Tower expected to begin operating by year’s end
July 20th, 2009The underwater tower near Round Butte dam is now expected to be completed and operating by the end of 2009, ready for the 2010 fish migration period.
The massive tower, originally scheduled for completion in May 2009, was delayed when a portion of the 40-foot diameter steel conduit connecting the top and bottom structures broke off April 11 during assembly in Lake Billy Chinook.
All segments have been retrieved from the lake floor. Design modifications have been made, and construction crews have begun work on repairs and replacements. An analysis of the incident by PGE staff and independent structural experts is continuing to determine the exact cause.
Technically known as a “Selective Water Withdrawl Tower,” the structure will rise 140 feet from the lake floor, draw in water and attract fish to a collection facility. Juvenile salmon and steelhead will be separated out and trucked downstream to continue their migration.
Mitigation plans have been implemented for downstream passage of the salmon and steelhead fry planted in the upper Deschutes, Metolius and Crooked rivers and several tributaries. Smolts have been collected using traps and trucked for release into the Deschutes River below Pelton Round Butte. Tracking tags indicate transported fish have already succcessfully passed Bonneville Dam on their journey to the Pacific.
