Dam Design and Construction

KRRC shares timeline as Lower Klamath River dam removal work begins

KRRC shares timeline as Lower Klamath River dam removal work begins
(Iron Gate is one of four dams on the Klamath River slated for removal)

The Klamath River Renewal Corporation reports that all four of the dams and hydroelectric projects that make up the Lower Klamath Hydropower Project will be removed by the end of 2024, as work began on the removal near the end of March.

The Lower Klamath Hydropower Project occupies about 400 acres of federal land administered by the U.S. Department of Interior, Bureau of Land Management and consists of four developments: J.C. Boyle Dam, a 98 MW project with an earthfill dam built in 1958; Copco 1 Dam, a 20 MW project with a concrete dam built in 1918; Copco 2 Dam, a 27 MW project with a concrete dam built in 1925; and, Iron Gate Dam, a 18 MW project with an earthfill dam built in 1962.

“Crews are already in the field doing the preliminary work for dam removal,” explained KRRC Chief Executive Officer Mark Bransom. “This work includes bridge upgrades, new road construction to access the dam sites more easily, worksite development, and more.”

The plan to remove the four lower Klamath River dams and restore the 38-mile river reach to a free-flowing condition stems from an agreement between previous dam owner PacifiCorp, the states of California and Oregon, the Karuk Tribe, the Yurok Tribe, and conservation and fishing organizations. The plan was formally approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission late last year.

The project is funded by $200 million from PacifiCorp and $250 million from a California Water Bond passed in 2014.

Removal of all four dams is to be completed by the end of 2024, but restoration of the 38-mile reach of river impacted by the dams, which is under way, will take longer, KRRC said.

Resource Environmental Solutions (RES) will be reconnecting critical tributaries and ensuring fish can access over 400 miles of historical habitat upstream of the dams. “We wanted to get a running start on this project,” explains Dave Coffman, Northern California and Southern Oregon Director of RES. “Our crews spent several years collecting thousands of native seeds from plants around the reservoir sites that we propagated at commercial nurseries to become 17 billion seeds and thousands of saplings. As soon as the reservoirs are drawn down, we will immediately start the restoration process by seeding these areas.”