California and Washington to deny any requests from PacifiCorp to increase electricity rates to help pay for upgrading Klamath dams A Monday letter signed by California Energy Commission executive director BB Blevins asks the public utility commissions in each of the three states to authorize cost recovery only for decommissioning the four hydroelectric dams on the Klamath River Indian tribes fishermen and conservation groups want the dams removed to open up spawning habitat for struggling salmon runs The Energy Commission has a responsibility not only to provide reliable energy supplies but to provide for the environment said Chris Tooker an energy policy analyst for the California Energy Commission It takes that balancing mandate seriously The whole reason we are involved in the Klamath issue is to help educate the participants PacifiCorp is seeking a new license to operate the JC Boyle Copco 1 Copco 2 and Iron Gate dams on the Klamath for the next 30 to 50 years Though the dams only produce enough power for 70000 households PacifiCorp says its power that does not emit greenhouse gases The utility has said it would be willing to spend $300 million on fish ladders and other improvements to meet a federal mandate to provide salmon a way to reach hundreds of miles of spawning habitat blocked for the past century It has also said it would be willing to remove the dams if their ratepayers dont have to pay for it

The Oregon Public Utility Commission does not currently have a request before it from PacifiCorp to recover those costs said spokesman Bob Valdez PacifiCorp spokeswoman Jan Mitchell said the letter appeared to be a rehash of an earlier analysis commissioned by the California Energy Commission which a consultant to PacifiCorp found to contain errors and mistaken assumptions Based on studies done for the California Energy Commission removing the dams would cost $38 million to $71 million and 30 years of replacement power would cost $58 million to $153 million Blevins wrote That works out to an economic benefit to PacifiCorp ratepayers for removing the dams of $32 million to $286 million Blevins discounted PacifiCorps argument that it wants to keep the dams because unlike coal-fired plants they do not produce greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming He noted that the dams generate only 1 percent of PacifiCorps power and replacing them with a wind farm or natural gas plant would cost about the same as upgrading the dams

Hydro


(Every little bit helps But they are embarrassed to call it hydro ndashhuh) Pint-size hydro power on tap By Michael Kanellos CNET Newscom October 24 2007 REDWOOD CITY Calif--Its hamster-size hydroelectric power Rentricity a start-up in New York City has come up with a hydroelectric generator that lets municipal water facilities generate power Pressurized water from the facility passes through a turbine and the turbine produces water The water subsequently comes out of your faucet The company doesnt like to use the term hydroelectric power--which conjures up images of large construction projects and regulatory tangles--but the principles are the same Frank Zammataro president of Rentricity said during a meeting here at the Dow Jones Alternative Energy Innovations conference The system works because municipalities process millions of gallons of water a day and the water gets highly pressurized during the purification process Some facilities process 9 million gallons of water a day and hold the water at 45 psi (pounds per square inch) If water came out of the faucet at that pressure youd have trouble washing your face without getting welts Thus water districts have to artificially bleed off the pressure But instead of doing that the utility can make electricity A single Flow-to-Wire micro-turbine generator from Rentricity can produce anywhere from 20 to 300 kilowatts of power depending on the pressure and water flow (A US home solar system typically generates about 3 kilowatts) Sensors and software from the company also monitor performance It wont reduce the flow Zammataro said We are taking off-the-shelf technology but configuring it in unusual ways At a minimum the system needs to be put in a facility that processes a million gallons a day and holds the water at 35 psi Potentially there are 25000 sites that could accommodate this equipment according to the company Combined these sites could produce a gigawatt of power conceivably While the generator alone isnt a solution to global warming it can generate as much power as a big coal-driven power plant Zammataro estimated that 1000 of the systems could generate $30 million worth of electricity The company has already launched a successful pilot program with Aquarion Water in Connecticut and plans to bid on a project in California soon Rentricity doesnt sell the systems Instead it owns and operates them and then splits the revenue from electricity sales with the utility Typically the utility might get 30 percent of the revenue Zammataro said Payback should take about three years Most of the time a municipal water facility can accept a standard unit although sometimes the company has to customize its equipment Rentricitys efforts touch on several trends First the company is making mammoth electricity plants small similar to what Sopogy (which focuses on solar thermal power) and Puget Sound Tidal Power (tidal power) are doing It is generating electricity from something that otherwise would not be exploited like cellulosic ethanol companies And Rentricitys revenue-sharing model is similar to what Microgy the company that turns manure into methane is doing in Texas Its an alternative-energy cioppino Ultimately Rentricity hopes to port its technology so that it can produce power with low-pressure high-flow waste streams Chemical and oil refineries consume massive amounts of water daily but the pressure is relatively low Hydropower production at Missouri River dams to reach lowest level By ELOISE OGDEN Minot Daily News ND October 28 2007 Hydropower production by the US Army Corps of Engineers mainstem dams on the Missouri River will reach a record low this year says a Corps official ldquoGeneration has been very low this year In fact wersquore on line to have a record low generation ndash thatrsquos since the mainstem reservoir system first reached normal operating level in 1967rdquo said Jody Farhat Power Production Team leader with the Missouri River Basin Water Management Division of the Corpsrsquo Northwestern Division in Omaha There are six mainstem dams on the Missouri River in Montana North Dakota South Dakota and Nebraska Those dams are Fort Peck Garrison Oahe Big Bend Fort Randall and Gavins Point The Corps operates the Mainstem Reservoir System to serve federally authorized project purposes of flood control navigation irrigation hydropower generation water supply water quality recreation and fish and wildlife ldquoItrsquos not a good year in the sense the generation is lowrdquo Farhat said But she said the Corps has rebuilt storage by not releasing as much water which is good but it causes low generation Generation has been low for several years because of the ongoing drought resulting in lower reservoir levels and the Corps reducing releases from the six mainstem dams Hydropower generation for 2007 will be 5 billion kilowatt hours In a normal year Farhat said that number would be twice that much or 10 billion kilowatt hours ldquoThe previous record low was 52 billion kilowatt hours in 1993rdquo she said ldquoThe other interesting fact is that this year alone we set record low generation in four individual months mdash March May June and Septemberrdquo Farhat said Western Area Power Administration markets the hydropower produced by the six dams The federal hydropower goes to several states including North Dakota ldquoIt does mean that they have to purchase additional energy out on the system to meet their


firm loads and that puts upward pressure on the ratesrdquo Farhat said Farhat said the hydropower generation in 2008 is expected to be 65 billion kilowatt hours As far as the rebuilt storage she said ldquoOur inflow has been still well below average this yearrdquo ldquoOur runoff is estimated to be 208 million acre feet which is 82 percent of average But wersquore very fortunate in that wersquove had good tributary inflows downstream of the mainstem system of reservoirs because a lot of them had very low releases throughout the year ldquoAs a result of those low releases our system storage ndash the total storage in the six reservoirs ndash is 26 million acre feet higher this year than one year ago at this time And that water is essentially stored in the upper three reservoirs ndash Fort Peck Garrison and Oaherdquo Farhat said She said Garrison DamLake Sakakawea is significantly drawn down but it is about 4 feet higher than a year ago and Oahe is actually 8 12 feet higher than a year ago ldquoSo there are some improvementsrdquo Farhat said ldquoFort Peck is actually 2 feet lower than a year ago But overall the system is in better shape than a year agordquo Oregon City wants to get into electricity business Associated Press - October 27 2007 ASTORIA Ore (AP) - The city of Astoria wants to get into the electricity business Sitting on the northwest corner of Oregon and overlooking the Pacific Ocean the city gets plenty of wind and rain And its looking to turn those into electricity The city has $50000 in grant money to study using wind turbines on a windy ridge that it owns It would combine that with hydropower from a series of 3 reservoirs and a 90-foot high dam nearby The idea is to get private companies to develop and own the power facilities paying the city royalties Private companies would be eligible for state and federal tax credits not available to the city After 15 years the city would take ownership Public Works Director Ken Cook says Astoria is capturing the energy thats been there for thousands of years and its quote -- cool -- end quote that the city owns such resources and can invest in future generations PacifiCorp Asks FERC to Dismiss Twin Lakes Application on the Bear Move May End Would-Be Competitors Project Oct 29 2007 by Lara Jones

(KCPW News Salt Lake City) Green groups hope a move by PacifiCorp parent company to Rocky Mountain Power may end attempts by a would-be competitor to build another hydroelectric dam on the Bear River near Preston Idaho Last week PacifiCorp asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to dismiss the application and cancel the preliminary permit of the Twin Lakes Canal Company for its Bear River Narrows Hydroelectric Project

One of the things that we determined in our analysis is that in order to accommodate the project as proposed would require PacifiCorp - Rocky Mountain Power - to reopen its licenses and thats something were unwilling to do says PacifiCorp spokesman Dave Eskelsen He notes that the environmental agreements reached in the relicensure of PacifiCorps three existing projects on the Bear were hard won negotiations that included multiple stakeholders In addition the Twin Lakes proposal he says could back water up on to PacifiCorps Oneida Narrows hydroelectric project lands negatively impacting fish habitat and recreational access Great Salt Lakekeeper a watershed watchdog organization and active dam opponent heralds PacifiCorps motion as the beginning of the end for the Twin Lakes project Executive Director Jeff Salt says Twin Lakes has had several years to make its case And theyve just not responded to requests for information and for explanations and studies - its just been a really terrible process and I think that PacifiCorp was very patient and prudent and they finally said you know youre just meeting our standard and answering our questions PacifiCorp says it has ended all negotiations with Twin Lakes A Twin Lakes spokesman says there is nothing yet to negotiate and it will continue to push ahead with its FERC application

Water Dams provide one key element for states future water supplies


By Sen Dianne Feinstein 10212007 San Jose Mercury News California needs every drop of water possible to ensure a healthy future for our state Yet - unless Gov Arnold Schwarzenegger Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata and Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuacutentildeez come together on a single water bond proposal - California may be left high and dry So Im urging both sides to sit down find a compromise and work this out Heres the good news Both sides in Sacramento recognize the need for action Schwarzenegger has a plan to rebuild Californias water infrastructure as do Perata and Nuacutentildeez Both plans provide for conservation recycling and local solutions to water quality and supply issues Any effective plan needs these features But the key difference is this The governors plan allows for surface water storage - where it is economically feasible and beneficial - while the PerataNuacutentildeez plan does not Given our uncertain water future I believe youve got to allow for surface water storage This could help increase our water supplies and help restore the ailing Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta Three of the projects contemplated - Sites Reservoir Los Vaqueros and Temperance Flats - have the potential to produce new fresh water to help the deteriorating delta water ecosystem Ive spoken to both sides and urged them to reach an agreement Im no water expert But Ive legislated long enough in the field - rebuilding our levees restoring the San Joaquin River and ensuring adequate water for farmers - to have learned that there are certain significant facts that must be grappled with bull California is largely a dry state To be sure we get bursts of precipitation in the northern part of the state during winter months So its absolutely critical that we be able to save that water from the times when it is wet and be able to move it to the places that need it when it is dry bull California has an insatiable thirst for water Weve got 37 million people now and more and more people come every day Yet we essentially have the same water infrastructure that we had when we were 16 million people Where are we going to find enough water for residents for fish for farms Conservation and recycling are critical but will not be enough bull I just visited Santa Clarita a booming city just north of Los Angeles A developer came up to me at a town hall event and said he is building a new community of 20000 homes I asked the question Where does the water come from And this question is being asked in every fast-growing community across the state bull Weve got a melting Sierra Nevada due to global warming which will only reduce our water supplies As a result of global warming two-thirds of the Sierra Nevada snowpack may disappear Thats an amount sufficient for 16 million people Where in the future will this water come from if we cant store water from wet years to use in dry years bull Lake Tahoe is a harbinger of whats to come for the rest of the state A recent report found that since 1911 the percentage of precipitation that falls as snow has dropped by 18 percent And we will see similar trends across the state So what should be done This fight cant turn into one based on political regional or economic differences - north vs south west vs east farms vs fish Republicans vs Democrats We need to see the state as a whole That means protecting all those things that make our state great - our precious environment our agricultural industry the largest in the nation our great cities and our economic growth If there are two conflicting proposals the likelihood is that both will go down to defeat So my message is this - find a solution that ensures that California has an adequate water supply for the future Doing nothing is not an alternative So we must have a plan that includes conservation recycling desalination groundwater recharge and yes surface storage There is no one silver bullet All must be done to ensure that California is not left scrambling for water Ga Governor Orders Water Savings Washington Post October 25 2007 WEST POINT Ga -- Gov Sonny Perdue (R) ordered state agencies Wednesday to reduce water consumption immediately by 10 to 15 percent a step designed to show the federal government that the state is working to conserve water during an epic drought The move which comes a day after he ordered north Georgia public utilities to cut water use by 10 percent is a plea to encourage the federal government to help resolve the states water crisis and a protest against releases by the Corps of Engineers We are further putting pressure on federal agencies by illustrating that Georgia is taking every possible step to conserve water he said


Protest planned for Saturday morning at Buford dam Gainesville Times 102607 GA Patrick Callaghan could be dammed if he does dammed if he doesnrsquot The Flowery Branch truck driver is organizing a protest of US Army Corps of Engineersrsquo water release policies at the lower pool of Buford Dam on Saturday in what could be a daring and potentially dangerous stunt Callaghan is proposing that people fed up with the corpsrsquo daily releases of some 3 billion gallons of water from Lake Lanier stay in the lower pool near the dam in their kayaks rafts and other flotation devices after the horns sound signaling an impending release The protest is scheduled to convene at 8 am Saturday though when exactly the next release will occur after then is not yet known Irsquom expecting a lot of people from the lake community to be there said Callaghan a 37-year-old father of four who has taken to using the e-mail address dam_mad_dad In all honesty Irsquom expecting some manner of chaos if the amount of people who intend to show up show up Callaghan stresses it will be a peaceful protest Our intention is to ignore the sirens and give the Army Corps of Engineers a choice But Irsquom realistic I expect the two outcomes are being washed down the river or removed by force I expect the latter Michael Lapina the US Army Corps of Engineersrsquo chief park ranger for Lake Lanier wouldnrsquot comment Thursday on whether any arrests would or could be made if protesters are floating in the lower pool and refuse to budge after the warning horns sound Wersquore aware that an individual is calling for a gathering in the lower pool to discuss water releases Lapina said Beyond that we donrsquot know what the situation is going to be Lapina said the corpsrsquo biggest concern was for public safety noting the presence of slippery rocks and cold quick currents even when there isnrsquot a release It very well could be a safety issue Lapina said The schedule of releases varies from day to day according to the basin level About three minutes prior to a release a horn sounds for 30 seconds It sounds again about 30 seconds prior to the first release Basically people are supposed to exit the water at that time Lapina said Each release is done in stages and takes about 30 minutes Callaghan said he will be in a kayak wearing a life preserver as is required of all people in the lower pool He cautions in his e-mails and his Web site wwwsavelakelaniercom that the protest is potentially dangerous and not for beginners Callaghan said while the word is out about his protest he still isnrsquot sure what to expect come Saturday morning Letrsquos face it either itrsquos just a couple of crazy people in kayaks or itrsquos Atlantarsquos finest hour Callaghan said (Even the Washington Post is covering the water wars of the Southeast The article is too long so here are a few excerpts) Drought in the Southeast 3 States Compete for Water From Shrinking Lake Lanier Interior Secretary Is Dispatched to Mediate Clashing Priorities By Peter Whoriskey Washington Post October 27 2007 BUFORD Ga Oct 26 -- No gauges are necessary at Lake Lanier to measure the ravages of the Southeasts drought Wooden fishing docks tower 10 feet over dried mud that used to be squishy lake bottom Boat ramps begin at the parking lot and end in sand New islands emerge from shallows ------------------- The waters of Lake Lanier funneled through federal dams along the Chattahoochee River sustain about 28 million people in the Atlanta metropolitan area a nuclear power plant that lights up much of Alabama and the marine life in Floridas Apalachicola River and Bay Now amid one of the worst droughts on record all three places feel uncomfortably close to running dry That has prompted a three-state fight that has simmered for years to erupt into testy exchanges over which one has the right to the lakes dwindling water supply and which one is or is not doing its share to conserve it ------------------- The Army Corps of Engineers which operates the dam manages the flow of water through the structure to generate electricity and to accommodate downstream users mainly utilities industrial plants and the fisheries of the Apalachicola River and Bay ---------------- Amid the drought the Corps has released more water from Lake Lanier than has flowed in and Atlantans have grown increasingly worried about Laniers dwindling levels They are down about 15 feet from normal ------------------------- A catastrophe on the level of Katrina seems to be looming at this point said John Heard utilities director for Cumming The forecast is not favorable Georgia Gov Sonny Perdue (R) has charged that by releasing so much water the Corps has created a man-made disaster The nonsensical action to further release vital water from Georgias already depleted federal reservoirs must not stand Perdue said last week There is simply no scientific justification to operate these reservoirs in this manner during a historic drought Downriver naturally no one finds the flow of water nonsensical Alabama Gov


Bob Riley (R) has noted that the Farley Nuclear Power Plant which provides power for much of his state depends on certain river water levels for its cooling system Other industrial plants rely on the Chattahoochee flow as well More than 800000 households in the region -- in Alabama Georgia and Florida -- rely on the Farley Nuclear Plant for their electricity Riley said Thursday Any attempt by Georgia to reduce the flow would be damaging to these families ------------------------- In court papers Floridas principal leverage in forcing a larger flow has been the fact that three federally protected species -- two types of mussel and the Gulf sturgeon -- are believed to need fresh water to maintain their habitat The demands of the little-known species has led Georgia officials to characterize the debate as a contest of man versus mussel -- suggesting that Georgians should get the water before mussels do ------------------------- This whole situation has been like Katrina in slow motion said David Goldberg a smart growth advocate and Atlanta-based writer on urban affairs Its the same confluence of factors Theres Mother Nature the Army Corps of Engineers and the utter failure to plan for the growth of metro Atlanta Dire Drought Situation Could Peak In Spring October 30 2007 wsoctvcom CHARLOTTE NC -- Recent rain may have pushed back tougher water restrictions to mid-December or mid-January but the picture is becoming clearer of when the real danger may set in Duke Energy officials said Tuesday that worst case scenario the region will be out of usable drinking water by mid-March without significant rain Eyewitness News asked spokeswoman Marilyn Lineberger what would happen then You just need to add additional piping perhaps or valves or pumps in order to be able to get the water below that certain level she said She said pipes in lakes would have to be moved lower to reach more shallow water but she said getting to that point is highly unlikely -- only a 10 percent chance Still cities and towns in the area are looking at how they would move pipes to reach more drinking water and what kinds of water restrictions they may have to impose Its a statewide issue and Governor Mike Easley spoke about the drought in Raleigh on Tuesday afternoon ldquoThis is a growing state Were not going to get more rain just because were getting more people Were going to have to be more efficient with what we have he said Along the banks of the Catawba River in west Mecklenburg County residents are discouraged by what they see Ive always cared about nature This affects the wildlife businesses everybody said Joe Hanna ldquoThe waters getting lower everyday the rain brought it up a little bit but not much said Carl Hutchings Al Haigler said he just wants to make sure hersquoll have something to drink The region received between one and three inches of rain last week Before the rain Duke Energy officials estimated Stage 4 restrictions would be needed in three to six weeks

