EWEB could pull plug on Trail Bridge hydro plant

By Ken Engelman
Mckenzie River Reflections

MCKENZIE BRIDGE: Changes in the power market will likely impact plans for major upgrades at the Eugene Water & Electric Board’s Trail Bridge Dam. As part of an ongoing process to renew a federal license to operate the Carmen Smith hydropower facility, the utility had proposed building a screen at the dam to prevent downstream migrating fish from going through turbine blades. Because water levels in the reservoir formed by the dam fluctuate on a daily basis, the screen would be more complex than the blocking devices currently in use at EWEB’s other projects. Recent estimates put the price tag for a “floating” fish screen in the neighborhood of $45 million. Read more