News Release
| Release Number: | 98-046 |
| Dated: | 6/12/1998 |
| Contact: | Heidi Y. Helwig, 503-808-4510 |
Portland, Ore. -- A contract to fabricate extended length bar screens for 16 turbine bays at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' John Day Dam on the Columbia River has been delayed. The Corps has taken this action following release of a report from the Independent Scientific Advisory Board (ISAB).
In its report, the ISAB indicated to the Power Planning Council that installation of extended screens at John Day did not appear to be justified. The report recommended that other options, such as spill and surface bypass, should be pursued as better alternatives for reaching fish passage goals. The Northwest Power Planning Council will take public comment through June on the ISAB report, but recommended that the contract be delayed for now.
Three prototype screens are currently being tested at John Day. The tests are in response to the National Marine Fisheries Service 1995 Biological Opinion which directed the Corps to test and, if tests indicate the prototypes work well, to install the screens. About $4.3 million has been spent to design and test the screens.
The Corps will continue current tests this summer; direction of the future program will be determined through discussions with the National Marine Fisheries Service and the System Configuration Team, the regional body which guides and prioritizes salmon recovery actions on the Columbia/Snake river system.
The total cost of the screens is estimated to be about $40 million. The Corps had planned to issue a contract in June, but plans and specifications were delayed because of structural, biological and hydraulic questions that arose during early spring testing. Changes were made in the first screens tested to answer structural concerns and screen testing resumed in late May.
When the screens were installed, researchers noted increased smolt mortality in the monitoring facility. Corps and NMFS biologists are conducting tests to determine whether or not the screens were causing the problems.