Environment (What ndash no mention of hydro Maybe a better name for the UCS would be ndash Union of Confused Scientists We will never get to the 15 goal with wind bioenergy solar and geothermal) 15 Percent by 2020 National Renewable Electricity Standard Would Save Consumers Money and Fight Global Warming Science Group Says October 25 2007 Source Union of Concerned Scientists An energy bill requiring utilities to generate at least 15 percent of their electricity from renewable energy sources would significantly lower consumer electricity and natural gas bills and reduce global warming pollution according to new analysis released today by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) The House passed such a provision called a renewable electricity standard in its version of the bill The national renewable electricity standard provision that passed the House would require utilities to supply 15 percent of their power from wind bioenergy solar or geothermal power by 2020 States could meet a quarter of their obligation through energy efficiency measures Currently about 25 percent of the countryrsquos power supply comes from non-hydroelectric renewable sources The UCS analysis found that a 15-percent-by-2020 national renewable electricity standard would

bull save consumers $13 billion to $181 billion on electricity and natural gas bills by 2020 by reducing demand for fossil fuels and increasing competition in the US energy market


bull generate more than a 450 percent increase in the nationrsquos clean energy use over 2005 levels and bull reduce global warming pollution by 126 million metric tons per year by 2020 equal to taking as

many as 21 million cars off the road In our view Help for Salmon October 29 2007 The Columbian Clark County WA Third removable fish weir arrives at Snake River dam to aid fish migration Moving along at 4-5 mph might not seem like an impressive feat but when youre taking a 2-million-pound steel structure upstream its a significant accomplishment Thats what happened last week when a $15 million 120-foot-high 80-foot-wide removable fish weir was transported by two tugboats and two barges up the Columbia River from Portland to the Lower Monumental Dam on the Snake River In addition to the transportation triumph this was a noteworthy accomplishment in environmental science The massive weir after it is attached to the dam in the next few days by diving specialists will enable migrating salmon and steelhead to more easily answer their instincts and move downstream hundreds of miles to the ocean According to the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin this years fish weir arrived at Lower Monumental Dam on Tuesday ahead of schedule The fish weir technology allows migrating fish to pass more gradually through the dam starting at a higher level 10-13 feet below the surface instead of having to dive 50-60 feet down spillways to find a way downstream According to the US Army Corps of Engineers similar weirs at the Lower Granite and Ice Harbor dams on the Snake River have allowed the migrating fish to achieve survival rates of higher than 96 percent Thats because the deep-water threats of pressure changes and rapid acceleration are lessened or removed by installing the huge steel contraptions Think of the fish weir as a water slide for smolts This relatively new technology however cannot be expected to resolve the debate about whether the four Snake River dams should be breached as many environmentalists have argued Originally the Columbian endorsed such a strategy for salmon survival but we acknowledge that dam-breaching has drawn little support among elected officials And for now while the debate rages on the scientific advancement represented by removable fish weirs is at least a step toward enhancing fish migration Clark County residents might recall a similar massive fish weir built in 2004 at the Thompson Metal Fab plant in Vancouver on the Columbia River This years fish weir - fabricated by Oregon Iron Works in Portland and loaded upon two grain barges at Swan Island - is even bigger Its the third of four planned for the Snake River Farthest upstream a removable fish weir was installed in 2001 at the Lower Granite Dam near the Idaho border Then in 2005 one was attached to the Ice Harbor Dam just east of Pasco and the farthest downstream of the four Snake River dams The fourth and final weir is scheduled for installation at Little Goose Dam in two years The fish weirs are designed so that they can be moved to different levels depending on seasonal factors such as fish migratory habits and any possible need to increase flow during high water levels Balancing the benefits of Northwest dams with the negative environmental impacts of such structures is a tricky probably impossible task Meanwhile science can be used to answer both demands iThis compilation of articles and other information is provided at no cost for those interested in hydropower dams and water resources issues and development and should not be used for any commercial or other purpose

1

Copy obtained from the National Performance of Dams Program httpnpdpstanfordedu

i 11092007

Other Stuff (A new kind of HydroPower) LOS ANGELES CA--(Marketwire - October 31 2007) - OG Nation Inc announced today that it has already begun production on its new line of HydroPower enhanced flavored water in tandem with former NBA star Larry Johnson head of OG Nations Larry Johnson Beverage Division The latest offering from the Larry Johnson Beverage Division HydroPower is a line of enhanced flavored waters carefully designed to provide great-tasting refreshment as well as effective hydration and the replacement of vital minerals and vitamins Created under the personal supervision of Larry Johnson himself HydroPower waters come in a variety of flavors like Pomegranate Kiwi Strawberry and Natural Orange (Pesky Beavers) Water flows back through Big Chico Creek By E-R Staff 11022007 Chico-Enterprise Record Water is now flowing back down Big Chico Creek after officials breached three beaver dams and one human dam this morning Interim Assistant City Manager Dennis Beardsley said this morning water should be flowing through Chico State University campus soon It will take some time said Beardsley who is in charge of the citys parks There will be a surge of water that will come through because its been backed up and then it will go back to its normal level One beaver dam located about 10 yards from the Five-Mile Dam had been diverting water from Big Chico Creek into Lindo Channel which is normally dry at this time of year Workers with the city and the California Department of Fish and Game spent three hours modifying the dam after deciding Thursday it was causing excessive water loss and killing too many fish Beardsley said Fish and Game decided to go ahead and modify the other three dams as well to get a healthy stream flow The beavers are fine and will probably be back out tonight trying to repair their dams he said Until we get some rains well continue to have to monitor this because the beavers will understandably make their dams whole again Beardsley said


Quote of Note ldquoBeing in politics is like being a football coach You have

to be smart enough to understand the game and dumb enough to think its importantrdquo - - Eugene McCarthy

2


Dams (From ASCE) HR 3224 passes US House of Representatives Monday night by a vote of 263 to 102 the House of Representatives passed the ASCE-supported Dam Rehabilitation and Repair Act of 2007 (H R 3224) To see how your legislator voted ldquoclick hererdquo httpclerkhousegovevs2007roll1010xml Sponsored by Rep John Salazar (D-CO) the legislation authorizes $2012 million for the repair rehabilitation or removal of deficient dams In a speech on the floor of the House Rep Salazar pointed out the crucial need for a dam rehabilitation program ldquoWe cannot wait for our nation to suffer a catastrophic dam failure that takes life to address this serious issuerdquo A similar bill was introduced last week in the Senate (S 2238) by Sen Daniel Akaka (D-HI) Note High hazard dams owned or operated by state local or municipal governments or agencies that provide a significant benefit to the public will be able to compete for rehabilitation funds granted to states (Now this is unadulterated hogwash For those of us that have been there you know therersquos nothing close to the ldquothe most significant natural landscape and the center of biodiversity in the state of Missourirdquo ndash no offense to Missourians intended) Environmental concerns could delay Taum Sauk restoration BY ALAN SCHER ZAGIERTHE ASSOCIATED PRESS THE MISSOURIAN NOVEMBER 2 2007 JEFFERSON CITY MO mdash The proposed restoration of the Taum Sauk reservoir after its December 2005 collapse could be delayed over environmental concerns and a likely lawsuit against the project Federal regulators in August gave Ameren Corp the necessary approval to begin rebuilding the mountaintop reservoir in southeast Missouri But on Friday a St Louis environmental advocacy group announced its intention to sue over what it called the Federal Energy Regulatory Commissionrsquos failure to properly monitor the reconstruction project ldquoThis is one of the most catastrophic failures of any reservoir in the countryrdquo said Susan Flader a past president of the Missouri Parks Association the plaintiff in the pending suit by the Great Rivers Environmental Law Center The commission which regulates the 55-acre reservoir is requiring Ameren to undertake a series of steps to minimize the impact of construction on the nearby Johnsonrsquos Shut-Ins state park and the surrounding environment Flader called those steps which include a reforestation plan inadequate The parks group wants the federal agency to require a more detailed environmental impact statement from Ameren ldquoThat project is in the center of probably the most significant natural landscape and the center of biodiversity in the state of Missourirdquo said Flader who is also a University of Missouri-Columbia history professor Officials with both the federal agency and Ameren declined to comment on the pending litigation The likely legal battle would only further complicate Amerenrsquos rebuilding plans The company has previously said it canrsquot begin the project until it settles a lawsuit with the state over liabilities from the reservoirrsquos breach Attorney General Jay Nixon filed a lawsuit last year alleging Ameren placed profits over safety in its operation of Taum Sauk State regulators found that Ameren managers delayed repairing faulty instrumentation at the mountaintop reservoir causing it to overflow and collapse spilling more than 1 billion gallons of water into the state park below A recent court filing suggests that the two parties are close to reaching a settlement A draft settlement presented to the company by the state Department of Natural Resources last year asked for roughly $125 million for damages and fines associated with the accident In return for the damage to state parkland the state also wants Ameren to turn over a stretch of abandoned rail line that could be used to extend the 237-mile Katy Trail bicycle path into the Kansas City area Drawdown of Roswell private lake ordered Dam safety Releasing millions of gallons will ease pressure on earthen structure By MARY MacDONALD The Atlanta Journal-Constitution 110207 Martin Lake the largest in Roswell has an interesting problem in a time of historic drought It has too much water mdash about 70 million gallons worth State authorities who oversee dam safety are worried its 34-foot high earthen dam is losing stability Theyve told homeowners surrounding the 53-acre lake to lower the water level by 5 feet to ease pressure on the dam and then to follow up with repairs The Martins Landing

3


Foundation which owns the nearly 40-year-old dam says it will do that Water released from Martin Lake mdash bordered by nearly 2000 homes apartments and condos mdash feeds into the Chattahoochee River which is a quarter-mile to the west Lowering the private lake will drain some shallow areas but homeowners know it is necessary said Bill Nelms a Martins Landing homeowner and president of its governing foundation They understand the dam has to be repaired he said But they are concerned about wasting the water In consideration of the ongoing water crisis the homeowners have asked the state to consider whether the release of up to 80 million gallons can be credited against future discharges from Lake Lanier The Martin Lake dam has had upgrades over the past several decades Nelms said but nothing as substantial as what is now required He expects the final bill to be in the multiple millions but said it is not a significant problem because of the size of Martins Landing The problems first appeared in March 1998 when an annual inspection by the Safe Dams Program of the states Environmental Protection Division found deficiencies near a concrete spillway on the left side of the dam said Tom Woosley program manager The inspection noted a portion of the downstream slope had a slough a sign of instability with the dam Woosley said Since then the state and homeowners foundation have gone back and forth over design issues Homeowners contend the state has a lengthy process for design and has changed its dam standards along the way The state says it is the responsibility of the dam owner to make the needed repairs The states Safe Dams Program was created nearly 30 years ago after the Kelly Barnes dam failed killing 39 people when water swept through Toccoa Falls College Under the program the state regulates dams that are 25 foot or taller or that store 100 acre-feet or more These dams are considered high hazard because if they fail theres a probable loss of life Woosley said The Martin Lake dam is among 481 statewide that fall under the requirement It is among dozens in metro Atlanta that need professional repairs Woosley said But he is concerned the slough in the Martin Lake dam appears to be moving The fact that the slough has moved says its marginally stable he said Theres a possibility it could go Thats why we want the lake level down so theres less stress Martin Shelton an Atlanta-based attorney who is representing the foundation said the dam owners intend to comply with the state order But state authorities could also step in and lower the lake and havent done so he said They have not said the dam is unsafe said Nelms Woosley says the states authority is limited It can only step in if the dam is in imminent danger of collapse he said (THIS SOUNDS LIKE GESTAPO TATICS) CEC URGES RATE HIKE TO REMOVE KLAMATH DAMS NOT FISHERIES UPGRADE 05 November 2007 International Water Power and Dam Construction The California Energy Commission (CEC) has called on three states to allow only cost recovery for removing the Klamath dams and urged them not to increase electricity rates to help fund upgrades with fish passages In identical letters issued to the public utilities commissions (PUCs) of California Oregon and Washington the CEC presented its economic argument for removing the dams and urged the states not to approve an rate hikes that would instead support PacifiCorp the owner of the dams in adding fish passages The dams are JC Boyle Copco 1 amp 2 and Iron Gate which together have 169MW of installed capacity PacifiCorp wants new licenses from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to operate the facilities for decades longer Earlier this year CEC and PacifiCorp traded critiques of their respective cases against and for the dams In sending the letters to the states CEC was issuing its economic analysis for the PUCs to consider In March CEC claimed that removing the Klamath dams but improving fish passage at a fifth dam ndash Keno - was the best economic option for fisheries protection and refuted the findings of a study undertaken by a consultant for PacifiCorp The utility said the study concluded there were flaws in the CEC analysis but which the Commission rejected PacifiCorp wants to invest approximately US$300M to protect fisheries by installing fish ladders CEC wants the dams gone and while having admitted it lsquorectifiedrsquo some data in its analysis following the report from the consultant acting for PacifiCorp it claimed the re-analyzed economic case for dam removal was even stronger In the letters CEC said the FERC relicensing process for the Klamath dams presented a lsquoonce-in-a-generationrsquo chance to restore the river habitat It argues that the dams have significant environmental impact

4


in relation to the electricity obtained from the facilities The Commission has urged that the only rate rise approval in relation to the dams is for cost recovery for decommissioning Deadly Dam Collapse Remembered 30 Years Later 39 People Died When Dam Gave Way November 6 2007 WYFF4com TOCCOA FALLS GA -- Its an event that happened 30 years ago that will never be forgotten by the people who lived through it On Nov 6 1977 more than three dozen people died when the dam above Toccoa Falls broke I was in my dorm asleep My roommate woke me up We recall later hearing a thump of the water coming over the falls Jon Kerr told WYFF News 4s Kisha FosterKerr is now a counselor at Toccoa Falls College a Christian college founded in 1937 He was 19 years old when the dam broke Kerr said it was an emotional time for everyone who knew the 39 people who died Lots of anger in some ways -- feeling like it was unjustrdquo he said Feeling more for the people who lost family -- lost wives kids and husbands On a Sunday at about 130 am the earthen Kelly Barnes Dam broke without any warning In about 20seconds nearly 200 million gallons of water wiped out cars dorms and homes According to the Association of state dam safety officials the damage cost was $30 million Veteran journalist Paul Brown said It seems like yesterday I got a call in the middle of the night the dam had broken and campus flooded a lot of people dead Brown who is also a school alumnus covered the aftermath He said reporting on this event was extremely challenging because he knew many of the victims It was difficult when it became apparent that some that died were people I had known had taught me For the first time I was involved in a major national-international story that involved people I personally knew Brown said Out of the tragic event the book Dam Break in Georgia Sadness and Joy at Toccoa Falls was written by K Neil Foster The 160-page book has a forward from then President Jimmy Carters wife Rosalynn Carter She called the incident A story about faith The miracle of Toccoa Falls confirms what I believe He gives us unlimited strength when we trust in Him This is a story that will never have an ending The book also features the stories of the victims the first responders as well as survivors on that fall day What happened in the northeast Georgia town was one of several tragic dam events in the America which led to the Federal Dam Safety Act The act has forced states to improve their dams Funding was made available to help states to set up training programs for safety inspectors to research and improve the techniques and equipment for monitoring dams and to upgrade their dam safety programs through incentive grants But the act isnt the only way the dam collapse left its mark This is a part of Toccoa Falls College Kerr said Its apart of our history in the same way the shooting at Virginia Tech is now a part of their history Its significant to us A memorial to the flood victims stands at the base of the falls A similar tragedy can never happen again because there is no longer a dam above the falls

Hydro Low-cost hydropower approved for four Western New York businesses EmpireStateNewsnet Nov1 2007 Albany -- Governor Eliot Spitzer Wednesday announced the allocation of low-cost hydropower that will help create 173 new jobs and $185 million in capital investments by four companies in Niagara and Erie Counties The hydropower allocations which were approved by the New York Power Authority Board of Trustees went to Niagara Sheets Wheatfield Hurtubise Tire North Tonawanda Ashton Products Depew and Great Lakes Concrete Products Hamburg The amount of power totaling 1990 kilowatts is to be drawn from a block of Niagara industrial power known as Replacement Power It is one of two large quantities of power from the project reserved for Western New York businesses under New York State law provided at rates approximately 75 percent less than average wholesale market prices (Maybe this is one of those projects that can get help from the new legislation but it may not be a high hazard potential dam It is a picturesque site)

5


A debate runs through it By MECHELE COOPER Kennebec Journal Morning Sentinel 11012007 WHITEFIELD -- To remove or not to remove the dam That is the question voters will discuss at a meeting Nov 8 one week before they vote at a special town meeting whether to remove Coopers Mills Dam The

special town meeting is scheduled for Nov 15 Both meetings are 7 pm at Whitefield Elementary School The Sheepscot River Watershed Council and other interested organizations including Trout Unlimited want to remove the town-owned dam and build a rock ramp that would maintain sufficient water for fire protection but not obstruct fish passage While the current dam is not a source of power it serves as a source of water for the Fire Department A dry hydrant at the dam allows for direct pumping for fires in Coopers Mills village The 100-year-old dam also has a concrete fish ladder owned and maintained by the state that allows certain species of fish including alewives and endangered Atlantic salmon to swim up and down the river past the Coopers Mills dam to access spawning habitat The ladder allows fish to bypass the dam going up and down stream as long as the flow of water is sufficient to keep the level of the impoundment at the top of the dam But a 2005 dam inspection conducted by Kleinschmidt Associates of Pittsfield confirmed the dam is in disrepair and is a danger to public safety and conserving natural resources Theres significant leakage and deteriorated concrete and cracks the report found A plan to remove the dam and build a rock ramp as a natural fish passage is in direct opposition to a recommendation made by the

towns Coopers Mills Dam Committee In a final report presented to selectmen two weeks ago the committee unanimously agreed the dam and fishway should be repaired Stephen Smith who serves on that committee stood on top of the 150-foot-long concrete-and-stone structure recently and watched whitewater rush over the spillway The key factor here is the fish passage Smith said If the dam is repaired and functioning properly it will allow for fish passage as it did in the past And eventually we could have a hydropower station installed From our studies there is the possibility of producing electricity at an economical rate And theres new subsides coming down the road Under current conditions Smith said passage around the dam is generally available to most species of fish at times of typical use except sometimes in late summer and fall If the leaks are repaired Smith said it would stabilize the dams water level allowing year-round functioning of both the fire hydrant and fish ladder He said local contractors estimated repair costs of $65000 to $75000 Part of that cost would prepare the dam for hydropower -- compared to $218000 estimated in the Kleinschmidt study Jeff Reardon of Trout Unlimited is worried about the quality of any repair work which he said must last 30 years If youre saving money by cutting corners my question is Is it going to work and for how long Another concern he said is finding funds If the town chooses to fix the dam it would have to come up with the money on its own he said On the other hand Reardon said there is $200000 dedicated to construction of the rock ramp and removal of the dam The funds come from a Maine Yankee damage settlement a fund administered by the state Kleinschmidt estimated it would cost $266000 to remove the dam build the rock ramp and relocate a hydrant upstream None of Kleinschmidts estimates include permitting fees or engineering and designer costs If you look at $266000 most of that probably is already raised Reardon said There are funds available for restoration but funds for maintaining existing dams are scarce and hard to come by The big issue for the town is to pay for the (repair) project themselves or have this rock ramp somebody else pays for Smith disagrees saying his committee found grants for dam repair and lots of upside from hydropower With global warming and oil costing $100 a barrel this is an issue thats going to blossom in the next five years Smith said If we harness low-head hydro power thats a tremendous amount of energy But Jed Wright of the US Fish amp Wildlife Service said the dam is a marginal site for a hydropower with startup costs of well over $3 million If it were in fact profitable it would benefit leasing the site to a developer or potentially use the energy for town needs perhaps the school said Louis Sells committee chairman If we

