Leaky Dam Repairs WIll Temporarily Lower Bend's Mirror Pond
Bend's Mirror Pond, visible from Drake Park.
Crews are set to begin repairs on a leaky dam in Bend, Oregon, this week.
In a press release, Pacific Power said the leak does not pose a safety risk, or weaken the structural integrity of the dam, but it does make it difficult to keep the normal amount of water in Mirror Pond.
The pond is actually a backlog of the Deschutes River. It’ll be lowered by about three feet and ringed in mud for about two weeks, as workers get to wooden panels in the dam and reface them with steel.
The dam generates electrical power, and creates a water landscape flanked by stately homes and valuable real estate.
Similar leaks have sprung three times in the last decade, according to the press release. But, managing director of hydro operations for PacifiCorp, Mark Sturtevant said this time, the entire 100-year-old wooden structure will be covered in sheet metal.
“These repairs will allow us to continue to operate the hydro project and maintain Mirror Pond levels for the community for the foreseeable future,” he said in the release.
Dam work is expected to continue through the end of November. The company said to expect water levels similar to what was seen in October 2016, when the pond was lowered at the city’s request to allow for work on a whitewater park. [Copyright 2018 EarthFix]
