'People are your greatest resource' - PUD's retiring hydro manager

WANAPUM DAM — There were signs something was not quite right at Wanapum Dam on Feb. 27, 2014. An investigation was underway, but the hydro division employees were going about their regular business.

“There was that wall of work,” said PUD Hydro Manager Dawn Woodward, a resident of Royal City.

The turbines and generators were being upgraded at Wanapum, the PUD was working on its hatchery system and enhancing habitat along the Columbia River.

The routine was plenty busy, and then on Feb. 27, 2014 the routine screeched to a halt. Woodward was in a meeting when she got word from hydro engineering manager (and now co-hydro director) Kevin Miller that he needed to talk to her. Right away.

It was the kind of news that definitely interrupts a meeting. Workers had discovered a fracture in one of the spillway pillars in the dam.

A lot to do, a whole lot of work, “and then you have this fracture that wasn’t in the schedule,” Woodward joked.

But, she said, PUD employees can handle emergencies, even big emergencies. She knew that from experience.

Woodward has worked in nearly every phase of PUD operation in her career. She has announced she will retire in mid-2016. When she does, she will have 33 years with the district.

When the crack was discovered, there was an OMG moment or two, Woodward said. But she had confidence in her employees.

“Every type of event that’s occurred, our folks have responded well,” she said.

The PUD has procedures in place for emergencies. They’ve worked in other situations, like the time the substation servicing all of the Quincy area shut down. And, they worked when the dam cracked.

“We practice. Our operators practice these abnormal conditions,” she said.

The crack was a test for Woodward and the management team, she said. When confronted with an emergency, it’s important for leaders to lead.

Leading required the help of the management team (Marshall’s work was a key piece of the response) and her own experience, Woodward said.

Woodward learned all about the PUD by working in every division. In fact, she learned every office in the PUD system with the exception of Grand Coulee.

“I was offered a lot of opportunities” at the PUD, she said.

Woodward started in customer service, preparing customer work orders and using her training as a legal secretary on projects like property variances. The key, she said, is learning on the job and at every opportunity.

“I think I’m known for asking questions,” she said.

Woodward took a job in computer systems management without knowing much about computers or managing computer systems.

“But you learn,” she said.

She began studying computers and programming, and eventually started writing programs.

Woodward worked as a manager in the maintenance department and put in three years in the department that designs and builds the distribution system.

“I’ve had three different trips through Hydro (Wanapum and Priest Rapids dams),” she said.

When she got hydro manager’s job, she worked a rotation with an operator in the dam control room.

“People are your greatest resource,” she said.

One of the challenges of management, Woodward said, is to keep in touch with those employees. Their commitment is crucial to an organization’s success.

“It’s been a fun job,” Woodward said as she prepared to leave.

A native of Wenatchee, Woodward lives in Royal City with her husband Dick Woodward, who operates the family cattle ranch. The couple has five children.

It’s always been important to ensure she worked because she wanted to, not because she had to, Woodward said.

Retirement will give her time to pursue activities that looked attractive but were too time-consuming while she was employed.

She said: “I will probably try to learn golf, I guess.”