6


remove the dam we lose the hydro potential Charlie Baeder of the Sheepscot River Watershed Council said his organization prefers that the dam be replaced with a rock ramp but will support the town if it decides to repair the structure There is money available he said through natural resource agencies to repair the concrete fishway The rock ramp is a more natural habitat than a fishway but besides that it would reduce the maintenance cost and frequency of the day-to-day operation of the dam which has been a challenge to the town Baeder said (Hydro has opposition in other places) Vancouver Island Proposed hydro-electric project draws ire of Watershed Watch Salmon Society By KING LEE Journal of Commerce Oct 31 2007 A proposed hydroelectric project to increase Vancouver Islandrsquos power supply has prompted an environmental group to call for the provincial government to pause and think The Watershed Watch Salmon Society based in Coquitlam said it is worried about run-of-river hydroelectric projects in the wake of Kleana Power Corporationrsquos plan to build the Klinaklini River hydroelectric power station on the BC mainland coast about 170 kilometers northeast of Campbell River Kleana began the formal process about a year ago while Plutonic Power has signed a $500-million construction deal to build the 196-megawatt run-of-river East Toba-Montrose power station at the head of Bute Inlet by 2010 The WWSS said that BC Hydro intends to acquire another 10000 Gigawatt hours of power much of it from run-of-river projects by 2015 so the time to be concerned is now Run-of-river hydropower diverts some of a riverrsquos flow to power electricity-producing turbines and returns the water downstream The environmental group noted that terrestrial and aquatic footprints as well as construction costs are significant ldquoRun-of-river hydropower is promoted in BC and elsewhere as an environmentally-friendly solution to humanityrsquos ever-increasing energy demandsrdquo the WWSSrsquos web site stated ldquoThe rush to implement large-scale run-of-river projects (sometimes called Independent Power Producer or IPP projects) has prompted queries and debate about what these projects portend for people and the environmentrdquo The Klinaklini River project will yield an average generating capacity of 280 MW with an ability to increase to 700 MW during peak periods Kleana is also proposing to build a 180-kilometre 230-kV transmission line to link to Vancouver Island near Campbell River ldquoPeople are getting overexcited about itrdquo said Dr Alexander Eunall president of Vancouver-based Kleana He said the project is in its preliminary stages and has admitted that his initial projected timetable of beginning construction by 2008 was too optimistic At the same time BC Hydro is pondering the future of the 60-year-old John Hart generating station on the Campbell River The generating stations accounts for a quarter of the electricity used on Vancouver Island If a new generating plant is to be built adjacent to the old one the power station must remain operational

Water EXTREME MEASURES FOR EXTREME DROUGHT By BEN EVANS The Associated Press November 2 2007 The Ledger Florida to Lose Water Under Compromise to Help Atlanta WASHINGTON | Under a plan brokered by the Bush administration the Army Corps of Engineers would hold back more water in Georgia lakes as the governors of drought-stricken Georgia Florida and Alabama work toward a water-sharing agreement The proposal - which would bolster Atlantas drinking supply at the expense of users downstream - was announced Thursday after the governors of the three states met with Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne and other administration officials It still must win approval from the federal Fish and Wildlife Service because of the potential impact on several protected species of mussels and sturgeon that live downstream Officials said the agency would issue an expedited biological opinion on the change Im grateful for the relief Georgia Gov Sonny Perdue said Perdue has criticized the federal

7


government for continuing what he calls excessive water releases from reservoirs such as Lake Lanier Atlantas main water supply even as the drought has shrunk it to record lows But Perdue and other Georgia leaders have been criticized by neighboring states and environmentalists who say Georgia has failed to plan for its growth Alabama Gov Bob Riley and Florida Gov Charlie Crist previously had fought Georgias effort to keep more water arguing that its demands were unreasonable and that reducing river flows could cripple their economies On Thursday they accepted the recommendation but only as part of continuing negotiations In extreme drought we have to take extreme measures Riley said I think well be fine The three states have been locked in a legal battle over water rights for the better part of two decades But the fight has intensified in recent weeks as a record drought has taken over much of the region According to the National Drought Mitigation Center almost a third of the Southeast is covered by an exceptional drought the worst category The dispute centers on how much water the Corps of Engineers holds back in federal reservoirs near the head of two river basins in north Georgia that flow south into Florida and Alabama The fast-growing Atlanta region relies on the lakes for drinking water But power plants in Florida and Alabama depend on healthy flows in the rivers as do farms commercial fisheries industrial users and municipalities The corps also is required to release adequate flows to ensure habitats for species protected by the Endangered Species Act Under Thursdays agreement the corps would reduce flows by about 16 percent in the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint river basin that runs along the Alabama-Georgia border into Floridas Apalachicola Bay The river system contains five federal dams including the Buford Dam at Lake Lanier The other system involved in the dispute is the Alabama-Coosa-Tallapoosa which flows mostly in Alabama Despite years of failed negotiations the governors said they were optimistic they could find a compromise Failure is not an option this time Riley said

Environment Biologists for Agency Endorse Dams Plan By FELICITY BARRINGER November 1 2007 The New York Times SAN FRANCISCO Oct 31 mdash Federal fisheries officials in Seattle on Wednesday endorsed with minor modifications a plan for the governmentrsquos continued operation of the hydroelectric dams on the Columbia and Snake Rivers They said it did not jeopardize the survival of 13 stocks of salmon and steelhead that the government must protect under the Endangered Species Act The endorsement a draft analysis from the National Marine Fisheries Service agreed with dozens of proposed protective actions that would provide enhanced measures to get juvenile fish past the dams as they swim seaward improve habitat in the river and discourage predators like California sea lions and Caspian terns Wednesdayrsquos draft represents the fisheries agencyrsquos third effort to find a binding legally acceptable solution to the Northwestrsquos tug of war between salmon and dams The agencies operating the dams are required by law to consult with federal biologists about their impact on endangered and threatened species and what they intend to do about it The opinion by the fisheries service a part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration made no mention of the possibility of removing four dams on the lower Snake River that sit on the annual migration route of some of the more imperiled species Many environmentalists and scientists see these four dams as the deadliest obstacle these fish face Federal officials said the new planrsquos approach to the recovery of the 13 stocks was significantly different from an approach they offered three years ago That plan which like Wednesdayrsquos is called a ldquobiological opinionrdquo was struck down by a federal judge as violating the Endangered Species Act A federal appeals court upheld that ruling this year Judge James A Redden of Federal District Court in Portland Ore who has presided over the issue has made clear he is willing to step in and direct the damsrsquo operation if he believes it is the only way to protect the fish In a court hearing this summer Judge Redden said ldquoIrsquom going to be very picky because I want a bi-op that works This is a very very very very important documentrdquo Bob Lohn the northwest regional administrator of the fisheries service said in a conference call on Wednesday that the plan had been prepared with much more collaboration with interested groups like Indian tribes and commercial interests Mr Lohn added ldquoThis plan is based on a much more detailed approach to the problemrdquo taking into account the needs of six dozen subgroups of fish But environmentalists say the plan retreats from the status quo on one crucial issue It permits reductions in the amount of water released from

8


the dams that allows juvenile fish quick passage past them and away from the deadly turbines Judge Redden has set release amounts since 2005 The opinion was condemned by environmental groups from the Sierra Club to a regional group Save Our Wild Salmon as doing more for the Bonneville Power Administration than for the 13 troubled fish runs two of which have very few wild fish left to reproduce outside hatcheries The only difference between this plan and the two earlier ones rejected by the courts they said is the presentation not the bottom line ldquoItrsquos the same pig in a different tutu but it still canrsquot dancerdquo said Todd True a lawyer for Earthjustice who represents environmentalists in this dispute Steve Wright administrator of the Bonneville Power Administration said in the conference call that the modifications made to mitigate the damsrsquo impact on fish would cost about $1 billion over the next 10 years Were the four Lower Snake River dams to be breached he said the annual cost of replacing the lost power would be at least $450 million Chutes and ladders Idaho Power builds device to help spawning trout By Matt Christensen Times-News magicvallycom Oct 31 2007 HAGERMAN ID - Sometimes fish need a little something extra to meet new partners get in the mood and make baby fish And no the answer isnt RampB music But it could be fish ladders devices that help fish bypass hydroelectric dams en route to prime spawning areas Idaho Power Co is building a fish ladder - the companys first in 60 years - at its Malad power facility between Hagerman and Bliss in hopes fish in the Snake River might move farther up the Malad tributary to spawn in cool spring water The Malad River has some of the highest densities of trout in the West said Steve Brink a fisheries biologist with Idaho Power This project could double the size of their spawning area The project is part of a relicensing agreement with the Federal Regulatory Energy Commission and is expected to be completed in January Company and federal government studies which began in 1998 indicated area rainbow trout populations could be increased if the ladder was built Heres how it works Fish approaching the dam from the river will be funneled toward the device which looks similar to an aqueduct Theyll swim into a series of narrow shallow ponds in the ladder that become increasingly higher until theyre around the dam - a 280-foot swim to climb about 13 feet Fish returning from spawning areas follow the same process in reverse Its a series of ponds that function basically like an escalator Brink said The Malad project will feature the companys first functioning ladder built since the 1940s when a similar project failed But Idaho Power officials expect this ladder to be more fruitful A 10-year monitoring program will gauge its success and if all goes as planned another ladder will be built farther upstream The first fish ladder will cost the utility about $3 million Idaho Power generates about 23 megawatts of electricity each year at two hydropower facilities in a three-mile stretch of the Malad River One megawatt is enough electricity to power about 650 residential homes iThis compilation of articles and other information is provided at no cost for those interested in hydropower dams and water resources issues and development and should not be used for any commercial or other purpose

1


i 11162007

Other Stuff (This is long-winded but may be interesting to some and should add to the controversy) November 1 2007 My Nobel moment Commentary by John R Christy | The Wall Street Journal Ive had a lot of fun recently with my tiny (and unofficial) slice of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize awarded to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) But though I was one of thousands of IPCC participants I dont think I will add 00001 Nobel Laureate to my resume The other half of the prize was awarded to former Vice President Al Gore whose carbon footprint would stomp my neighborhood flat But thats another story Both halves of the award honor promoting the message that Earths temperature is rising due to human-based emissions of greenhouse gases The Nobel committee praises Mr Gore and the IPCC for alerting us to a potential catastrophe and for spurring us to a carbonless economy Im sure the majority (but not all) of my IPCC colleagues cringe when I say this but I see neither the developing catastrophe nor the smoking gun proving that human activity is to blame for most of the warming we see Rather I see a reliance on climate models (useful but never proof) and the coincidence that changes in carbon dioxide and global temperatures have loose similarity over time There are some of us who remain so humbled by the task of measuring and understanding the extraordinarily complex climate system that we are skeptical of our ability to know what it is doing and why As we build climate data sets from scratch and look into the guts of the climate system however we dont find the alarmist theory matching observations (The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration satellite data we analyze at the University of Alabama in Huntsville does show modest warming -- around 25 degrees Fahrenheit per century if current warming trends of 025 degrees per decade continue It is my turn to cringe when I hear overstated-confidence from those who describe the projected evolution of global weather patterns over the next 100 years especially when I consider how difficult it is to accurately predict that systems behavior over the next five days Mother Nature simply operates at a level of complexity that is at this point beyond the mastery of mere mortals (such as scientists) and the tools available to us As my high-school physics teacher admonished us in those we-shall conquer-the-world-with-a-slide-rule days Begin all of your scientific pronouncements with At our present level of ignorance we think we know I havent seen that type of climate humility lately Rather I see jump-to conclusions advocates and unfortunately some scientists who see in every weather anomaly the specter of a global-warming apocalypse Explaining each successive phenomenon as a result of human action gives them comfort and an easy answer Others of us scratch our heads and try to understand the real causes behind what we see We discount the possibility that everything is caused by human actions because everything weve seen the


Quote of Note Definition - ldquoPolitics n Strife of interests masquerading as a

contest of principlesrdquo - - Ambrose Bierce The Devils Dictionary

2


climate do has happened before Sea levels rise and fall continually The Arctic ice cap has shrunk before One millennium there are hippos swimming in the Thames and a geological blink later there is an ice bridge linking Asia and North America One of the challenges in studying global climate is keeping a global perspective especially when much of the research focuses on data gathered from spots around the globe Often observations from one region get more attention than equally valid data from another The recent CNN report Planet in Peril for instance spent considerable time discussing shrinking Arctic sea ice cover CNN did not note that winter sea ice around Antarctica last month set a record maximum (yes maximum) for coverage since aerial measurements started Then there is the challenge of translating global trends to local climate For instance hasnt global warming led to the five-year drought and fires in the US Southwest Not necessarily There has been a drought but it would be a stretch to link this drought to carbon dioxide If you look at the 1000-year climate record for the western US you will see not five-year but 50-year-long droughts The 12th and 13th centuries were particularly dry The inconvenient truth is that the last century has been fairly benign in the American West A return to the regions long-term normal climate would present huge challenges for urban planners Without a doubt atmospheric carbon dioxide is increasing due primarily to carbon-based energy production (with its undisputed benefits to humanity) and many people ardently believe we must do something about its alleged consequence global warming This might seem like a legitimate concern given the potential disasters that are announced almost daily so Ive looked at a couple of ways in which humans might reduce CO2 emissions and their impact on temperatures California and some Northeastern states have decided to force their residents to buy cars that average 43 miles-per-gallon within the next decade Even if you applied this law to the entire world the net effect would reduce projected warming by about 005 degrees Fahrenheit by 2100 an amount so minuscule as to be undetectable Global temperatures vary more than that from day to day Suppose you are very serious about making a dent in carbon emissions and could replace about 10 of the worlds energy sources with non-CO2-emitting nuclear power by 2020 -- roughly equivalent to halving US emissions Based on IPCC-like projections the required 1000 new nuclear power plants would slow the warming by about 02 176 degrees Fahrenheit per century Its a dent But what is the economic and human price and what is it worth given the scientific uncertainty My experience as a missionary teacher in Africa opened my eyes to this simple fact Without access to energy life is brutal and short The uncertain impacts of global warming far in the future must be weighed against disasters at our doorsteps today Bjorn Lomborgs Copenhagen Consensus 2004 a cost-benefit analysis of health issues by leading economists (including three Nobelists) calculated that spending on health issues such as micronutrients for children HIVAIDS and water purification has benefits 50 to 200 times those of attempting to marginally limit global warming Given the scientific uncertainty and our relative impotence regarding climate change the moral imperative here seems clear to me Mr Christy is director of the Earth System Science Center at the University of Alabama in Huntsville and a participant in the UNs Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change co-recipient of this years Nobel Peace Prize (Something to think about Of course the first dam proposed will be opposed by the NY Times) EDITORIAL OBSERVER NEW YORK TIMES

Public Works When lsquoBig Governmentrsquo Plays Its Role By ADAM COHEN November 13 2007 At the dedication of the Triborough Bridge in 1936 Franklin Roosevelt made an impassioned case for public works There was a time when no one complained he said ldquothat our schoolhouses were badly ventilated and lightedrdquo or that ldquothere were no playgrounds for children in crowded tenement areasrdquo But times had changed ldquoPeople are demanding up-to-date government in place of antiquated governmentrdquo he declared ldquojust as they are requiring and demanding Triborough Bridges in place of ancient ferriesrdquo The Triborough was built by Rooseveltrsquos Public Works Administration or PWA one of his ldquoalphabet souprdquo agencies The New Deal public works programs are mainly remembered for giving jobs to victims of the Great Depression but as Robert D Leighninger Jr argues in his recent book ldquoLong-Range Public Investment The Forgotten Legacy of the New Dealrdquo they also transformed the American landscape and greatly improved the nation The story of the 1930s public works programs is timely again because much of America is falling apart The deadly collapse of a Minnesota highway bridge in August shined a light on the poor state of the nationrsquos bridges many thousands of which are ldquostructurally deficientrdquo by federal standards Georgiarsquos failure to build enough reservoirs has contributed to a water crisis that could cripple metropolitan Atlanta We should be thinking today about replicating some of the successes of the Depression-era programs The PWA the Works Progress Administration and the Civilian Conservation Corps were primarily undertaken to put people to work at a time when the unemployment rate approached 25 percent and to

