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Spillway plan could cost millions; staff flag fish-passage requirement as hurdle
Summary
Design work recommends a spillway option estimated in the low millions, but Harrington later cited a ~$33.9 million construction estimate and warned that fish-passage requirements could make construction infeasible unless alternate water supplies or mitigations are found.
The council heard that the recommended emergency-spillway alternative has widely varying cost estimates and unresolved environmental constraints. In the design study staff reviewed three alternatives and recommended a route on the east side of the dam; at one point Harrington described an earlier engineering estimate in the neighborhood of $3,878,000 for a recommended option, while later he referenced a broader construction estimate of about $33,900,000 for full spillway work.
Harrington emphasized uncertainty around funding and a potential showstopper: fish-passage obligations. "It may not be feasible due to fish passage requirements," he said. "We really don't know what that means because we can't provide fish passage because the water that the fish need is the water that we need." He noted the state water-resources representative is consulting with fish-and-wildlife staff to clarify requirements and that some mitigation or alternate water-supply approach may be necessary.
Staff said final designs are being advanced so the project would be shovel-ready if funding and permitting align. Councilors asked about eligible grant programs; Harrington said much of the technical work to date was grant-funded and that the dam-safety program work should be eligible for federal funding if the technical solutions meet program requirements.
