Controls and Automation

U.S. government awards $520 million to revitalize aging water delivery systems

U.S. government awards $520 million to revitalize aging water delivery systems
(Shasta Dam is a curved gravity concrete dam on the Sacramento River above Redding, Calif.)

Acting Deputy Secretary of the Interior Laura Daniel-Davis announced more than $520 million from President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda to revitalize aging water delivery systems across the western U.S.

The funding will support 57 projects across all six regions served by the Bureau of Reclamation to improve water conveyance and storage, increase safety, improve hydropower generation and provide water treatment. President Biden secured more than $50 billion for climate resilience and adaptation through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act and established a National Climate Resilience Framework, which is advancing locally tailored, community-driven climate resilience strategies. 

“President Biden’s Investing in America agenda is making historic investments to provide clean, reliable water to families, farmers and Tribes and to make western communities more resilient to drought and climate change,” said Daniel-Davis. “These investments in our aging water infrastructure will conserve community water supplies and revitalize water delivery systems building reliability and sustainability for generations to come.”

The projects awarded that are related to dams and hydroelectric power are:

Glen Canyon Outlet Works in Arizona: $8,945,000 to recoat the dam’s outlet works, which consists of four steel pipes with cast iron bellmouth intakes, hollow-jet valves for regulation, and ring-follower gates for dewatering or emergency closure to ensure capability to meet downstream water commitments.

Shasta Power Plant Distribution Upgrades in California: $13,265,000 to complete a planning study and then design and implement a project to modify transformers, conductors, protection and relaying of the power distribution system that services facilities around Shasta Powerplant, including Livingston-Stone National Fish Hatchery, Shasta Pumping Plant and Shasta Maintenance Center.

Shasta Power Plant Restore Synchronous Condense Mode Capability in California: $4,034,000 to restore systems and hardware on five generating units to achieve synchronous condense mode capability.

Shasta Power Plant Station Service Unit 1 Overhaul in California: $15,400,000 to complete planning and environmental compliance activities and then design and implementation to repair out-of-commission station service unit one rotor shaft.

O’Neill Pumping/Generating Plant Upgrades Project in California: $11,600,000 to design and implement a unit rewind, a governor upgrade, new pump bowl design and fabrication, pump assembly, and penstock rehabilitation.

New Melones Power Plant Rewinds in California: $19,700,000 to finalize a planning study and to design and implement a project to rewind generators, install an air baffle system, install two new neutral grounding transformers, and replace sensors, heaters and brakes.

Spring Creek Power Plant Runner Replacements in California: $4,000,000 to replace turbine runners on units one and two and upgrade existing auxiliary systems.

Tahoe Dam Extraordinary Maintenance Justification Study in California: $3,502,000 for the planning study and associated environmental compliance to conduct an extraordinary maintenance justification study evaluating repair/replacement of Tahoe Dam. The study will analyze any non-federal beneficiaries and recommend appropriate actions to repair/replace Lake Tahoe Dam.

Stony Gorge Spillway Gate Rehabilitation in California: $1,300,000 to continue the previously funded planning study and environmental compliance activities, and subsequently for design activities on a project to rehabilitate or replace all three spillway gates at Stony Gorge and related gate operating equipment.

Pole Hill Afterbay Repair in Colorado: $4,000,000 to stabilize the Pole Hill Powerplant afterbay and repair the siphon conduit to resume safe operation.

Flatiron Embedded Pipe Rehabilitation in Colorado: $1,700,000 to rehabilitate or replace several runs of small-diameter, concrete-embedded metallic water pipe within the Flatiron Powerplant.

Webster Dam Spillway Gate Rehabilitation in Kansas: $4,000,000 to remove and replace coatings, replace gate seals and grease lines.

Medicine Creek Dam Concrete Repair and Access Improvement in Nebraska: $4,600,000 to construct a site access road at the outlet works discharge channel crossing. This will include saw cutting and removal of existing concrete from damaged areas within the spillway, chute and along the outlet works stilling basin walls; furnish and place new concrete in repair areas and raise the outlet works walls by 2 feet; and repair cracked concrete on the spillway bridge piers and seal and coat the upstream face of the spillway crest structure, tops of the spillway chute and stilling basin walls, and tops of the outlet works stilling basin walls.

Elephant Butte Historic District Dam Site Lift Station and Fish Hatchery Septic System Rehab in New Mexico: $650,000 for funding and management of recreation activities, which has been returned to Reclamation. Approved improvements will make the recreation area more attractive for potential future managing partners, with the intent to reduce future Reclamation O&M cost. Activities include adding two shelf spare pumps and a strainer for the inlet pipes at the dam site lift station and removing the leach field and septic tank at the Fish Hatchery Septic System.

Marble Bluff Spillway and Sluiceway Extraordinary Maintenance Justification Study in Nevada: $5,520,000 to conduct an extraordinary maintenance justification study evaluating repair or replacement of the Marble Bluff Dam baffled apron spillway and sluiceway. Funding is provided for the planning study and associated environmental compliance.

Altus Gate Replacement in Oklahoma: $24,980,000 to finalize a planning study. It may be used for design and implementation of the project to replace nine spillway radial gates, gate arms, pins, trunnion beams and cables. The project will also include rehabilitation or replacement of the spillway gate hoists, dam electrical and control equipment, coating system on spillway bridge, canal outlet works fixed wheel gate hoist and wasteway radial gate.

Mni Wiconi Project, Oglala Sioux Tribe, Emergency Generators at the Water Treatment Plant and Raw Water Intake Pump Station in South Dakota: $2,600,000 to install two generators, transfer switches, and appropriate controls at the water treatment plant and raw water intake pump station. Both facilities are without backup power generation. The generators are sized to provide minimal level of service to sustain operations during a short-term power outage.

Angostura Dam Concrete Spillway Repair and Powerplant Access Road in South Dakota: $9,000,000 to improve the Angostura powerplant access road and extend the temporary access road into the river channel downstream of the spillway. This includes removal of deficient concrete from the spillway face and replacement of concrete to create a smooth laminar flow over the face of the dam.

James Diversion Dam Auxiliary Spillway in South Dakota: $6,000,000 to evaluate, plan, design and construct bank stabilization and address excessive soil erosion in and along the banks of the auxiliary spillway. Funding is provided for a planning study and associated environmental compliance activities, and subsequently design and implementation.

Shadehill Dam Replace Ladders, Platforms and Electrical in South Dakota: $865,500 to disassemble and replace platforms, guardrails, safety devices, ladders and electrical in the gate house and lighting in the radial gate shaft. This will include installation of safety devices on ladders and platforms in the slide gate shaft and adding lighting to slide gate shaft.

Deer Creek Intake Project Modify Intake, Construct Bypass, Refurbish Guard Gates in Utah: $10,000,000 to modify the outlet works intake structure to accept a bulkhead plug to isolate the outlet works tunnel to refurbish the original guard gates. This includes construction of a new 72-inch bypass through the mountain on the left abutment of the dam by micro-tunneling methods.

The Investing in America agenda is an investment in climate resilience and provides resources to enhance western communities’ resilience to drought and climate change. Through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, Reclamation is investing $8.3 billion over five years for water infrastructure projects, including rural water, water storage, conservation and conveyance, nature-based solutions, dam safety, water purification and reuse, and desalination.