3


restart a woeful economy Forward-looking officials like Harry Hopkins the relief administrator and Secretary of Labor Frances Perkins argued however that public works should be directed to socially useful programs Not all of it was But the vast majority was enormously valuable Great institutions were built including the Bay Bridge the Hoover Dam and Washingtonrsquos National Airport mdash now named for Ronald Reagan Mr Leighninger notes even though it is ldquoa product of the type of lsquobig governmentrsquo program that he spent most of his political career opposingrdquo The New Deal programs also built thousands of important buildings many beautiful including the Alameda County Courthouse in Oakland the University of Texas Tower and a reconstructed French Market in New Orleans Some projects were high-profile mdash notably the great hydroelectric dams and the presidential retreat at Camp David mdash but many more focused on the unglamorous mechanics of modern living like water mains pump stations and sewage treatment plants The WPA alone built 78000 bridges and viaducts and improved 46000 more It constructed 572000 miles of rural roads and 67000 miles of urban streets It also built or improved 39000 schools 2500 hospitals and 12800 playgrounds The Civilian Conservation Corps Rooseveltrsquos favorite sent hundreds of thousands of young people into the countryside They landscaped and made accessible sites like the battlefields at Gettysburg and Appomattox and cleared the way for Virginiarsquos Skyline Drive Most of their time was spent on tree planting flood control soil erosion efforts and fire prevention The New Deal public works programs have largely faded into history Most people who use their handiwork like the millions who travel over the Triborough or visit San Antoniorsquos River Walk are unaware of how they came to be built People rarely think about viaducts or sewage lines It is a legacy though that is worth recalling There is a reason we are reading about bridges collapsing water systems being overburdened and other system failures mdash like the 2003 blackout which left 50 million people in the Northeast and Canada without power Physical capital investment as a percentage of gross domestic product the measure of how much the nation is investing in itself is dismally low today by historic standards mdash and the $600 billion-plus being directed to the Iraq War is not helping Investing in the nationrsquos buildings transportation and overall mechanics has often been viewed as a Democratic issue but that may be changing With Georgiarsquos water supply drying up Representative John Linder a Republican who has made a career of bashing Washington is calling for a national commission on water resources And after the Minnesota bridge collapse the Senate passed a bipartisan bill to establish a national commission on infrastructure The nation is unlikely to embark on public works programs like those launched during the Great Depression unless there is another economic crisis of that scale But Rooseveltrsquos basic idea mdash that the government should employ idle hands to upgrade the nation mdash should never have gone out of fashion The next president will need to confront the nationrsquos disrepair It should be an issue in the campaign right now

Dams Arizona has dozens of unsafe or structurally deficient dams Reported by Katie Raml abc15com 1110 2007 ABC15 dug through hundreds of records uncovering 21 dams deemed unsafe from Cochise County in the south to Coconino County in the north The states highest-risk dam is in Fredonia along the Arizona-Utah border in far northern Arizona where there is big trouble looming A large portion of the town would be flooded and thered likely be a loss of life and significant property damage said Michael Johnson manager of the Dam Safety Program for the Arizona Department of Water Resources Willie Lee is just one of the one thousand Arizonans who live with that forecast every day If it found a weak spot it would go and it would go fast Lee said And it would take everything in its way She lives downstream from the Fredonia Dam a two-mile long earthen flood control dam meant to protect her her dogs and what shes spent a lifetime building She calls it a tragedy waiting to happen and she would know Shes experienced what big storms did to this town before the dam was built about 40 years ago But now the dam is crumbling Engineers say that in a flood the bends in the severely cracked dam would experience sudden failure and give out first The kids at school would be first in its path then hundreds of homes These flood control dams we inspect them once a year and we observe cracks Johnson said You dont need to be an engineer to know water flows through a crack So if the dam isnt dependable saving lives means starting their own system warning neighbors from a siren at the volunteer fire house How do you prevent this

4


asks Fredonia Town Manager Tom Corrigan You can warn people but I cant stop it from raining Corrigan knows all about the potentially imminent risk and the $5-$7 million price tag to fix the dam But this town whose responsibility it is to repair the dam just doesnt have that money The state has limited funds for dam repair and the federal government hasnt approved any money for them to fix it Somebody tell me how and I would be happy to Corrigan said So for now theyre feeling forgotten in Fredonia and they wonder every day what tomorrow has in store You tell me what the weathers going to be and Ill tell you how scared I am Corrigan said Expert report recommends response for Isabella Dam problems Eyewitness News 58 Bakersfield CA Nov102007 An international panel of experts is out with their recommendations for fixing problems at the Isabella Dam They say one option is to completely rebuild the Auxiliary Dam As Eyewitness News first uncovered Isabella Dam is now ranked as one of the most at-risk in the nation The expert panel agreed with that issued their analysis of the situation and released their recommendations The report is called an external peer review and its like a second opinion The report was released Friday morning In part the study says the Auxiliary Dam will probably require a major rehabilitation effort if not outright replacement Eyewitness News contacted panel member John Vrymoed by phone and asked about that recommendation How likely is that Very likely he said He notes the report includes a list of reasons replacement might be the best solution Those problems include an active earthquake fault running through the dam abutment poor drainage excessive seepage and a layer of loose soil There are two dams at Isabella Reservoir -- and last year the US Army Corps of Engineers identified three new concerns More-than-expected seepage of water through the dam newly-discovered active earthquake faults and a spillway thats too small The Auxiliary Dam is the bigger concern and the report states complete replacement of the Auxiliary Dam will rank high among the preferred options I think people suspected it all along but nobody really came out in a report and said thats one of the options Kern County Engineering Services Director Chuck Lackey told Eyewitness News on Friday He says one of the big problems with the Auxiliary Dam is the soil under it Thats one of the biggest concerns in the event of a major earthquake -- the soil can actually settle and cause the dam to settle The expert panel agrees with how the Corps of Engineers is studying the problems and they agree with the Corps immediate order to lower the amount of water in the lake That reduces the risk from the problems But the report says the lake level might have to stay at the reduced level until the dams are fixed And they say it might take ten years to complete the needed repairs That means a lot less water could be stored for years Were still very concerned about the potential impact with water supplies Kern Water Agency Resource Management Director Curtis Creel told Eyewitness News However Creel says there might be ways to store some water even if the Auxiliary Dam has to be completely replaced Either move it slightly downstream or upstream of the existing site and build another structure there The expert panel has eight major recommendations for the Isabella Dam situation Those include keeping the water level lowered putting in devices to watch for earthquake movement more soil tests plus an updated emergency response plan A Corps of Engineers spokesman tell Eyewitness News if its decided the Auxiliary Dam must be replaced that work could start as early as 2013 and would take two to three years to complete The Corps says engineers are still studying if the dams need to be replaced or can be repaired in place The Corps has earthquake fault analysis underway and more soil testing By next Fall they hope to start analyzing possible alternatives for repairs to the dams But that whole process might take up to ten years Why so long Serious deficiencies exist that may require replacement of one or both dams or at least major reconstruction Geologist Ronn Rose told Eyewitness News He says the fix will need to address all three major concerns This will be a difficult challenge and likely to cost hundreds of millions of dollars Rose stated We intend to do this once -- the right way the first time Minnesotarsquos deteriorating dams can wait years for long-term fixes By The Associated Press Winona Daily News 111007 MINNEAPOLIS mdash Just upstream of the small northwestern Minnesota community of Lake Bronson stands a deteriorating old dam considered the most dangerous in the state ldquoIf it fails under flood conditions it will inundate more than a dozen homes in (the) nearby City of Lake Bronson with little warning to allow for evacuationrdquo according to a June memo ldquoIt will also contribute to flooding of several hundred homes schools and commercial structures at Hallockrdquo In a state not far removed from the trauma of the Interstate 35W bridge disaster an Associated Press review found a new concern Minnesotarsquos dams A review of state records and interviews with officials found that even when dams have serious known flaws that could cause loss of life and major property damage it can take years to fix those problems The Lake Bronson Dam is at the top of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resourcesrsquo priority list yet any major work to renovate or replace

5


it is likely years away Still Kent Lokkesmoe director of the DNRrsquos Waters Division who sent the memo said hersquos confident that neither Lake Bronson nor any of the 1150 other dams the DNR regulates are an immediate risk to public safety ldquoIf I thought there was any imminent threat of failure I wouldnrsquot hesitate for one minute to order the pool loweredrdquo he said The AP review found mdashThe DNR has not kept up with the inspection schedules laid out in agency regulations Itrsquos current on the dams that would pose the biggest risk to people and property if they failed but inspections are overdue on close to 700 others Therersquos no consequence for being behind in inspections because of a loophole that makes them ldquosubject to the availability of staff and fundsrdquo mdashMinnesotarsquos average inspector is responsible for more than 330 dams The Association of State Dam Safety Officials recommends fewer than 50 dams for each inspector mdashWhen inspections show a dam needs major repairs or replacement the process of studying the problem deciding on a solution and getting the work done is often slow mdashThe state isnrsquot meeting federal guidelines that recommend that dam owners conduct periodic tabletop exercises to check the emergency plans for dams that have them mdashThe Federal Energy Regulatory Commission which oversees 32 hydroelectric dams in Minnesota ordered reservoirs drained and round-the-clock monitoring at two old dams near Mankato and Pillager this summer Work continues to repair a large void that was found underneath the Rapidan Dam south of Mankato while further inspections determined that the Pillager Dam west of Brainerd was safe mdashFailures arenrsquot the only hazard dams pose Some dams need modifications to eliminate dangerous ldquodrowning machinerdquo currents the DNR said in its 2008 capital budget request citing the Cross Lake Dam on the Snake River in Pine County where a kayaker drowned in April 2005 The DNR is seeking $300000 for safety modifications to that dam plus lesser amounts for similar problems with at least two other dams Minnesota is just one of many states thatrsquos been overwhelmed by the ldquoenormous burdenrdquo of ensuring their dams are safe said Brad Iarossi legislative chairman of the Association of State Dam Safety Officials The American Society of Civil Engineers which issues report cards on the nationrsquos infrastructure regularly gives Americarsquos dams a D while bridges get a C It says more than $10 billion is needed to address all the critical issues at state-regulated dams across the country A US House committee approved a bill in August for $201 million over five years to help states repair replace and remove structurally deficient dams but therersquos been no action on it since then In the wake of the 35W bridge collapse Minnesotarsquos 2008 legislative session is likely to look closer at the statersquos infrastructure and that may include dams Rep Kent Eken a Democrat who chairs the House Environment and Natural Resources Committee said therersquos already been discussion of a joint House-Senate committee hearing on dam safety Dams fall into three categories high hazard medium hazard and low hazard The terms donrsquot refer to the condition of those dams but the potential threat to people and property if those dams were to fail According to Iarossirsquos group 1333 high-hazard dams across the country are structurally deficient or unsafe and the average dam inspector is responsible for more than 400 dams ldquoMost of the dam safety programs in the United States are under-funded and understaffedrdquo said State Dam Safety Engineer Jason Boyle who leads Minnesotarsquos program Many of Minnesotarsquos dams were built in the late 1930s by the Works Progress Administration a Depression-era federal program ldquoThey are 70 years old Some of them need to be repaired Some are showing their age Most of them fortunately are the low-hazard damsrdquo Boyle said Under state regulations high-hazard dams are supposed to be inspected once a year medium-hazard dams every four years and low-hazard dams every eight years All 23 of Minnesotarsquos high-hazard dams have been inspected in the past year Among the 116 medium-hazard dams 14 had not been state-inspected in the past four years though all but two of those are owned by mining companies that conduct their own inspections Among the 1011 low-hazard dams 708 had not been inspected in the past eight years a compliance rate of only 30 percent The DNR spends a little over $300000 per year on its Dam Safety Program most of it to pay engineersrsquo salaries Project funding typically comes through state bonding bills and from local governments when they own the dam The DNR has requested $3 million for 2008 The DNRrsquos Lokkesmoe said he believes the statersquos current spending on dam safety is adequate He said the DNR plans to catch up on the inspections in two years then put all the dams it monitors on a regular schedule And Lokkesmoe said the DNRrsquos 43 field hydrologists watch dams in their areas and notify the dam safety engineers of anything unusual ldquoYou donrsquot need a registered engineer to see if a culvertrsquos rusted or therersquos a tree on the embankmentrdquo he said Lokkesmoe also said he doesnrsquot think the ASDSOrsquos staffing guidelines are applicable to Minnesotarsquos situation given the statersquos large number of low-hazard dams It wouldnrsquot be worth funding another position just to inspect 50 low-hazard dams he said Agency files show that the Lake Bronson and New London dams have been the DNRrsquos biggest causes for concern for some time The Legislature in 2006 put $2 million in that sessionrsquos bonding bill for a study of what needs to be done in New London but that work has been stalled and a consultant to do it has yet to be hired Boyle acknowledged The DNRrsquos 2008 request covers 14 dam safety projects topped by $400000 for a similar study for the Lake Bronson Dam As for the New London Dam Lokkesmoe said the money for actually renovating or replacing it would likely have to wait for the 2010 bonding bill ldquoIrsquom not sure yet if itrsquos a $2 million project or a $4 million projectrdquo he said Lokkesmoe said he understands that the process might look slow but he said it takes time to do the engineering work agree with local governments on designs and get funding ldquoIf we had received or would receive a bonding appropriation of $20 billion we could tackle a lot more of theserdquo he said ldquoWersquore

6


going to pick off the highest priority projects Some of these yeah I wish we could move a little fasterrdquo The DNRrsquos worst-case scenario in Lake Bronson is a dam break that would partially flood the town of about 250 with possible loss of life Gary Rice the emergency manager for Kittson County said he doesnrsquot think thatrsquos likely Given the flat topography of the area he would expect the water from a break to spread out quickly lessening the impact ldquoIrsquom not overly concerned about itrdquo Rice said ldquoItrsquos like a tornado mdash itrsquos one of those things that could happenrdquo Washington State dam proposal could flood parts of southern BC The Canadian Press 111307 OROVILLE Wash - Officials in Okanogan County in Washington State are studying construction of a dam west of Oroville to store water and generate electricity But the plans of the Public Utility District could cause waves in British Columbia The proposed dam on the Similkameen River just south of Osoyoos in BCs southern Interior could be almost 80 meters high creating a lake that extends north across the border Washington State recently awarded $300000 for the feasibility study and the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is deciding whether the utility can move ahead and look into the potential impacts of building a dam Okanogan County director of regulatory and environmental affairs Dan Boettger says if the study determines the utility district will make the dam proposal US officials will involve their Canadian counterparts in the planning

Hydro

Newfoundland looks south VIRGINIA GALT November 7 2007 ReportOnBusinesscom Frustrated by the lack of an east-west power transmission grid in Canada - and thwarted in its efforts to export electricity to United States markets through Quebec - Newfoundland has pretty much decided to pursue the option of building a new transmission system to ship power south says the provinces top hydro official When you look at what the impediments are in front of us we really have no alternative Dean MacDonald chairman of Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro said yesterday after speaking to a group of Ontario energy executives in Toronto Well make it work for us [Newfoundland and Labrador] Its just that its Canadas loss Mr MacDonald said in an interview His government has already investigated the technical feasibility of shipping power south when the Lower Churchill hydroelectric power project comes on line in 2015 Mr MacDonald told a meeting of the Ontario Energy Association I think a lot of people thought we were bluffing Were not said Mr MacDonald adding that even if it costs us an extra billion to go north-south well be the masters of our own destiny Mr MacDonald said Newfoundland and Labradors hydroelectric and wind-power projects could potentially be major suppliers of clean renewable consistent energy for Ontario and other Canadian markets - but inter-provincial trade barriers prevent the unfettered access of electrical power markets from east to west I think you guys could use some [additional power] actually Mr MacDonald said gesturing to the energy-consuming skyscrapers visible through the windows of the room where he was speaking He urged Ontario energy executives and government officials to pressure Ottawa to intervene in the dispute between Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador which are rolling around in the mud over the issues of access to markets and transmission systems Newfoundland has filed a submission with Quebec regulatory officials to require Hydro-Queacutebec to deliver Lower Churchill power to markets through its transmission system but its a long process Mr MacDonald said With the lack of a connection between the provinces east-west well follow the path of least resistance which is south he said Ontario energy industry officials have estimated that - if Quebec permitted the transmission of electric power from Newfoundland and Labrador and upgraded its transmission systems to make that possible - Ontario could potentially be connected to another 6000 megawatts of hydroelectric and wind power representing about 25 per cent of Ontarios current summer average demand However Newfoundland is now aggressively pursuing other alternatives and the option of supplying US markets through undersea transmission lines - while expensive - is feasible

7


(The sad foot note to the following is that this is the same place that wants to eliminate some major dams and the hydropower they produce) NOVEMBER 12 2007 NEW YORK TIMES

What Do Brazil and Washington State Have in Common (Excerpts) The answer isnrsquot that surprising in retrospect but Irsquod never thought about it until I visited Seattle the other day and saw some statistics assembled by the Washington Policy Center Here are some hints 1 It has something to do with a post I wrote about Brazil not long ago 2 It has something to do with water 3 It has something to do with energy Yes the state of Washington and Brazil both produce most of their electricity via hydroelectric power In 2004 Washington produced 70 percent of its power via hydroelectricity although this share is down from nearly 86 percent in 1990 The biggest interim spike was in natural gas but coal and nuclear also increased their shares Here are the shifts over time Hydroelectric Coal Nuclear Natural Gas Other Renewables 857 (1990) 72 (1990) 56 (1990) 03 (1990) 11 (1990) 807 (1995) 58 (1995) 68 (1995) 48 (1995) 12 (1995) 742 (2000) 87 (2000) 80 (2000) 71 (2000) 14 (2000) 701 (2004) 102 (2004) 88 (2004) 83 (2004) 23 (2004) Although it has lost hydroelectric shares ldquoWashingtonrsquos hydroelectric power industry is the largest in the Nationrdquo according to the US Dept of Energy ldquoand generates more power each year than any other statersquos entire renewable energies programrdquo (Now herersquos a revelation emanating from the State of Alaska) Lack of Hydroelectric Support Limits State Energy Options AK Burning Bio News 111107 US energy policy does not encourage hydro power anymore This is a problem for Alaska with lots of rivers and limited opportunities for renewable energy technologies that work well in the lower 49 states They are moving forward on some small hydro projects

Water Water managers warn of dry winter potential shortages ahead By SAMANTHA YOUNG Associated Press Writer November 6 2007 San Francisco Chronicle State and federal water officials on Tuesday said deliveries to farms and cities could be restricted severely next year even if the coming winter provides normal rain and snowfall California needs an especially wet winter if it is to fill its reservoirs and abide by court-ordered restrictions to reduce pumping by up to a third from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta said John Leahigh a top administrator with the State Water Project That is particularly true in the Sierra Nevada which stores much of the states water supply in its winter snowpack But so far there is no indication of wintertime salvation Government experts predict much of the country will have a warmer and drier winter than normal because of moderate La Nina conditions in which air cools over the Pacific and the jet stream gets pushed farther north Theres not a clear signal for Northern California mdash whether its going to be wetter or drier Leahigh said during a state Department of Water Resources workshop It could go either way Thats because the central part of California typically forms the southern boundary of La Ninas jet stream paths La Nina conditions have contributed to dry

