Plant is slated for decommissioning in 2010

HOOD RIVER, Ore. – The flood-swollen Hood River on Tuesday morning damaged two sections of the flow line serving PacifiCorp’s 6-megawatt Powerdale Hydro Project near Hood River. The plant was not operating at the time of the incident.

Under normal conditions, a 10-foot diameter, 14,000-foot-long pipe from the diversion dam delivers water to the turbines in the Powerdale Powerhouse. On Tuesday morning, two sections of the pipe, a 500-foot section and a 300-foot section, were either washed off their foundations or were wrenched from their alignment by the force of floodwaters.

PacifiCorp has closed access to the steep canyon site because of safety concerns. Near the powerhouse, the public parking area and fishing access point is flooded and will be closed temporarily until conditions improve. After it reopens, a security gate approximately 1,500 feet upstream along the flow line will remained closed permanently or until public safety issues are addressed.

Upstream near the diversion, Powerdale Park, the dam site, and the road paralleling PacifiCorp’s flow line will remain closed for safety purposes. PacifiCorp is asking the public to adhere to posted signage and stay outside barricaded areas.

Since 1923, the Powerdale Powerhouse and surge tower have been familiar landmarks in Hood River near State Highway 35 a short distance from where the Hood River flows into the Columbia River.

Tuesday’s floodwaters in the Hood River may have topped records. The surging river nearly overtopped the railroad bridge just upstream from the Powerdale Powerhouse.

Company officials are beginning an engineering study to determine costs for repairs, but the old powerhouse may be shut down permanently. On June 6, 2003, parties to a settlement for the project’s licensing process announced an agreement to close the plant in April 2010 and decommission portions of it over a two-year period. Already, because of operating restrictions each year, the plant is sometimes closed for up to three months.

Media inquiries: newsdesk@pacificorp.com