AHSAHKA, Idaho – Water discharge from Dworshak Dam near Orofino, Idaho, will temporarily fluctuate on Thursday, Dec. 18, while U.S. Army Corps of Engineers staff conduct a generator unit test, operations officials at the dam announced today.
Unit number 3 – the Corps of Engineers’ largest hydroelectric generator, with a rated capacity of 220,000-kilowatts – will be tested at multiple output levels between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. While the precise start time of the testing is uncertain, operations staff estimate the testing cycle will last no longer than five hours. The testing is a final step following routine annual maintenance before returning a unit to power-generating service.
During the unit test flows will increase and decrease between 1,600 c.f.s. (cubic feet per second) and 5,500 cfs causing the stage in the Clearwater River to fluctuate no more than 1-foot per hour. Normal operation of 1,600-cfs will resume following the test.
Corps officials advise boaters, anglers and other people using waterways both in Dworshak Reservoir and below the dam on the Clearwater River to be alert to changes in water elevation and volume of flow. Current water-management conditions can be viewed on the District website at www.nwd-wc.usace.army.mil/nww/rreports.htm -- click on “Hourly” and look in the “TOTAL” column under the “OUTFLOW” heading on the reservoir report. Reservoir elevation is found in the “FOREBAY” column under the “EL AT POWERHOUSE” heading.
Dworshak’s powerhouse has two 90,000-kilowatt and one 220,000-kilowatt generating units in operation, for a total capacity of 400,000 kilowatts. During fiscal year 2013, 1.84 billion kW hours of electrical power were produced by Dworshak Dam’s three generating units.
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Release no. 14-096