8


winters at least six times since 1961 But Northern California also experienced some of its worst flooding in 1955 1965 1986 and 1997 because of subtropical La Ninas Thats the biggest message with La Nina mdash you just dont know state climatologist Mike Anderson said The federal court order earlier this year requiring a cutback in pumping to protect the threatened delta smelt has left Californias water supply more vulnerable than ever That decision came as a double blow following an exceptionally dry winter The amount of rain and snowfall California received during the 2007 water year mdash measured between September 2006 and Oct 1 of this year mdash was the lowest since 1988 Southern California is experiencing a record dry spell leading officials in Los Angeles to warn about mandatory rationing for the first time since 1991 The dry conditions have left state and federal reservoirs below normal levels Additionally state water managers over the summer had to draw down reservoirs to make up for the court decision that halted pumping from the delta for several weeks That wiped out most of the reserve water that had accumulated during the 2006 season which was wetter than normal and produced above-average snowfall For example hydrologists say there is only a 25 percent chance that Lake Oroville the State Water Projects largest reservoir will be filled this coming year Gov Arnold Schwarzenegger called a special legislative session to address the states water supply although those efforts have stalled over a disagreement about building dams He has proposed a $103 billion bond to add reservoirs and underground storage increase water recycling and promote conservation programs Sen Don Perata D-Oakland has floated a $68 billion bond that would allow communities to compete for state grants to build their own dams improve water efficiency recycle water and store more water underground People need to think about multiyear droughts and how we prepare said Department of Water Resources Director Lester Snow who said negotiations over a water bond are continuing

Congress Overrides Bush Veto On Water Bill First Veto Override During Bush Presidency Comes On $23B Water Resources Bill WASHINGTON Nov 8 2007 CBS News (CBSAP) President Bush suffered the first veto override of his seven-year-old presidency Thursday as the Senate enacted a $23 billion water resources bill despite his protest that it was too expensive It was the first time in a decade that Congress has passed a bill over a presidential veto The vote was 79-14 to pass the bill Enactment was a foregone conclusion but it still marked a milestone for a president who spent his first six years with a much friendlier Congress controlled by his Republican Party Now he confronts a more hostile Democratic-controlled legislature and Thursdays vote showed that even many Republicans will defy him on spending matters dear to their political careers The bill funds hundreds of Army Corps of Engineers projects such as dams sewage plants and beach restoration that are important to local communities and their representatives It also includes money for the hurricane-hit Gulf Coast and for Florida Everglades restoration efforts The argument for fiscal discipline doesnt trump 700 water projects in states all around the country Even such staunch allies as Oklahomas James Inhofe voted against the president The House voted 361-54 to override the veto Tuesday Both votes easily exceeded the two-thirds majority needed in each chamber to negate a presidential veto The last such veto override happened when Congress dealt President Clinton the second of his two overrides in November 1997 Mr Bush vetoed no bills during his first five years in office He has since vetoed a stem cell research bill twice an Iraq spending bill that set guidelines for troop withdrawals and a childrens health insurance bill House and Senate Republicans managed to sustain those vetoes But they broke ranks on the Water Resources Development Act or WRDA which Mr Bush vetoed on Nov 2 calling it too expensive His supporters have noted that the Army Corps has a backlog of $58 billion worth of projects and an annual budget of about $2 billion to address them The bill the first water system restoration and flood control authorization passed by Congress since 2000 would cost $112 billion over the next four years and $12 billion in the 10 years after that according to the Congressional Budget Office Flood protection projects along the Gulf Coast including 100-year levee protection in New Orleans would cost about $7 billion if fully funded The bill approves projects but does not fund them Some of Mr Bushs most ardent allies argued for the override This bill is enormously important and it has been a long time coming said Sen David Vitter R-La whose state was hammered by Hurricane Katrina two years ago The bill is one of the few areas where we actually do something constructive said Senate Minority Whip Trent Lott R-Miss What Mr Bush sees as pork barrel items Lott said are good deserved justified projects Almost every president opposes this type of bill he said Democrats are sure to remind such Republicans of their rejection of Mr Bushs budgetary concerns when debate turns to several spending bills he also vows to veto The bill among other things would authorize the construction of navigation improvements for the Upper Mississippi River at an estimated federal cost of $19 billion and an

9


ecosystem restoration project for the Upper Mississippi costing $17 billion The Indian River Lagoon project in the Florida Everglades would be funded at about $700 million The bill calls for an independent peer review process of all Army Corps projects costing $45 million or more a bid to cut down on wasteful spending

Environment (If someone wants the fishing hole and the historic PH preserved itrsquos not PGampErsquos problem anymore) Fishing holersquos preservation is a tough catch 111007 Reddingcom CA Editorial Our view A long tradition of public use at Kilarc should carry weight as decision-makers move forward Pacific Gas and Electric Co officials came to Shasta County this week to hear and respond to residents comments about plans to dismantle of the Kilarc hydroelectric project near Whitmore For those who would like to see the family-friendly fishing hole at the Kilarc Forebay preserved the response is not encouraging PGampEs decision to drop its license for Kilarc is irreversible the company says Any decision to transfer the dam canal and reservoir to another operator is in the hands of the federal regulators And the company wont keep Kilarc as a fishing pond after it removes the hydroelectric works You cant blame the company for that attitude Despite the tradition of encouraging fishing camping and picnicking around its reservoirs the company is Pacific Gas amp Electric not Pacific Parks amp Rec Still a century of public use should carry weight as the power company and the decision-makers in Washington move forward Kilarc is being scrapped to end an outdated water diversion that harms wild fisheries Thats a fine goal but not at the expense of local recreation One more thing Whatever happens to the hydroelectric project the vintage stone powerhouse needs to stay PGampEs project manager Steve Nevares said Thursday that the company is willing to see it preserved but would donate it only to a group that could guarantee the buildings care for the long haul Of course theres nothing to stop PGampE from maintaining it Dismantling an inefficient old hydro system might be a sound business decision Abandoning the treasured historic powerhouse to its fate would be a crime

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

1


i 11232007

Other Stuff (CA does not recognize large hydro as a renewable CA places large hydro in a separate category as if itrsquos not renewable but large hydro represents more than twice as much power as all other ldquorenewablesrdquo and 19 of the total generation)

COAL The in-state coal-fired generation includes electricity generated from several out-of-state coal-fired power plants that are owned by and reported by California utilities There are other out-of-state generation facilities that are owned by California utilities which are reported as imports Source California Energy Commission Gross System Power Report 2006 Full report at httpwwwenergycagov2007_energypolicyindexhtml (This article on Three Gorges Dam is quite long but some may want to read it The amazing statement is that the article states that hydro IS renewable) httpwwwnytimescom20071119worldasia19damhtmlpagewanted=1


Quote of Note ldquoOne fifth of the people are against everything all the timerdquo --Robert Kennedy

2


Dams Georgia Dams at a Breaking Point 14 Nov 2007 Reported by Russ Spencer ATLANTA (FOX NEWS 5) -- In the midst of this searing drought in North Georgia it seems almost absurd to talk about the threat of killer floods Thats exactly what some dam safety experts say could happen when our prayers are finally answered and we get lots of rain at once There are almost 4000 dams in Georgia Hundreds of them could kill people downstream if they fail Experts say the state doesnt have enough inspectors to make sure it doesnt happen A lot of people dont realize the risk said engineer Randy Bass The risk is nationwide The huge Wolf Creek Dam in Kentucky is getting 300 million dollars in emergency repairs because at least 100 lives downstream are at risk Breaks do happen Hawaii July 2006 the 118-year-old KaLoko Dam breached killing eight people In December 2005 three children were critically injured when the retaining wall of a mountaintop reservoir gave way in Missouri Both states have since upgraded their Dam Safety programs Engineer Randy Bass has been inspecting and designing dams in Georgia for most of his adult life Gwinnett County is now spending two million dollars to drain two lakes and fix this dam in Lilburn Bass pointed to a dam This is Yellow River watershed structure number 16 in Gwinnett County If the dam were to fail -- there would be literally dozens of houses that would be at risk that would be flooded and people would be killed said Bass When the dam was built more than 30 years ago Gwinnett County was still farm country The dam was designed to protect crops downstream Now there are dozens of houses in the way and the stakes are a lot higher In part because of metro Atlantas staggering growth -- there are now more than 450 high hazard dams in Georgia meaning people downstream could die if they failed Bass says the state only has enough inspectors to look at 20 to 25 of them a year Thats the problem We have these 500 dams out there that its going to take a long time to look at If we get another tropical storm some of those are going to fail Nobody has inspected them ndash ever Bass said In 1977 39 people were killed and dozens more injured when the dam broke above Toccoa Falls and flooded the Bible College below httpgawaterusgsgovpublicationsToccoaFIBReportindexhtml David Eby remembers the terror -- the fear for his wife and three children -- like it was yesterday It was about 130 in the morning -- and the dam -- Kelly Barnes dam broke said Eby I got sick to my stomach when I was reliving it -- the smells and all that came back to me -- getting hit with rocks The first wall of water was probably 15 feet high and the second wall of water was 30 or 40 feet high Oh my goodness It hit the house and the house started to spin around Eby and his wife and their three children felt lucky to survive -- and then guilty And I got up on the campus and ken sanders told me how many people were probably gone Thats when it really hit me -- because you were the dean of men -- did you know all of them All of them It was like this big family The break happened after four days of relentless rain The earthen dam that held back Kelly Barnes Lake gave way -- about a half mile above the falls The top of the dam used to be about 35 feet above a creek bed Imagine 60 acres worth of lake water bursting through the tiny chasm in the middle of the night Eby said There was no fear that it was going to break I think thats why we were so shocked that it actually happened Fixing the current problem will be expensive Is there the money now to do the work that needs to be done No and because probably 90 percent of them are privately owned Homeowners associations and individuals and they cant come up with the money Bass said httpwwwganrcsusdagovprogramswatrehabhtml In the Berkley Lakes area of Gwinnett the county has decided to take over this hazardous privately owned lake as part of its storm drainage system But most counties wont even consider that Were just everyday people and we dont have that kind of money said Sandy Borders Sandy Borders father built the private Bradbury Lake Dam in Fayette County decades ago creating the backyard paradise she now enjoys In 1983 a house was moved onto the property below the dam and now the state has reclassified the dam a category one high hazard dam because the family there is in jeopardy Sandy can pay a million dollars to fix the dam -- or $50000 to breach it Borders said she cant imagine living without the lake Its been here most of my life and all I can picture is mud and stumps The homeowner below the dam has rejected their efforts to buy him out meaning this will soon be one of more than 50 dams breached and lakes drained in Georgia since the Toccoa tragedy Its going to be very costly in many many ways said Borders Dam safety experts put the cost of fixing problem dams across

3


the country at $10 billion David Eby knows the potential cost of not fixing them Not a lot of money is being spent on dam safety said Eby It ought to be right up there with the water problem weve got right now (Hey these anti-dam folks are smart) Advocates ask ratepayers to fight relicensing of 4 Klamath dams Salmon - The group calls the dams a disaster but PacifiCorp says they offer cheap clean hydropower November 14 2007 TED SICKINGER The Oregonian Theyve debated the impact of Klamath River dams on the environment on Native American culture on farming communities and coastal fisheries Now the coalition of advocates fighting for removal of four dams are hoping to pull PacifiCorp ratepayers into their struggle and force the utility to settle on terms for dam removal Advocates want ratepayers to urge the Oregon Public Utility Commission to deny any request from PacifiCorp to pass on relicensing costs for the four dams which produce about 1 percent to 2 percent of the utilitys power PacifiCorp is seeking relicensing of the four dams from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission The utility argues that the dams are a source of low cost clean hydropower Advocates of dam removal meanwhile say the dams are an environmental and economic disaster wiping out what was historically one of the West Coasts three largest salmon runs To relicense the dams PacifiCorp would need to make costly improvements for better fish passage and water quality The Oregon commission would eventually need to approve shifting those costs estimated at $220 million to $450 million to customers PacifiCorp could instead remove the dams and buy replacement power -- an alternative that dam-removal advocates maintain would be far cheaper

Last month the California Energy Commission sent a letter to the Oregon commission urging members to reject any request for cost recovery Its economic studies indicate that it would cost $114 million less to remove the dams restore the fisheries and buy replacement power than to install fish ladders and do other environmental mitigation PacifiCorp argues that the California commission doesnt have any jurisdiction though some of the power is generated in California The company also disputes the conclusions of the commissions economic studies and continues to support relicensing the dams While PacifiCorp public pronouncements on the dams are based on their cheap clean power relicensing the dams would also offer it the opportunity to make substantial capital investments and earn a substantial return for its shareholders Critics of the utility maintain thats the only reason the utility is resisting the call for dam removal The federal energy commission is slated to deliver a final environmental impact statement sometime this fall Craig Tucker Klamath coordinator with the Karuk Tribe says he is hopeful that a settlement agreement for dam removal can be reached by years end Such an agreement however depends on another set of negotiations with farmers in the Klamath Basin to ensure irrigation interests and that farmers wont bear additional costs when and if salmon are returned to the upper Klamath Basin Tucker said that further delays in the negotiations run the risk that election year politics will preclude federal action

Klamath dams get support Salmon - An early federal environmental impact report says four dams should stay November 17 2007 PETER SLEETH The Oregonian Four dams on the Klamath River should remain in place federal officials recommended Friday with struggling runs of salmon driven in trucks around them in an attempt to repopulate the river system The long-awaited recommendation immediately renewed debate about Pacific Powers hydro system and what is best for energy production and the environment The project starts in northern California 190 miles from the ocean and consists of a series of seven dams and two additional generating facilities scattered upstream into southern Oregon They were built between 1903 and 1967 and generate about 2 percent of the utilitys electricity But they have long blocked salmon migration up the river prompting Native Americans commercial fishermen ecologists and fishery experts to argue for the dams removal

The Klamath River once was a powerhouse of salmon reproduction sending millions of fish to the ocean each year Today its stocks are so feeble that one run of silver salmon is protected under the Endangered Species Act and another run of king salmon is so weak the federal government closed commercial fishing in 2006 off the Oregon and California coasts Portland-based Pacific Power owns the dams and is seeking a new operating license for four of them -- Irongate Copco I Copco II and JC Boyle -- from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for the next 30 to 50 years On Friday the commissions staff released its final environmental impact statement on the matter recommending the dams stay in place Despite the argument for hauling salmon around the dams fish ladders are almost assured to be added as a condition of relicensing because they are required by other federal agencies Of the four dams only JC Boyle has a fish ladder The environmental analysis done by FERC also showed that the least expensive alternative was to tear the dams down and restore the river We see this as one step in a very long process said Jan

4


Mitchell spokeswoman for Pacific Power which greeted Fridays news with some satisfaction Its been our view all along that they can coexist that the dams can be operated in such a way as they work for our customers and benefit fish The staff recommendation from FERC is just that with no final authority over what happens to the dams The commission will make its own decision although when is far from clear

All sides in the fight about the Klamath River dams rushed Friday to present their view on the FERC recommendation Though the FERC staff supported continued dam operations it also noted that removing the dams came out $7 million per year cheaper than keeping them operating with fish ladders The important thing is that FERCs analysis says the cheaper of the two options is for dam removal said Glenn Spain of Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermens Associations which represents some commercial fishermen Spain and representatives of 26 other private and government agencies huddled Friday in Redding Calif trying to work out an agreement that would see the dams removed The so-called settlement talks are an effort by Native Americans conservationists fishermen farmers and government agencies to come to agreement on what to do with Pacific Powers dams On the Klamath were on the cusp of seeing one of the most significant river restoration projects in our country said Steve Rothert director of the California office of American Rivers We must seize this opportunity to restore not only the river and the salmon runs but also the way of life and the economies of the tribes and local communities The agreement they are working on calls for the removal of four dams along with some 200 pages of other demands for water use on the river while trying to assuage Pacific Power The utility has not been a full partner in the talks and has not agreed to any conclusions arrived at in the settlement talks The results of the settlement talks would be presented to FERC which would take the talks into account in deciding what conditions to put on a new operating license Pacific Power is a division of PacifiCorp which is in turn owned by MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co a company controlled by billionaire investor Warren Buffets famed Berkshire Hathaway Inc State Regulated Dams Considered Potential High Hazard November 16 2007Reporter Heather Crawford Posted By Robin Skiles KATV7 Little Rock AR Little Rock - In Arkansas there are more than 1200 state regulated dams and about a hundred of them are considered to be high hazard potential dams This means that if one of those dams was to fail there would likely be a loss of life Some of those hazardous dams are in central Arkansas located in areas you may pass by everyday About 35000 cars drive down South University Avenue in Little Rock on a typical week day and part of the road which passes by the University of Arkansas at Little Rock sits downstream of the Broadmoor Dam Its one of 102 high hazard potential dams in Arkansas It gets that classification because of the amount of development and number of people located downstream who would be at risk if the dam failed (Fred Morgan Arkansas Natural Resources Commission) You have the campus which we can see across the valley there and the shopping center itself more than 2 or 3 parking lots which are often full Sometimes the traffic on University Avenue is backed up past the low point and the street where the flood water would go Fred Morgan with Arkansas Natural Resources Commission is one of only two inspectors in the state responsible for inspecting the nearly 1300 state regulated dams The high hazard dams are inspected every one to two years to make sure theyre in good shape because if theyre not theres the potential for a dangerous situation In the case of the Broadmoor Dam a lot of people could be in jeopardy (Morgan)Picking numbers is tough but there is a restaurant in this building and they would have a matter of seconds at best So there likely would be with a full sudden failure there would likely be some loss of life there Across town there was a high hazard dam at Spring Valley Lake with a cluster of homes just downstream from the lake (Alvin Simmons)The thing to realize is that 50 percent of the dams that fail fail because water runs over the top of the dam for such a long period of time that it just eventually washes out the dam so its important to make sure the emergency spillway is not obstructed Simmons finds one problem that needs to be fixed (Simmons)From here on down were going to have them cut these trees down and thats what we periodically find when we go to do an inspection is people forget to cut the trees in the spillway Its a safety precaution to help make sure the dam doesnt fail because if it did residents may not have much time to react (Simmons)In most cases Im going to say you have a matter of hours In this particular case because the house is right at the downstream tow it could be just a few minutes Ali Jennkins lives downstream of the dam (Ali Jenkins resident) We do worry about it Yea its a concern But then we look over here where theyve got the runoff and its really good really really deep and it seems to be working right now so of

5


course itrsquos a concern but at the same time were just hoping it always works What she didnt know was that her neighborhood like many around high hazard dams was an emergency action plan area In the event of a potential failure residents would be notified by phone so they can evacuate before its too late (Jenkins) In the worse case right in the middle of the night or even on a rainy Saturday afternoon the property owners association people would be the most likely to know it was most likely to fail and they would have the responsibility of mobilizing the emergency action people Arkansas is home to 92 significant hazard dams which means if those failed there would be a potential for a huge amount of property loss The best way to protect yourself is to know if you live or work around a high hazard potential dam and if you do find out who owns the dam and see if there is an emergency action plan in place and map out an evacuation route

Hydro (One less hydro project) Rocky Mountain Power puts end to plant in American Fork Canyon US gets title water rights to remnants of project Deseret Morning News Nov 17 2007

