Costs to repair the fracture found at Wanapum dam spillway in Washington, US, have been estimated at $61 million, Grant County PUD has announced.
The PUD’s Board of Commissioners were presented with a preliminary estimate at a meeting last week. The $61 million price tag includes all costs associated with fracture investigation, spillway repairs, fish passage modifications, shoreline protection and power supply costs. The estimate is based on information presently available and the PUD said it may vary depending on results from the analysis into the cause of the fracture and investigation of the fracture’s geometry, as well as how soon repairs can be completed.
The utility is evaluating how it will use a combination of reserve funds, debt financing and expense reductions to cover the cost of restoring the spillway, and are continuing to work with insurers to explore potential insurance coverage as well.
Investigative drilling into the spillway has resumed, and once complete, Grant PUD will begin making repairs to the spillway. The reservoir level will not be raised to its normal minimum of 562ft asl until the repairs are complete.
Wanapum Dam continues to generate electricity at about 50 to 60% of its current capacity and is passing spring runoff flows in coordination with other dam operators on the river.
The fracture was detected by divers on February 27, three days after a worker at the dam noticed that the top of the spillway pier had shifted slightly downstream.
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