Damaged spillway gates in need of repair

EPHRATA — Two spillway gates at Wanapum Dam have been taken off line while engineers investigate possible damage to the opening-closing mechanisms.

If the Grant County PUD is lucky, the fix could cost somewhere between $100,000 and $200,000. If they’re not, it’s estimated the work could cost about $1 million.

Grant County PUD general manager Kevin Nordt said the problem was discovered in one gate, during an inspection prior to scheduled maintenance, which then prompted an inspection of all gates, and a second gate was found to have the same problem.

“The arms on the opening and closing mechanisms are under tremendous stress, and that could cause them to crack,” Nordt said. “The situation puts the gates out of service.”

But the gates can’t be out of service for very long, he said.

“The first step will be a close-up inspection of the second gate to determine what’s happening — it’s a tight spot in there,” Nordt said. “ They’re [the inspectors) not sure how much they can move.”

If the inspectors can determine how much, if any, cracking is going on, and if any repairs can be done in the space available, the projected cost is estimated between $100,000 and $200,000, The inspection of the gates, he said, would cost about $50,000.

“If we’re unlucky, though, and we have to actually go in and disassemble, then that may be somewhere on the order of a million dollars,” Nordt said.

Grant County Commissioner Larry Schaapman looking to minimize costs, chimed in on the matter.

“We know we’ve got an issue,” Schaapman said. “So why don’t we just move into rehab mode?” That would save the money spent for the inspection.”

“Because we won’t understand the extent of damages,” Nordt replied.

“If you tore it apart anyway, you’d understand as you were tearing it apart,” Schaapman countered.

Nordt said the inspection would determine if the tearing apart — the expensive solution — was necessary, or if work could be done without the dismantling.