AMERICAN FORK mdash Rocky Mountain Power Utah which owned and operated a hydroelectric project in American Fork Canyon gave the title and water rights to two federal agencies Friday finishing a decommissioning of the project The company decommissioned the plant which was built in the early 20th century due to relicensing issues with the federal government Realizing the the new licenses were not economical Rocky Mountain Power decided to remove the facility said Bob Atwood the project manager The plant stopped producing electricity in 2004 after a landslide knocked out a main flow line Atwood said Since it was near to the decommissioning

time they decided not to spend the money to fix the lines Decisions to get rid of renewable sources of energy such as a hydro-electric project arent taken lightly or made quickly said Dave Eskelsen manager and communications director for Rocky Mountain Power Hydroelectric plants hold many advantages since the energy is renewable and water doesnt release carbon byproducts or other harmful materials into the air Theyre (renewable energy sources) still valuable and useful he said Decommissioning the plant required many steps including removing the dam and steel pipes that ran up the sides of the canyon About 20 men worked on removal which began in early August This project was challenging said Mark Radich contractor with JR Merit which worked on the removal of the project It took everybody working well together Radich said theyre proud that there werent any incidents or injuries especially since the men worked alongside water and in high elevations He said good communication went into staying safe Mandated by a contract with the federal government Rocky Mountain Power deeded the title of the project power house to the US Forest Service and transferred the water rights to the the Department of Wildlife Resources Eskelsen said the water rights the company had were received in 1904 Eskelsen said the company still owns several century-old hydroelectric plants in canyons throughout the Wasatch Front like the one they just decommissioned The powerhouse will remain in the canyon at its current location (It might be a good idea to hire an experienced geotechnical engineer for this one) Gushing geyser could translate into power profit for Archbald BY CHARLES SCHILLINGER 11182007 The Times Tribune ARCHBALD PA mdash A geyser of water in Archbald might just be a gold mine of green energy

6


A Pittston-based environmental engineering firm wants to study a bore hole more than two feet in diameter drilled into the White Oak Creek bed that gushes water from an abandoned mine sometimes 20 feet into the air The pressure created from the water discharge might be enough to profitably generate hydroelectric power said Tom Posluszny president of the firm Poz Environmental Archbald Borough would see a profit from the project if it came to fruition however Mr Posluszny said he has no estimates yet on how much energy mdash and cash mdash could be generated from the idea It might be a year before Poz begins studying the possibility Mr Posluszny came to the Borough Council meeting this past week to present the concept and receive the councilrsquos blessing to begin looking into it There is no cost to the borough to research the concept he said Mr Posluszny was consulting for the federal Office of Surface Mining this summer when he came upon the bore hole in the vicinity of the Archbald Borough Building on Church Street ldquoI had been thinking about this for the last 10 years and I went there (to Archbald) and thought lsquoThis is a Godsendrsquo Itrsquos exactly what I was looking forrdquo he said The concept would be to install propeller-like turbines within the bore hole in the creek bed which would power a generator The generator would connect to the power grid and electricity generated sold to an electric company Small-scale hydroelectric power such as what Mr Posluszny is proposing would be considered a renewable energy under the definition of the state Alternative Energy Portfolio Standard said Charlie Young a spokesman for the state Department of Environmental Protection Following a 2006 state law that put that portfolio standard in place 8 percent of electricity sold in Pennsylvania by 2021 must come from renewable sources which include wind solar and small-scale hydroelectric power ldquoItrsquos a perfect climate for it I donrsquot think you could get any better mdash unless someone wants to knock on my door and give me the moneyrdquo Mr Posluszny said The technology is there to tap into the energy created by mine water discharges said Peter Haentjens the interim executive director for the Eastern Middle Anthracite Region Recovery Inc The Carbon County group received a $300000 DEP grant in 2005 to install a small-scale hydroelectric system on mine water discharging in Carbon County Hazleton Environmental is one of the companies developing commercial equipment for small-scale hydroelectric systems Company president Randy Galgon said most of the equipment available now is ldquocheesy junky equipmentrdquo that might not be suitable for commercial hydroelectric needs Archbald Borough Council has put Poslusznyrsquos proposal on the agenda for this weekrsquos meeting said Councilman Jeff Munley But likely the only action council will make is with a motion acknowledging Poz Environmental will study the possibility

Water This is a graphic with an important message

7


(Whatrsquos wrong with this picture)

(Does this mean people are as important as mussels and fish Maybe some critters can get along with less water Does this mean the the USFampWS always wants more water than is really needed causing lower energy production and impacting people who also need the benefits provided by dams It could be that the answer is ndash YES Maybe this drought is a reason to re-visit the low flow requirements and use something similar to the approach in the Western part of the country where there are different flow regimes for high medium and low flow periods) Feds OK drought deal letting Georgia keep more water November 16 2007 CNNcom ATLANTA Georgia (CNN) -- Federal biologists said Friday they had signed off on a plan aimed at providing relief to the drought-parched Southeast under which more water will be retained in Georgia instead of being released into Florida The US Fish and Wildlife Service expedited its study of an interim drought plan submitted two weeks ago by the US Army Corps of Engineers and concluded that freshwater mussels and sturgeon -- kept alive by water from Georgias Chattahoochee watershed under federal law -- will not be placed in jeopardy under the plan However there will be some effects and some members of the species probably will die Sam Hamilton Southeast regional director for the Fish and Wildlife Service told reporters Under the plan the amount of water released from the Jim Woodruff Dam in Chattahoochee Florida will be gradually decreased That process had already begun Friday said Brig Gen Joseph Schroedel South Atlantic Division commander for the Corps of Engineers A similar plan will be put into effect on the Alabama River at a point south of Montgomery Alabama officials said Last month Georgia Gov Sonny Perdue declared a water supply emergency in north Georgia and asked a court to require the Corps of Engineers to restrict water flows from Lake Lanier -- the main source of Atlantas water -- and other reservoirs He blasted what he said were silly rules noting that even if Georgia gets rain it cannot conserve water because it must release 32 billion gallons a day downstream Alabama Georgia and Florida have been wrangling over water usage from two river basins -- the Alabama-Coosa-Tallapoosa (ACT) and the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint (ACF) -- for years Meanwhile the population of metropolitan Atlanta has doubled to more than 5 million since 1980 Lake Lanier is at the headwaters of the ACF system so cutting the flow of water from the Woodruff Dam will mean less water will need to be released from Lake Lanier Rainfall in north Georgia including the Atlanta metropolitan area is more than a foot below normal levels for this time of year following a series of drier-than-normal years Georgia has imposed a mandatory ban on outdoor water use by homeowners in the region Two weeks ago Perdue met with federal officials Alabama Gov Bob Riley and Florida Gov Charlie Crist to discuss a drought plan and the plan approved Friday by the US Fish and Wildlife Service was announced In light of the negotiations Perdue has dropped his lawsuit against the corps Floridas governor has voiced some concerns about the recommendations from the November 1 meeting Jim Connaughton chairman of the

8


US Council on Environmental Quality told reporters Friday that negotiations continue to work through some of the issues facing Florida but some concerns at least with respect to the near term have been addressed Asked whether he thinks Crist would sue over the matter Connaughton said governors of the three states have committed to finding a solution for future years if the drought persists The governors will meet December 11 and 12 in Tallahassee Florida to continue negotiations US Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne said Friday Were in an extreme situation but you see at this point some two weeks after sitting down and going through a number of these things some real progress has been made The plan also provides for increasing water storage officials said If the corps does not hold back some water now and if extreme drought conditions continue it is possible there may not be enough water in storage next summer to meet the needs of users the corps said in a statement In signing off on the drought plan the US Fish and Wildlife Service only examined possible effects on species listed on the federal endangered list Hamilton said so the revised plans effect on oysters shrimp and other species in Floridas Apalachicola Bay is unknown although it will be studied Connaughton however noted that the plan is only temporary until the Southeast receives some much-needed rain Crist for his part said in a written statement Friday that the state will continue to focus on the needs of the people who depend on a healthy Apalachicola Bay He said that while he is disappointed that Georgias initial request to reduce releases from Woodruff Dam was extended the corps has promised Florida it will regularly evaluate the environmental effects on the bay Schroedel disputed reports that have said Lake Lanier only has a finite number of days left for Atlantas water supply saying the lake has not reached its record low It doesnt look that pretty but theres still a lot of water there he said

Environment Dam owner will build fish lifts By JOHN RICHARDSON Blethen Maine Newspapers 11152007 SACO Maine -- The owner of nine dams along the Saco River has agreed to build a series of fish lifts and ladders as part of a long-range effort to restore runs of Atlantic salmon shad river herring and eels FPL Energy Maine Hydro expects to spend more than $30 million over the next 20 years ultimately allowing sea-run fish to reach spawning grounds that have been blocked off for generations by dams that produce electricity FPL officials announced the agreement at Saco City Hall on Wednesday Federal and state regulators and local conservationists negotiated with FPL for three years before finalizing the plan They said it will restore balance between the rivers hydropower dams and its value for wildlife habitat and community uses There are many competing interests on the Saco said Mayor Mark Johnson The agreement makes sure the Saco is open to all including the fish The 134-mile-long Saco River provides drinking water to Saco and Biddeford generates electricity and supports fishing boating and other uses Fish access to upstream spawning grounds has been a source of tension in the Saco River Valley since it caused bloodshed between Europeans and Indians in the late 1600s Johnson said The agreement announced Wednesday culminates 13 years of efforts to restore fisheries that are important to the communities along the river and their economies he said For FPL the deal precludes future disputes and uncertainty about fish passage at its remaining dams on the Saco Negotiations began as the company faced relicensing of the Bar Mills Dam in Buxton where fish passage is now scheduled to be installed by 2016 FPLs Senior Environmental Specialist Frank Dunlap said the balance struck Wednesday is good for the company as well as the fisheries It provides a schedule and some predictability for us FPL has already spent $16 million to create fish passages at dams on the lower river including four dams near US Route 1 that are part of a single hydropower facility called Cataract Station Passages there include ladders that allow sea-run fish to swim up small side channels occasionally getting help from an elevator-like lift Under the agreement FPL will - Install fish passages at its four remaining dams starting with the Bar Mills Dam in 2016 and ending with the Hiram Dam in 2025 Each fish passage is expected to cost $2 million to $8 million to build Salmon which are now trapped and trucked upriver will be able to swim more than 40 miles upstream to historic spawning grounds such as in the Ossipee River and other tributaries Shad and blueback herring also are expected to return in greater numbers as habitat access expands

9


- Install passages for American eels at all nine dams starting next year at the Cataract Station dams between downtown Biddeford and Saco Baby eels called elvers swim upriver each spring and remain in ponds and lakes until they return to the ocean to spawn as adults Because of their different migrating behavior eels need separate passages from those for salmon and shad The cost of eel passages is less certain but tends to be less than passages for fish - Establish a Saco River Enhancement Fund of $50000 a year through 2022 and provide another $100000 for fisheries management and restoration $25000 for public education and $25700 for raising salmon that are stocked in the river The agreement is part of a national effort to restore sea-run fisheries that were decimated over the last two centuries by industrial dams Maines Penobscot Kennebec and Presumpscot rivers are the focus of similar efforts A deal to restore fisheries on the Presumpscot River is still in final negotiations It calls for removal of the Cumberland Mills Dam in Westbrook and the gradual installation of fish passages at upstream dams Officials said that agreement could be final next month It will be presented for public comments before it gets submitted for final federal approval Part of the Saco River plan still needs formal approval from federal and state agencies as part of the Bar Mills Dam relicensing But regulators and others who have been pushing for fish restoration on the Saco said the agreement offers hope for a long-term recovery of the fisheries While shad and herring are more abundant only about 20 to 30 adult Atlantic salmon now swim back into the Saco each spring in an attempt to reach the spawning grounds When youre talking about 30 salmon its pretty discouraging said Mark Woodruff vice president of the Saco River Salmon Club But were all stewards of this river and this river is pretty important to the communities I dont think anyone has given up on the idea iThis compilation of articles and other information is provided at no cost for those interested in hydropower dams and water resources issues and development and should not be used for any commercial or other purpose


i 11302007

Note The highlight article is the Taum Sauk settlement announcement

Dams Groups Clash Over Future Of Carmans River By Barbara LaMonica 11212007 Suffolk Life Newspapers The Carmans River provides habitat for an array of aquatic species including brook trout large-mouthed bass eel and river herring But the man-made dams installed a few hundred years ago are what give the river its lake characteristics that in turn provide warmer water temperatures for an aquatic species foreign to cold water rivers - like the invasive cabomba weed - to thrive in Now the questions of how to stem the tide of the ever-increasing cabomba weed and whether the dams should be removed have become a point of contention Removing the dams would reconfigure the Carmans River to become a narrower cold water river wherein the surrounding lakes would recede to varying degrees Advocating for the dams to remain in place Yaphank resident Johan McConnell asked the Brookhaven Town Board earlier this month to create a task force The coalition would consist of a group of local residents who support maintaining the dams as they are currently installed and to remove the cabomba weed that makes its ever-increasing presence evident in early spring In the 2008 budget which was slated to be voted on yesterday November 20 $100000 has been allocated for the removal of the cabomba weed according to Fourth District Councilwoman Connie Kepert Confirming that she will be proposing a resolution to support McConnells request for the task force Kepert noted that the resolution will likely come before the town board before the end of the year Meanwhile arguments on both sides of the debate continue to escalate Dave Thompson regional vice president of the New York State Council of Trout Unlimited said he is opposed to any effort to maintain the dams and reported that the Carmans River holds the most significant native brook trout population on Long Island This trout population Thompson noted is diminishing When the river was dammed they created a water quality problem because this slowed the river down and created a warmer water [environment] for the invasive aquatic cabomba weed Thompson explained and the dams fragmented the brook trout population which rely on the clean cold waters of the Carmans River to spawn and survive so the freshwater part of the river is critical to this


Quote of Note ldquoGet your facts first and then you can distort them as much as you pleaserdquo -- Mark Twain


The National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration has awarded a $42000 grant to install a fish ladder in the river according to Thompson which will help the trout to spawn and survive The ladder is a two-foot by four-foot aluminum box that cuts a notch in the dam to slow the water down enough for the trout to negotiate through to the colder waters to spawn Peconic Baykeeper Kevin McAllister also supports the removal of the dams Removing the dams would lower the water temperatures which in turn would be more conducive to arresting the growth of invasives McAllister said The dams have created artificial lakes which have made a conducive environment for this weed to dominate The Carmans River is one of the few streams that support native brook trout and what we should be doing is trying to enhance the stability of this population But local resident Robert Kessler is vehemently opposed to removing the dams in the upper lake at Mill Road and in the lower lake at Yaphank Avenue and supports maintaining the structures as they currently exist Kessler noted the abundance of fish species in the lakes - in particular large-mouthed bass perch pike and eel - and asserts that by removing these dams we would give up many of these species for trout He also noted that the osprey which now feed in the lakes would not continue to thrive along a faster-moving cold water river These dams were artificially made in 1736 for power saw and grain mills Kessler explained Theyre saying by taking them away the trout can swim upstream to the headwaters of the Carmans River and spawn and then go back out to the bay again but the same can be accomplished by constructing fish ladders to allow the fish to move from the lower to the upper body of water and we do support that method While McAllister agreed that removing the dams would threaten the existence of large-mouthed bass and other species in the lakes he noted that these species also prey on trout for food and that the Carmans River should be returned to its most natural state Kepert said the removal of the dams would increase the flow of the river and the lakes it branches out to will disappear to create a narrower river Kessler added By removing the dams we wont have the lakes that people enjoy for boating canoeing and swimming Meanwhile Kepert has taken steps to secure funding by contracting with a company to eliminate the cabomba weed using sonar herbicide But Thompson and McAllister maintain that sonar herbicide may not be the best method of eliminating the cabomba weed Thats heading in the wrong direction Thompson said To be fair all options need to be studied including dam removal to at least define the most permanent and economic way to deal with this aquatic invasive Im opposed to the use of sonar at face value McAllister added There are concerns about the use of sonar as an herbicide and we need more research Spillway Upgrades Posted by parkforest on November 21st 2007 SaveGwinnettcom Gwinnett Dams Get Spillway Upgrades Fourteen dams built to keep agricultural land in Gwinnett County Georgia from flooding are being upgraded to meet modern safety standards Gwinnett partnered with the US Department of Agriculture and several local agencies to design and build the dams between 1965 and 1980 But a rapidly growing population and changing land-use patterns now require new design criteria primarily to expand spillway capacity ldquoWersquove maintained and operated these dams since they were built and theyrsquore all in very good operating conditionrdquo said Steve Leo of Gwinnettrsquos Water Resources department Gwinnett began a capital improvement program in 1999 to upgrade all 14 dams Construction is finished at four dams and is underway at two more while upgrade designs are being completed for another four Two already met the new criteria according to Jonathan Semerjian project manager for Gwinnett County The remaining two are considered low-hazard but will be upgraded due to their future reclassification to high-hazard dam status Four of the dams are in the Big Haynes Creek basin between Grayson and Snellville five are on the Yellow River around Lawrenceville two are on Tribble Mill Creek two more are on the Mulberry River south of Braselton and one is on No Business Creek south of Snellville All were originally exempt from requirements of the Georgia Safe Dams Act of 1978 but a later amendment ended that exemption in 2000 The upgrades will cost $184 million with $85 million from County funds and $99 million from the federal Natural Resources Conservation Service Semerjian expects all work to be finished by 2009 (It sure is hard to find clay in a pile of sand) Clay shortage hampers levee rebuilding Nov 21 2007 United Press International NEW ORLEANS Nov 21 (UPI) -- One big problem in repairing the levees in the New Orleans area is a shortage of clay officials say Soheila Holley a program manager with the Army Corps of Engineers said the agency has obtained only 20 million cubic yards of clay for the rebuilding with another 50 million cubic yards being tested USA Today reports At best that is less than half of the 145 million cubic yards engineers believe will be needed This is one of the most complex issues of the hurricane protection


system Holley said Robert Bea an engineering professor at the University of California who has studied New Orleans levees said that soon after Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005 some entrepreneurs saw an opportunity They became brokers buying property to be mined for clay and sold to the Corps The Corps was doing its own clay acquisition But the brokers mean that it must now pay a higher price

China dam collapse kills six seven missing Nov 25 2007 Reuters India BEIJING (Reuters) - A dam collapse in northeast China sent a torrent of mud and debris into two nearby villages killing six and leaving another seven missing Xinhua news agency reported on Sunday The collapse of the dam holding back waste from iron ore production in Liaoning provinces Shiqiaozi village injured another 17 all of whom were in a stable condition Rescuers were searching for the missing as 10 bulldozers cleared mud and ore An 80-metre wide river of debris spilled across fields and into two low-lying villages destroying cropland and 33 houses The priority of our work is to look for the missing and resettle the homeless Xinhua quoted Yang Jinfang head of the publicity department in the nearby city of Anshan as saying The dam which Xinhua said belonged to the Dingyang Mining Co Ltd an iron ore producer was supposed to be used to contain waste ore but over the years there had been a buildup of water Authorities had sent inspectors to check four similar dams in the area the report said China is frequently beset by industrial and environmental disasters Last week 31 people were crushed in a landslide in central China most of them trapped in a long-distance bus that was buried under an avalanche of boulders earth and mud at the entrance to a railway tunnel being built near the site of the Three Gorges Dam

