Wanapum spillway gates could need repair

EPHRATA — Two spillway gates at Wanapum Dam have been taken out of use while engineers investigate possible damage that could have occurred while they were being raised and lowered.

If the Grant County PUD is lucky, the fix could cost somewhere between $100,000 and $200,000. If they’re unlucky, 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. That prompted an inspection of all gates, and a second gate, next to the first, was found to have the same problem.

“This is a fairly recent discovery,” he said, found when the first gate was being inspected prior to scheduled maintenance.

The opening-closing mechanisms on the two gates were running into some resistance as they worked, especially while the gates were being closed. “As the gates are closing, the arms are under tremendous stress,” Nordt said. That could cause the parts to crack.

“The situation puts the gates out of service.” But the gates can’t be out of service for very long, he said.

The repairs can be added to the scope of work on the first gate, he said. Work already had been completed on the second gate, however.

The first step, Nordt said, will be a close-up inspection of the second gate, to determine what’s happening. “It’s a tight spot in there. They’re 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, then the project would cost between $100,000 and $200,000, Nordt said. The inspection would cost about $50,000.

“If we’re not lucky, though, and we have to actually go in and disassemble, then that may be somewhere on the order of a million dollars,” Nordt said.

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

“Because we won’t understand the extent,” Nordt said.

“If you tore it apart anyway, you’d understand as you were tearing it apart,” Schaapman said. Nordt said the inspection would determine tearing apart — the expensive solution — was necessary, or if work could be done without that.

Cheryl Schweizer can be reached via email at education@columbiabasinherald.com.