Lake Lowered For Dam Repair

Bureau of Reclamation officials have begun lowering Lake Roosevelt in order to repair one of the giant gates at Grand Coulee Dam that controls the water level.

Bonneville Power Administration spokesman Rob Swedo said one of 11 drum gates is leaking internally. If the leak is not stopped, the drum - which floats on a column of water - may sink and allow the lake’s water to flow out through a spillway and bypass the dam’s turbines.

Bonneville sells the power generated at the dam, the largest hydroelectric project in the United States.

Swedo said the surface of the lake would be dropped about 30 feet to 1,255 feet above sea level by early February. Repair of the damaged gate will take about one week, he said, but the drawdown may be extended as long as six weeks if snowpack conditions indicate the lake can refill by summer.

Crews will use the extra time to perform maintenance on the remaining gates, he said.”It shouldn’t cause too much of a problem for the marinas,” he said, noting that all operators were informed of the impending drawdown.