(Now this is an idea that outta catch on) Connecticut going high-tech with dam safety By SUSAN HAIGH | Associated Press Writer November 25 2007 Newsdaycom HARTFORD Conn - If a major rain storm soaks Connecticut Wes Marsh will soon know with a click of a mouse or a text message on his cell phone whether any of the 234 dams owned by the Department of Environmental Protection are in trouble After spending 26 years with the states dam safety division often trekking through the woods and climbing around dams to look for problems Marsh will be able to use a new high-tech system to help him quickly identify which dams pose the greatest public safety threat Theres actual alarms that will be tripped when rainfall amounts or stream fall are exceeded Marsh said You will know what dams will not need to be looked at Connecticut is the first state in the country to use DamWatch a system invented by USEngineering Solutions Corp in Hartford to monitor the DEP-owned dams The system is expected to be fully operation by early 2008 Joseph Scannell president of USEngineering and a former senior project engineer for Connecticuts Department of Transportation said there is a growing interest nationally to better monitor dams for safety and rehabilitate aging dams _ which he considers the nations forgotten infrastructure Scannell recently demonstrated the technology at the National Association of State Dam Safety Officials meeting in Texas He plans to meet with a Homeland Security official next week to discuss the system and how it can help save lives nationwide If I lose a bridge Ive got to close it down Thats a disruption of traffic Theres a cost associated with closing an artery Scannell said If I lose a dam I could lose 50 lives I could take out a town The risk is extremely high A 2005 investigation by The Associated Press found many dams in Massachusetts Rhode Island and Connecticut were not inspected as often as they should have been and some went years without repairs In many cases private owners were reluctant to shoulder repair costs or couldnt afford to In others the government was unable to act or unwilling to spend the money

If dams fail _ as nearly happened in 2005 when heavy rains threatened the 173-year-old Whittenton Pond Dam in Taunton Mass and forced the evacuation of 2000 residents homes businesses and lives are in jeopardy Connecticut has spent more than $45 million to upgrade its state-owned dams and beef up inspections since 1982 when the US Army Corps of Engineers reviewed the states dams DEP is also spending $80000 over two years for DamWatch The money is coming from a federal grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency The state will then pay Scannells company an ongoing fee to use the system The DamWatch computer software program essentially monitors the dams and alerts state officials using real-time data by e-mail cell phones fax machines and pagers about the changing weather and rising water levels That information can be checked against existing data about problem dams flood zones and watershed areas In an instant a user can also call up photos of the dam maps and inspection reports I think its unique the way hes put those components together to give you a real-time look at whats happening to structures during a rainfall event said Ann Kuzyk a civil engineer in Connecticuts dam safety group Besides the DEP-owned dams DamWatch will be able to help officials track potential problems at other dams across the state There are about 4400 dams in Connecticut most privately owned Of those


503 could cause loss of life and serious property damage if they fail Many of those structures are in the same watersheds as the DEP-owned dams and therefore can still be monitored even though they wont officially be part of the system Scannell first designed a similar program called ScourWatch a service that helps officials proactively monitor the safety of bridges Tennessee Connecticut Iowa and Georgia are using the system While a DOT engineer he grew concerned that foundations of bridges often erode due to a phenomena called scouring Thats when the water flowing under the bridge carries away the material around the bridge abutment or piers The problem can be exacerbated during a storm The problem is the same for dams _ 85 percent of which are earthen in the US and more susceptible to erosion What I envision is the agencies themselves can adopt the DamWatch technology quite quickly and implement quite painlessly said Scannell Right now they go around chasing phone calls and problems and they send their team wherever their crisis is calling them Its kind of a chaotic response Its the best they can do at this time

(Red Bluff dam used to be under FERC jurisdiction but they didnrsquot want to deal with the dam safety issues so they removed the hydropower so the dam would be under state jurisdiction This is a dam with serious dam safety issues because the foundation contains chalk and is highly erodible) Opening the Floodgates The trouble with Texas dams 11262007 By Veronica Castelo News8Austin There hasnt been a catastrophic dam failure in Texas in more than 70 years In Austin the dam built in 1915 to prevent the city from flooding failed in 1935 and flooding left nearly 3000 people homeless Today there are 7644 known dams in Texas according to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) They are built for recreation water supply and flood control The Lower Colorado River Authority maintains and operates eight dams including the six dams that make up the Highland Lakes They inspect them on a yearly basis according to LCRA spokesperson Krista Umscheid The federally funded US Army Corps of Engineers maintains 28 of Texas largest dams including the San Gabriel Dam in Georgetown Parks Ranger Olen Burditt with the Army Corps of Engineers said they use technology to keep track of their dams We have instrumentation inside each dam thats inspected on a monthly basis Burditt said The bulk of Texas dams are under the watch of the TCEQ the states environmental agency TCEQ oversees more than 7500 dams We make sure that they are constructed properly they are maintained properly and they are operating properly Dam Safety Program coordinator Warren Samuelson said However its unlikely TCEQ knows how most of their dams are doing because they are rarely inspected We try to look at each dam once every five years Samuelson said Their efforts fall short Using the Texas Inventory of Dams Database News 8 Austin discovered 1826 dams have not been inspected in five years 1510 have not been inspected in 10 years and 1030 dams have not been inspected in the last 20 years TCEQs data shows 4626 dams under TCEQs watch have never been inspected Of the dams TCEQ has inspected 173 of them are rated poor Most of the ones that have not been inspected its because they are low hazard Samuelson said Thats not always true Red Bluff Dam near Pecos in West Texas is a high hazard dam A high hazard dam is one that if were to fail or malfunction could cause loss of life The Red Bluff Water Control District owns the dam If Red Bluff Dam were to fail or malfunction the water supply of area farmers would be threatened according to District General Manager Randall Hartman TCEQ inspected Red Bluff Dam back in 1992 They gave it a poor rating then and they havent been back since If a dam is rated poor it means it has deficiencies that need to be corrected Samuelson said TCEQ has kept in contact with the owners and engineers of Red Bluff Dam through phone calls and letters We are not aware of any issues out there that they have not addressed Samuelson said However TCEQ doesnt plan to return to the high hazard dam until next year approximately 16 years after their initial visit We are doing the best we can with what we have Samuelson said

The TCEQ operates with seven full time inspectors two contractors and an annual budget of about $697549 The state agency is state and federally funded Jack Furlong of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) said TCEQ doesnt have the resources needed to properly maintain the 7500 under their watch ASCE rated all infrastructure in Texas in 2004 including roads and bridges Furlong was on the committee that looked at dams Dams got a grade of D minus Furlong said Private dams that have been built across Texas dont get the inspections and operations and maintenance they need Furlong said Furlong knows what failed infrastructure can do Failed levees in New Orleans flooded large portions of the city following Hurricane Katrina A failed bridge in Minneapolis earlier this year killed 13 people Its going to take something to get peoples attention Furlong said Furlong said Texans can only hope its not a catastrophic dam failure


(Itrsquos a good idea to avoid a dam failure for many public safety reasons but now itrsquos important because a State may blackmail you into paying for stuff unrelated to the dam failure This is a precedent) Attorney Generals News Release November 28 2007 $179750000 settlement protects Ameren ratepayers from paying any costs related to Taum Sauk disaster Jefferson City Mo mdash Amerenrsquos 12 million ratepayers in Missouri wonrsquot have to bear any of the costs related to the Taum Sauk reservoir collapse under a $179750000 settlement with the State of Missouri announced today by Attorney General Jay Nixon Nixon filed a lawsuit against Ameren last December asking that the statersquos largest utility company be held financially accountable for the Dec 14 2005 reservoir breach in Reynolds County ldquoThis settlement satisfies my requirement for lsquothe three Rsrsquo which are the demands I have made from the beginningrdquo Nixon said ldquoThose are that Amerenrsquos ratepayers be protected from bearing any of the costs related to the collapse that the state of Missouri and other injured parties receive adequate recompense for their losses and that Ameren must rebuild the Taum Sauk reservoirrdquo The settlement resolves the lawsuit brought by the Attorney General on behalf of the state of Missouri against Ameren and was filed in Reynolds County Circuit Court this morning A copy of the settlement can be found online at the Attorney Generalrsquos Web site agomogov During the next 30 days the public is invited to submit any comments on the settlement to the Missouri Department of Natural Resources for consideration by the court the State of Missouri and Ameren Among the provisions included in the settlement are

bull $103 million from Ameren to rebuild Johnsonrsquos Shut-Ins State Park which was badly damaged in the collapse This figure includes approximately $51 million in work already completed as of Oct 31 2007 as well as $52 million in work yet to be done as of that date

bull A rebuild by Ameren of the upper reservoir that collapsed so that the existing power plant can generate electricity The rebuild is estimated to cost at least $350 million

bull $69240000 for natural resources damages that includes o $11875000 for Missouri state parks o $6 million for the Department of Conservation o $18 million for the State to connect the Katy Trail between Windsor and Pleasant Hill

subject to appropriation by the Missouri General Assembly o $7 million for tourism and economic development in the area affected by the collapse and

the resulting loss of tourism through a fund controlled by a local non-profit board and o $5 million for education including $2 million for the Reynolds County School Fund and $3

million for educational enrichment opportunities in Reynolds County through a fund controlled by a local non-profit board that is separate from the board for tourismeconomic development

bull $2 million in compensatory damages to the State of Missouri bull $31 million for state response costs to the disaster bull Protection of nearby Church Mountain an area that Nixon successfully fought to protect in 2001

The state of Missouri will hold a right of refusal on the property owned by Ameren in the event Ameren decides to sell the Church Mountain area to a third party and

bull Assurances that Ameren will continue to pay at least the same amount in local taxes and fees as it did prior to the collapse protecting local taxpayers This amount is expected to be no less than $24 million

The failed upper reservoir was originally built in the early 1960s Until its collapse the Taum Sauk reservoir was used to generate electricity for Ameren during peak demand periods through the pumping of water from a lower reservoir to the upper reservoir that failed and the draining of water back to the lower reservoir Ameren must undertake the rebuild using modern designs and construction methods approved by the federal government Nixon said the settlement protects ratepayers from paying any of the costs related to the disaster including the rebuild and that either insurance or shareholders must cover those costs To ensure that local taxpayers in Reynolds County are protected Nixon said Ameren will continue to pay all local property taxes and fees at the same level it did before the disaster even while the power plant is inoperable Construction of the new upper reservoir will cause the assessed valuation and resulting local tax payments from Ameren to rise ldquoAmeren is being held accountable for its actions that led to this disasterrdquo Nixon said ldquoThis settlement will benefit the residents and businesses in the Taum Sauk area Ameren ratepayers Missouri taxpayers and all those who use and enjoy Missourirsquos state parks ldquoJohnsonrsquos Shut-Ins will never be the samerdquo Nixon said ldquoToday however we have in place a legal framework to


ensure that Ameren restores as much as possible the irreplaceable natural amenities of this unique area and in some respects makes the park even better than it was before the disasterrdquo

Hydro A WATERSHED DECISION Making The Call On Dual Dam-License Applications Is New Territory For FERC By Claire Bessette 11222007 The Day THE FEDERAL ENERGY Regulatory Commission spent two days in the region this week to begin an unprecedented process of handling two competing license applications for the 2-megawatt hydropower dam at Scotland Dam on the Scotland-Windham border The current dam owner FirstLight Hydro Generating Co and Norwich Public Utilities both have submitted plans to seek the hydropower license from the federal agency when it comes due for renewal in 2012 The long process started this week with a two-day visit by FERC officials to see the dam and hear comments and concerns from the public and environmental agencies about the two competing proposals It turned out that more questions were posed to FERC on just how this process of evaluating competing proposals from different companies would be conducted During a public meeting Tuesday at the Windham Town Hall Jim Gibson a manager and regulatory specialist at a New York engineering firm not connected with the project fired several questions that gave FERC officials pause The FERC process is precise and driven by strict deadlines What if one of the competing applicants misses a deadline Would that firm be kicked out FERC normally requires numerous environmental studies for hydropower projects Could the two companies collaborate to use the same study data If they refuse to collaborate would one companys study be made public and thus available to the competing firm How would FERC make a company prove its claims to operate the dam at a much more efficient and more environmental friendly manner For example Gibson said Norwich Public Utilities proposed adding a second turbine to improve the energy output while also operating at a so-called ldquorun of the riverrdquo method using the natural flow rather than holding water back for a time and then releasing it Allan Creamer a fisheries biologist and senior technical analyst with FERC fielded most of the questions adding apologies for the several times he was forced to say ldquowe dont know yetrdquo This is the first time under the current licensing process that FERC has had to handle competing license applications for the same hydropower facility According to federal law the agency has the authority to award a license to someone other than the owner of the dam if the energy commission deems that to be a better application ldquoWere in new territory hererdquo Creamer said repeatedly while attempting to answer Gibsons questions Creamer said the entire licensing process is driven by timelines and normally companies adhere to the set schedule In the agencys limited experience with competing proposals the agency has found them reluctant to share data Companies often claim the information is proprietary but once documents are submitted to FERC they become public And given the competing claims that each company is expected to make on its proposal FERC would require concrete plans and feasibility studies to prove proposed energy outputs and environmental protections on the river Creamer said After the meeting Creamer said FERC has had several competing situations but most are resolved before they reach the formal licensing process Only once under now-defunct licensing regulations did FERC have to make a decision between two competing firms In 1999 Holyoke Water Power a private firm that owned the Holyoke Dam and the city of Holyoke both sought the license for that dam FERC awarded the license to the incumbent owner but then the private company ended up selling the dam and the hydropower rights to the city a year later ldquoIt would have saved us a lot of headaches if they had just done that at the startrdquo he said In the Scotland Dam situation NPU General Manager John Bilda said NPU tried to negotiate with FirstLight to buy Scotland Dam and two other hydropower units Taftville Dam and Tunnel Dam at the Lisbon-Preston border which the company had purchased from a Northeast Utilities subsidiary in July 2006 Bilda said FirstLight rejected negotiations and the municipal utility decided instead to try to seize control of all three dams through the FERC licensing process On Monday FirstLight Scotland Dam Station Manager Robert Gates led a tour and open house at the dam Several FERC officials along with representatives from the state Department of Environmental Protection and the US Fish and Wildlife Service attended the tour took photographs and noted conditions With the river at low levels the dam was not operating Gates said The dam currently runs on a store-and-


release system During low water times the dam shuts down except for minimum flow to sustain the river Newly installed trash rakes capture everything from branches and leaves to car tires When water in the 134-acre reservoir upstream of the dam rises 2 feet the dam resumes operation The existing turbine cannot operate at water flows below 500 cubic feet per second Gates said FirstLights license application calls for keeping the current system but the company has said it also is considering installing a new turbine that could operate on the run-of-the-river system eliminating the need to store water until it reaches the height needed to generate power That proposal would be very similar to NPUs plan to install two turbines with capacity to run at very low levels even less than 100 cubic feet per second Bilda said The dam currently does not have a fish passage NPU proposed adding fish passage facilities while FirstLight said it would study the need and may propose fish passage systems in new applications Melissa Grader a fish and wildlife biologist at the US Fish and Wildlife Service attended the dam tour Monday Grader said the agency prefers run-of-the-river hydropower operations to stabilize the river height upstream of the dam The 2-foot fluctuations now may be significant to wildlife and plants along the riverbank she said (Wow The Governor Thinks hydro is a renewable) Doyle tempers energy fantasy with some sense Nov 22 2007 Journal Sentinel Milwaukee WI A bunch of governors showed up in Milwaukee last week to make an incredible promise By this I mean a promise in which you can put absolutely no belief What tempers it is that Wisconsins Gov Jim Doyle then said something so sensible about dams I had to check the tape The promise was in the climate platform that 11 Midwestern governors signed vowing to cut the carbon dioxide the region exhales One specific They say well use less electricity No seriously As Doyle put it the deal is that by 2015 we will reduce our electricity consumption by 2 and that we will continue to do it by 2 a year thereafter This is nearly unprecedented and not in a good way The nations electricity consumption fell from one year to the next only four times since 1949 isolated dips associated with economic downturns Utility experts say the only time power demand seriously falls is when theres a depression or the Rust Belt oxidizes Power consumption moves in virtual lockstep with economic growth even as energy efficiency has doubled since 1970 Nor do experts think this will change The Department of Energys forecast is for electricity consumption to rise about 40 by 2030 There will just be more people for one thing Even if they all go to bed at sunset to save on juice it might be good for the air if a lot of them fueled their cars by plugging them in overnight Thats the thing about electricity Engineers keep making it more useful Planning for a 2 decline in its use year after year is either poppycock or an implicit call for economic decline The latter isnt realistic Doyle showed himself to be so when he told reporters and editors last week that we shouldnt expect any new nuclear power here soon Doyle wasnt so much advocating this as conceding it in saying Theres no way in the world that the first nuclear plant in 35 years or whatever is going to get built in Wisconsin This is simple probability in a state still irrational about nukes New plants will be built likely in some place with a more progressive attitude about power such as the South Wisconsin will lag On the plus side The governor it turns out is gung-ho about hydroelectric power The clue was when he showed up with Manitobas premier That Canadian province generates almost all its power from dams with plenty left over for export Wisconsin law says utilities must get 10 of their power from renewable sources by 2015 the governors last week promised to make it 30 by 2030 From Wisconsins point of view Doyle said I consider hydro renewable We have to make a little change in our law to assist that What he means is that in meeting that 10 Wisconsin utilities are barred from using much imported hydropower Lawmakers talked last spring of easing that Environmentalists threw a fit This completely undercuts the idea of using renewable power said one environmental lobbyist of importing Manitoba power I dont think theres any way that you can justify that its better for Wisconsin jobs and for our environment said another Oh Wind power is costly power from Manitoba dams isnt Electricity at a good price is one of the first things places tout when trying to draw employers As for the environment hydropower produces essentially no pollution at all Dams can affect wildlife though that can be mitigated and Manitobas sparseness means few people must move Wind has problems of its own - it stops blowing and few people want to live near windmills - making hydro seem more benign The only real harm seems to be to urban greens hoping that costly power would teach their neighbors a thing or two Nothing against windmills I think they look cool But even if the feds are right and they double their market share by 2030 that means theyll generate 09 of the nations power Why rule anything else out In backing hydroelectricity Doyle planted himself on the side of reality Efficiencys good but in the end well need more power If it must be carbonless and our politics cant handle nukes it makes sense to tap what the regions got


