AHSAHKA, Idaho – Water discharges from Dworshak Dam near Orofino, Idaho, will temporarily fluctuate during the next week while U.S. Army Corps of Engineers staff performs a series of operational tests on hydroelectric generator unit number 3, officials at the dam announced today.
Unit number 3 – the Corps of Engineers’ largest hydroelectric generator, with a rated capacity of 220,000-kilowatts – was dewatered Feb. 2 for the scheduled testing which will allow U.S. Army Corps of Engineers staff to prepare for future maintenance work on the unit.
Discharges from Dworshak Dam will fluctuate between 1,600 c.f.s. to 7,000 c.f.s. starting on Saturday, Feb. 7, from 8-11 a.m. Additional testing will be performed Monday through Thursday, Feb. 9-12, between 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. During this time, flows will increase and decrease causing water in the Clearwater River to fluctuate less than 1-foot. Normal operations will resume on Friday, Feb. 13.
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 Dworshak’s reservoir report webpage at www.nwd-wc.usace.army.mil/dd/common/projects/www/dwr.html.
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. 15-010