For More Information Contact:
Marty Douglass, 341-1879
Eugene Water & Electric Board

May 3 , 2007

EWEB temporarily shuts down hydro projects to assist fish migration

The Eugene Water & Electric Board shut down its Leaburg and Walterville hydroelectric facilities for the day on Thursday (May 3) to assist hatchery steelhead smolts in migrating down the McKenzie River on their eventual journey to the Pacific Ocean. The smolts, about 10 inches in length and smaller, have been holding in the river below Leaburg Dam.

The hydro plant shutdown will remain in effect throughout the day, with the projects being restarted after sundown tonight. Full power generation will be reached on Saturday, May 5. 
 
The effect of the shutdown is to leave more water in the McKenzie River, which will hopefully prompt the small fish to continue moving downstream. The fish were released in early April from the Leaburg Trout Hatchery just below Leaburg Dam. However, river flows have been running lower than normal since their release, contributing to the fish holding in the river rather than migrating downstream. The steelhead return from the ocean in about two years.

The issue was brought to EWEB’s attention at Tuesday night’s board meeting, by boaters and fishermen who had noticed the buildup. By Wednesday at noon EWEB had made the decision to shut down the projects.

EWEB’s power generation and environmental staff worked together and consulted with the Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife on the issue. It was determined that other power resources are sufficient to handle EWEB’s electricity needs while the lower McKenzie projects are down.
 
EWEB diverts water from the McKenzie River into the Leaburg and Walterville power canals, which transport the water to two power plants to generate electricity. The water is then returned to the McKenzie River. When running at peak capacity the two facilities can generate about 23 megawatts of electricity, enough to power 6,000 homes in Eugene.