(Excerpts) Chief Joseph Hydropower units to be Refurbished Nov 27 2007 Reuters NEW YORK Nov 27 (Reuters) ndash The Corps of Engineers has issued a contract to refurbish 10 Francis turbines at the 2456-megawatt Chief Joseph hydropower station on the Columbia River in Washington State The Army Corps of Engineers awarded the contract worth more than $80 million over the summer The refurbishment will increase the turbines output by 20 percent from the present 71 megawatts to 88 MW each The 2456 MW Chief Joseph station is located near Bridgeport in Douglas County about 220 miles east of Seattle The turbines at the station entered service between 1955 and 1979 (Reporting by Scott DiSavino Editing by David Gregorio)

Water (Something has to give here either less people or more dams will be needed regardless of how much one conserves) Watershed tug of war Water needs conservation efforts put interests at odds By Dana M Nichols Record Net November 24 2007 SAN ANDREAS CA - The waters that rush from the Sierra to San Joaquin County are getting a lot more scrutiny these days And not just the water but also the entire watersheds all the lands whether ranches forests or towns that drain their waters into the Mokelumne Calaveras and Stanislaus rivers Water managers for all the regions counties are calling for more projects to catch water for human use conservationists are calling for limits on how much water is taken from rivers and scientists are warning that climate change may reduce the average flow of those rivers But some of the complex interests in the watersheds are at odds with each other Dams could catch more water upstream that would recharge San Joaquin County groundwater and help provide water to new homes But they could also harm San Joaquin County by reducing flows needed to flush pollution from the Delta and maintain the health of the rivers themselves Meanwhile new groups have sprung up locally to guard watersheds and regionally to work out cooperation on major projects such as the proposed Duck Creek Reservoir which would capture flood-year waters to be used to recharge San Joaquin Countys declining groundwater table The 16 agencies that make up the Mokelumne River Forum for example may ultimately serve as a model for how other regions in California can make peace between flatland and foothill interests and cooperate on water projects said Mel Lytle the water resources coordinator for San Joaquin County Before the forum actually got started we had very little communication with the foothill agencies Lytle said But dont expect full peace to break out anytime soon in the regions endless water wars Officials in foothill counties still campaign for office on platforms that including protecting the areas water rights against what they consider grabs by Valley interests And conservationists are pushing for measures - such as designating a 37-mile stretch of the upper Mokelumne River as wild and scenic - that would prevent new dams and possibly hamper new water diversions Scientists and technicians are also building computer models and taking more frequent samples from area rivers to get a handle on everything from bacteria pollution caused by leaky septic tanks to how catastrophic forest fires would affect river flows and water quality The problem with engineers is they want to build things said Pete Bell vice president of the Foothill Conservancy and a member of the Mokelumne River Forum The conservancy is campaigning for the federal government to designate 37 miles of the Mokelumne below Salt Springs Dam as wild and scenic Bell argues that conservation and reallocation of existing water are cheaper and environmentally superior to proposed new projects like the proposal to raise the dam at Lower Bear River Reservoir Some water agency officials are agreeing that conservation should be a priority In the long run I think surface storage (dams) should be No 3 behind conservation and groundwater recharge said Bob Dean who represents the West Point area on the Calaveras County Water District board of directors Dean said he believes county and water district elected officials in the region are beginning to be stewards of area watersheds and not just partners in real estate development Having mountain agencies take care of the land is important these days to water agency officials miles away in the Central Valley and the Bay Area The proliferation of foothill and mountain homes with leaky


septic systems that could pollute rivers is a top concern for the East Bay Municipal Utility District which pipes Mokelumne River water to 13 million East Bay residents said Eileen White manager of water operations at EBMUD It is not out of control right now but there is vulnerability out there White said Several water agency officials said they are also worried that neglect of mountain forests has created overgrown conditions that could allow catastrophic wildfires which could put polluted runoff into reservoirs and rivers and reduce the ability of the land to hold water A 2002 assessment of the Stanislaus River watershed done by the Stanislaus National Forest expressed similar concern saying that much of the watershed below 7000 feet was at risk from catastrophic fires The Stanislaus analysis also mentioned another issue relevant to all the regions rivers Dams and their operations have radically shifted water flows leaving many streams unnaturally dry while some other areas get more than their share of flow One of the toughest issues is that many current proposed projects rely on storing so-called surplus or floodwater flows that are only available in wet years Surplus flows are in the eye of the beholder said Jeffrey Mount an expert on rivers and climate at the University of California Davis The functional integrity of these rivers require occasional high flows That is when rivers do their work That is erosion transport and deposition of sediment That sediment for example once made the beds that salmon and steelhead needed to spawn In rivers with major dams humans must now construct those beds because the dams block the flow that creates sediment Mount said scientists are only now studying what has happened to rivers because dams remove the heavy pulse of spring snow-melt flows Mount also said that climate-change models are showing total flows will be reduced over time with smaller Sierra rivers hardest hit while major reservoirs like New Melones still have fairly solid supplies Earlier springs will also mean a longer irrigation system for farmers and more water lost to evaporation putting further strains on the water system Lytle however said climate change is exactly why some new projects should be built like the San Joaquin County proposal to use flood-year waters to recharge the groundwater table And he rejected the idea that diverting some of the flood flows on the Mokelumne would damage the river When the Mokelumne is flowing hard our diversion looks like it would be 1000 cfs (cubic feet a second) yet the Mokelumne would be flowing at 5000 or 10000 cfs There would still be plenty of water in the river to flush the beds Lytle said

Environment Saving the valley Wainiha Valley on Kauai and part of the Alakai summit plateau have been turned into a private nature preserve By Diana Leone Star Bulletin 112107

Kauais remote Wainiha Valley and a portion of the Alakai wilderness are now the states third-largest private nature preserve the Nature Conservancy and Alexander amp Baldwin announced yesterday The 7050-acre parcel of AampB land includes a summit region of Mount Waialeale one of the wettest areas on Earth Hinalele Falls and acres of rare intact ecosystems in Wainiha Valley The rugged valley and summit plateau are home to more than 100 plants that exist only in Hawaii 46 of which are only on the island of Kauai and rare and endangered Hawaiian forest birds the akikiki akekee apapane

amahiki and elepaio It would be hard to overestimate the importance of these lands to Hawaii Suzanne Case the Conservancys Hawaii executive director said at AampBs Honolulu offices It is a wilderness area almost beyond words with an incredible biological diversity and sheer beauty Case said Its just a wonderful place to be able to protect A 10-year agreement lets the Conservancy manage the wild lands which will mostly involve strategically fencing out feral pigs and working to reduce the presence of Australian tree ferns said Trae Menard the


Conservancys Kauai program director The towering ferns shade out and overcome native Hawaiian plants much like miconia and have begun to infiltrate the valley We are very pleased to have the Nature Conservancy actively manage these lands before they get to a place where irreversible damage can be done said Allen Doane AampB chairman and CEO The AampB Foundation also is giving the Conservancy $100000 over four years to use in any way they see fit Doane said We trust them When Menard and botanist Ken Wood of the National Tropical Botanical Garden helicoptered into Wainiha Valley in 2004 they found a native mint plant previously thought to be extinct The new preserve encompasses a density of rare plants that occur only on Kauai that is remarkable Menard said If they are lost from there they are lost from the planet In addition to its biological worth the preserve also is culturally important said Sam Gon III a Conservancy senior scientist and cultural adviser The original fragrant lauae fern of many Kauai hula chants still thrives in Wainiha Valley he noted Since the early 1900s a non-native lauae has been hanaied into use by hula halau because the real thing was no longer available Gon said The new preserve agreement continues extremely limited access to the remote and rugged area However hikers who take Alakai Trail can look down on the valley at Kilohana Lookout Gon noted Water from Wainiha Valley powers the 101-year-old Wainiha Hydroelectric Plant which still supplies electricity on Kauai and recharges several aquifers (Are we looking anything and everything to have negative news for dams) Orca advocates say remove Snake River dams THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Seattle Post Intelligencer 112007 SEATTLE -- Orca advocates told federal fisheries officials that four Snake River dams should be removed to boost production of salmon -- a food source for Puget Sound killer whales Six orca scientists make the recommendation in a letter to NOAA Fisheries which manages Columbia-Snake River salmon One researcher with The Whale Museum in Friday Harbor rich Osborne says restoring Columbia River Chinook salmon is the single most important thing in ensuring the survival of Puget Sound orcas

Cowlitz tribe seeks protection for Columbia River smelt THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Seattle Post Intelligencer 112107 VANCOUVER Wash -- The Cowlitz tribe is asking the federal government to protect lower Columbia River smelt under the Endangered Species Act Tribal Chairman John Barnett says this is an opportunity to reconsider issues such as the flow of water from dams which affect the Cowlitz and Lewis rivers The National Marine Fisheries Service has 90 days to consider the tribes petition Then it will have a year to study whether the fish should be listed as threatened or endangered A listing could affect dam operations and the state fishery for dip-netters The agency rejected a similar petition in 1999 for lack of information iThis compilation of articles and other information is provided at no cost for those interested in hydropower dams and water resources issues and development and should not be used for any commercial or other purpose

Some Dam_Hydro News11_02_07

Here comes $100 oil and $3 gas

With crude setting new highs every day experts say theres no way motorists wont see a spike at the pump

New maps almost ready showing where Isabella Lake water would go

Eyewitness News 29 Bakersfield CA Oct 28 2007

Baring their dam views

Protest planned for Saturday morning at Buford dam


(Now this is unadulterated hogwash For those of us that have been there you know therersquos nothing close to the ldquothe most significant natural landscape and the center of biodiversity in the state of Missourirdquo ndash no offense to Missourians intended)

Environmental concerns could delay Taum Sauk restoration

05 November 2007 International Water Power and Dam Construction

Deadly Dam Collapse Remembered 30 Years Later

39 People Died When Dam Gave Way

November 6 2007 WYFF4com

extreme measures for extreme drought

Florida to Lose Water Under Compromise to Help Atlanta


Public Works When lsquoBig Governmentrsquo Plays Its Role

Expert report recommends response for Isabella Dam problems

Eyewitness News 58 Bakersfield CA Nov102007

By The Associated Press Winona Daily News 111007

MINNEAPOLIS mdash Just upstream of the small northwestern Minnesota community of Lake Bronson stands a deteriorating old dam considered the most dangerous in the state ldquoIf it fails under flood conditions it will inundate more than a dozen homes in (the)

Under state regulations high-hazard dams are supposed to be inspected once a year medium-hazard dams every four years and low-hazard dams every eight years All 23 of Minnesotarsquos high-hazard dams have been inspected in the past year Among the 116 m

What Do Brazil and Washington State Have in Common

Lack of Hydroelectric Support Limits State Energy Options AK

Burning Bio News 111107

Congress Overrides Bush Veto On Water Bill

First Veto Override During Bush Presidency Comes On $23B Water Resources Bill

WASHINGTON Nov 8 2007 CBS News


(Hey these anti-dam folks are smart)

Advocates ask ratepayers to fight relicensing of 4 Klamath dams

Salmon - The group calls the dams a disaster but PacifiCorp says they offer cheap clean hydropower

(Does this mean people are as important as mussels and fish Maybe some critters can get along with less water Does this mean the the USFampWS always wants more water than is really needed causing lower energy production and impacting people who also n

Feds OK drought deal letting Georgia keep more water

November 16 2007 CNNcom


China dam collapse kills six seven missing

Wainiha Valley on Kauai and part of the Alakai summit plateau have been turned into a private nature preserve

Cowlitz tribe seeks protection for Columbia River smelt


Currently Ohio has 825 deficient dams -- the most deficient dams in the country -- including 240 high-hazard dams (dams whose failure can cause loss of life and significant property destruction) The state has failed to inspect about 600 high-hazard dams that could kill residents or cause significant property damage if they burst due to lack of funds This legislation would authorize a total of $200 million to help rehabilitate deficient dams The federal share of the grants cannot exceed 65 percent of the total cost of the rehabilitation or repair The funding would be broken down by year as follows $10 million for 2008 $15 million for 2009 $25 million for 2010 $50 million for 2011 $100 million for 2012 $400000 for each of fiscal years 2008 to 2010 for additional FEMA staff

New maps almost ready showing where Isabella Lake water would go Eyewitness News 29 Bakersfield CA Oct 28 2007

Finally new maps are almost ready that will show where water would go if theres a problem at the Isabella Dam Kern County supervisors will get a look at the new information next Tuesday and they say its vital to public safety As Eyewitness News was first to uncover the dams are ranked among the most at-risk in the nation Experts say if the dams fail -- up to a half million people could be affected On Tuesday the US Army Corps of Engineers will be in Bakersfield to give an update on the situation at the dam New concerns have been identified over earthquake risk and higher than expected seepage in the Auxiliary Dam Eyewitness News has obtained the maps which have been available so far about water releases from the dam But these so-called inundation maps are at least 12 years old Local emergency planners say they need new and updated data in order to design the best disaster plans and evacuation routes Corps geologist Ronn Rose tells Eyewitness News he will give a Power Point presentation on the new inundation maps to supervisors And while that will be visible to the audience this information will not be released to the public -- yet First off the data is still a draft -- and draft reports are never released But Eyewitness News has also obtained a Corps of Engineers memo on inundation map policy That memo says inundation maps are usually designated for officials use only because the information pay pose a security risk Experts say dams could be a target for terrorists But the new maps will be given to Kern County officials When the maps or data is final Rose told Eyewitness News We will release it to the County -- no restrictions Apparently at that point the county could ask for an exemption to the no public release policy in the case of Isabella Dam Its now expected the Corps will have the final inundation maps ready in January Kern leaders want the information as soon as they can get it Supervisor Mike Maggard says he was at one of the big fires in southern California this week and that drove home how important disaster planning is Supervisor Michael Rubio says its been over a year and a half since Kern County was notified about the new concerns at Isabella Dam He calls it unacceptable that the countys waited so long for information vital to getting a good emergency response plans to the public Rubio promises to take a hard look at the Corps presentation on Tuesday and hell ask some tough questions

Dayton Hollow Dam still in good shape The Dayton Daily Journal October 27 2007 MN Dayton Hollow hydroelectric station came on line in April 1909 making Otter Tail Power Company an operating electric utility Today 98 years later the consensus is that Dayton Hollow Dam is still safe and in good condition reports Hoot Lake Plant Manager Jeff Olson who is accountable for Otter Tail Power Companys five hydroelectric stations in the Fergus Falls MN area Otter Tail Power Company lowered the water level in the Dayton Hollow Dam reservoir two feet on Sept 24 so an engineering firm could inspect the dam after annual piezometer readings indicated a slight elevation of the water in the dam structure On Sept 28 divers inspected both the lower and upper portions of the dam and found the structural integrity of the concrete to be good Six new piezometers were installed for a total of 18 to continuously monitor the water line in and around the dam site On Oct 9 the company submitted its report to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) which was followed by FERC conducting a routine potential failure mode analysis (PFMA) last week FERC was here Oct 16 through 19 for site inspection and meetings to review our data said Olson Weve concluded our discussions regarding the stability of the dam and our concerns regarding the piezometric levels were alleviated Otter Tail Power Company initiated the dam drawdown as a safety measure while we worked with our consultant to determine the safety factor for the dam FERC was very pleased with our reaction and the steps taken to assure that safety is our highest priority We are raising the pool elevation back to a normal stage of 1107 feet in a phased approach that may take up to two weeks to complete Olson said We appreciate Dayton Hollow area residents patience and understanding during our evaluation of the dam







Hydro



















1


i 11092007





2



3



4




5





6




7




8



1


i 11162007





2




3




4



5



6



Hydro


7





8




9





1


i 11232007





2



3






4




5






6




7




8




9




i 11302007


























































































Hydro



















1


i 11092007





2



3



4




5





6




7




8



1


i 11162007





2




3




4



5



6



Hydro


7





8




9





1


i 11232007





2



3






4




5






6




7




8




9




i 11302007






































































































1


i 11092007





2



3



4




5





6




7




8



1


i 11162007





2




3




4



5



6



Hydro


7





8




9





1


i 11232007





2



3






4




5






6




7




8




9




i 11302007




















































































2



3



4




5





6




7




8



1


i 11162007





2




3




4



5



6



Hydro


7





8




9





1


i 11232007





2



3






4




5






6




7




8




9




i 11302007




















































































3



4




5





6




7




8



1


i 11162007





2




3




4



5



6



Hydro


7





8




9





1


i 11232007





2



3






4




5






6




7




8




9




i 11302007




















































































4




5





6




7




8



1


i 11162007





2




3




4



5



6



Hydro


7





8




9





1


i 11232007





2



3






4




5






6




7




8




9




i 11302007




















































































5





6




7




8



1


i 11162007





2




3




4



5



6



Hydro


7





8




9





1


i 11232007





2



3






4




5






6




7




8




9




i 11302007




















































































6




7




8



1


i 11162007





2




3




4



5



6



Hydro


7





8




9





1


i 11232007





2



3






4




5






6




7




8




9




i 11302007




















































































7




8



1


i 11162007





2




3




4



5



6



Hydro


7





8




9





1


i 11232007





2



3






4




5






6




7




8




9




i 11302007




















































































8



1


i 11162007





2




3




4



5



6



Hydro


7





8




9





1


i 11232007





2



3






4




5






6




7




8




9




i 11302007




















































































1


i 11162007





2




3




4



5



6



Hydro


7





8




9





1


i 11232007





2



3






4




5






6




7




8




9




i 11302007




















































































2




3




4



5



6



Hydro


7





8




9





1


i 11232007





2



3






4




5






6




7




8




9




i 11302007




















































































3




4



5



6



Hydro


7





8




9





1


i 11232007





2



3






4




5






6




7




8




9




i 11302007




















































































4



5



6



Hydro


7





8




9





1


i 11232007





2



3






4




5






6




7




8




9




i 11302007




















































































5



6



Hydro


7





8




9





1


i 11232007





2



3






4




5






6




7




8




9




i 11302007




















































































6



Hydro


7





8




9





1


i 11232007





2



3






4




5






6




7




8




9




i 11302007




















































































7





8




9





1


i 11232007





2



3






4




5






6




7




8




9




i 11302007




















































































8




9





1


i 11232007





2



3






4




5






6




7




8




9




i 11302007




















































































9





1


i 11232007





2



3






4




5






6




7




8




9




i 11302007




















































































1


i 11232007





2



3






4




5






6




7




8




9




i 11302007




















































































2



3






4




5






6




7




8




9




i 11302007




















































































3






4




5






6




7




8




9




i 11302007




















































































4




5






6




7




8




9




i 11302007




















































































5






6




7




8




9




i 11302007




















































































6




7




8




9




i 11302007




















































































7




8




9




i 11302007




















































































8




9




i 11302007




















































































9




i 11302007





















































































i 11302007




















































































Some Dam – Hydro News - Stanford...

Documents

Transcript of Some Dam – Hydro News - Stanford...