U.S. Army Corps of Engineers shares latest Albeni Falls Dam timeline
ERIC WELCH | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 7 months, 3 weeks AGO
Col. Kathryn Sanborn, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Seattle district commander, was among a panel of experts who shared updates May. 1 regarding operations at Albeni Falls Dam.
Photo by ERIC WELCH
In a May 1 public meeting, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers personnel shared that Albeni Falls Dam’s No. 3 spillway gate — which was discovered to have defective steel in April 2024 — will return to the dam for repairs in early May and reenter service in July.
The 10 other gates at the site are assumed to have similar defects and are slated to be replaced over the course of several years beginning in 2027. Until all of the gates are replaced, operations at the dam will be restricted, which offers staff less flexibility when controlling outflow and the level of Lake Pend Oreille.
When the No. 3 gate is operable this summer, Albeni Falls Dam will once again have a spare spillway gate that can be implemented in an emergency. USACE Seattle District Commander Col. Kathryn Sanborn told attendees of Thursday’s meeting that even with a set of defective gates and no spare, the risk of a flood event or any threat to public safety is “very, very minimal.”
In the event of a gate failure, the most significant problem would likely be the Corps’ loss of ability to sustain the level of Lake Pend Oreille.
“That's the situation that we're trying to avoid, and that's why we're still operating under restricted operations,” Sanborn said.
Snowpack in local mountains is about average this year; forecasters are predicting a fairly typical spring and summer water supply in the region. Barring unexpected weather, Sandborn told attendees that Lake Pend Oreille should reach its regular summer pool of 2062 feet by June 20 — about the same date as last year.
“In the last year, we have learned a lot. We have gotten a lot of feedback from the community,” Sanborn said. “We have been able to get to a place where — weather providing — we can essentially operate the elevations the same as what we have historically.”
Regarding the effort to replace the dam’s spillway gates, Sanborn reported that the USACE is expecting to have a completed design by July and advertise the contract for construction in late 2025. The first gate is scheduled to arrive in 2027; subsequent gates will be delivered piecewise every six months, yielding a complete set in the early 2030s.
Sanborn emphasized that with an updated design and modern construction methods, she hopes the new gates will have a service life of 100 years.
USACE personnel intend to host another public meeting regarding the dam in the fall of 2025.
ARTICLES BY ERIC WELCH
City personnel, community members discuss options as James E. Russell Center costs exceed revenue
Community planning and development director Jason Welker, who oversees Sandpoint’s parks and recreation programs and facilities, suggested that the city could either maintain its current approach at the facility, shrink the center’s operating hours, install new modular playing surfaces for mixed sports use on some of the courts, or recruit a nonprofit organization to operate the facility.
‘Expressions’ courses fill non-school art void
Teens participating in Gentry’s class practiced printmaking, painting and design to create works including a pop art-inspired self-portrait. “My goal when I'm teaching the kids is to just show them lots of different ways that you can make really cool art. It doesn't have to be just traditional,” she said. “The kind of art they do with me, they get to just express themselves, and it doesn't have to be perfection.”
City of Sandpoint sheds light on sewage incident outcome
On the morning of Feb. 24, an electrical control system failure caused pumps to shut off unexpectedly at Sandpoint’s municipal wastewater treatment plant — a city-owned facility that removes contaminants from sewage before discharging it into the Pend Oreille River.