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Sunny. High 101F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph..
A clear sky. Low 68F. Winds light and variable.
A map shows the route of the Dog River pipeline. The diversion site on Dog River is on the left, and South Fork Mill Creek is on the lower right.
The Dalles Public Works Director Dave Anderson, left, discusses the Dog River Pipeline project while officials and employees for the construction project look on during the groundbreaking ceremony at the Dog River intake Monday, July 18, 2022.
Andrea Klaas, Port of The Dalles executive director and chairperson of business on Oregon’s Infrastructure Finance Authority Board, at left, discusses the Port’s role in the Dog River pipeline project with Public Works Director Dave Anderson, second from left, and as construction company workers look on.
Andrea Klaas, Port of The Dalles executive director and chairperson of business on Oregon’s Infrastructure Finance Authority Board, at left, discusses the Port’s role in the Dog River pipeline project with Public Works Director Dave Anderson, second from left, and as construction company workers look on. o
Officials break ground for the Dog River Pipeline replacement project at a ceremony at the Dog River intake on Monday, July 18, 2022 as construction machines wait in the wings. Left to right: City of The Dalles Public Works Director Dave Anderson; council member Darcy Long; councilor Scott Randall; councilor Dan Richardson; Mayor Rich Mays; and City Manager Matthew Klebes.
Officials break ground for the Dog River Pipeline replacement project at a ceremony at the Dog River intake on Monday, July 18, 2022 as construction machines wait in the wings. Left to right: City of The Dalles Public Works Director Dave Anderson; council member Darcy Long; councilor Scott Randall; councilor Dan Richardson; Mayor Rich Mays; and City Manager Matthew Klebes.
Officials break ground for the Dog River Pipeline replacement project at a ceremony at the Dog River intake on Monday, July 18, 2022 as construction machines wait in the wings. Left to right: City of The Dalles Public Works Director Dave Anderson; council member Darcy Long; councilor Scott Randall; councilor Dan Richardson; Mayor Rich Mays; and City Manager Matthew Klebes.
Officials break ground for the Dog River Pipeline replacement project at a ceremony at the Dog River intake on Monday, July 18, 2022 as construction machines wait in the wings. Left to right: City of The Dalles Public Works Director Dave Anderson; council member Darcy Long; councilor Scott Randall; councilor Dan Richardson; Mayor Rich Mays; and City Manager Matthew Klebes.
Groundbreaking officials pose in front of the Dog River intake on Monday, July 18, 2022.
U.S.F.S. Barlow District Ranger Kameron C. Sam, left, and The Dalles Public Works Director Dave Anderson, right, pose in front of the Dog River Pipeline diversion site during the groundbreaking ceremony for the pipe’s replacement on Monday, July 18, 2022.
U.S.F.S. Barlow District Ranger Kameron C. Sam, left, and The Dalles Public Works Director Dave Anderson, right, shake hands in front of the Dog River Pipeline diversion site during the groundbreaking ceremony for the pipe’s replacement on Monday, July 18, 2022.
The concrete outlet at the current intake for the Dog River pipeline ends several inches above the water level, blocking fish passage during times of low water flow. The new pipeline will have new fish passage facilities.
Earth-moving machines from K&E Excavating pause their work at the Dog River Pipeline diversion site during the groundbreaking ceremony on Monday. In the background is the housing for the old wooden pipeline intake and fish screen.
Water crashes over an artificial falls at the Dog River Pipeline diversion site on Monday, July 18, 2022.
A map shows the route of the Dog River pipeline. The diversion site on Dog River is on the left, and South Fork Mill Creek is on the lower right.
The Dalles Public Works Director Dave Anderson, left, discusses the Dog River Pipeline project while officials and employees for the construction project look on during the groundbreaking ceremony at the Dog River intake Monday, July 18, 2022.
Andrea Klaas, Port of The Dalles executive director and chairperson of business on Oregon’s Infrastructure Finance Authority Board, at left, discusses the Port’s role in the Dog River pipeline project with Public Works Director Dave Anderson, second from left, and as construction company workers look on.
Andrea Klaas, Port of The Dalles executive director and chairperson of business on Oregon’s Infrastructure Finance Authority Board, at left, discusses the Port’s role in the Dog River pipeline project with Public Works Director Dave Anderson, second from left, and as construction company workers look on. o
Officials break ground for the Dog River Pipeline replacement project at a ceremony at the Dog River intake on Monday, July 18, 2022 as construction machines wait in the wings. Left to right: City of The Dalles Public Works Director Dave Anderson; council member Darcy Long; councilor Scott Randall; councilor Dan Richardson; Mayor Rich Mays; and City Manager Matthew Klebes.
Officials break ground for the Dog River Pipeline replacement project at a ceremony at the Dog River intake on Monday, July 18, 2022 as construction machines wait in the wings. Left to right: City of The Dalles Public Works Director Dave Anderson; council member Darcy Long; councilor Scott Randall; councilor Dan Richardson; Mayor Rich Mays; and City Manager Matthew Klebes.
Officials break ground for the Dog River Pipeline replacement project at a ceremony at the Dog River intake on Monday, July 18, 2022 as construction machines wait in the wings. Left to right: City of The Dalles Public Works Director Dave Anderson; council member Darcy Long; councilor Scott Randall; councilor Dan Richardson; Mayor Rich Mays; and City Manager Matthew Klebes.
Officials break ground for the Dog River Pipeline replacement project at a ceremony at the Dog River intake on Monday, July 18, 2022 as construction machines wait in the wings. Left to right: City of The Dalles Public Works Director Dave Anderson; council member Darcy Long; councilor Scott Randall; councilor Dan Richardson; Mayor Rich Mays; and City Manager Matthew Klebes.
Groundbreaking officials pose in front of the Dog River intake on Monday, July 18, 2022.
U.S.F.S. Barlow District Ranger Kameron C. Sam, left, and The Dalles Public Works Director Dave Anderson, right, pose in front of the Dog River Pipeline diversion site during the groundbreaking ceremony for the pipe’s replacement on Monday, July 18, 2022.
U.S.F.S. Barlow District Ranger Kameron C. Sam, left, and The Dalles Public Works Director Dave Anderson, right, shake hands in front of the Dog River Pipeline diversion site during the groundbreaking ceremony for the pipe’s replacement on Monday, July 18, 2022.
The concrete outlet at the current intake for the Dog River pipeline ends several inches above the water level, blocking fish passage during times of low water flow. The new pipeline will have new fish passage facilities.
Earth-moving machines from K&E Excavating pause their work at the Dog River Pipeline diversion site during the groundbreaking ceremony on Monday. In the background is the housing for the old wooden pipeline intake and fish screen.
Water crashes over an artificial falls at the Dog River Pipeline diversion site on Monday, July 18, 2022.
After more than 25 years of planning and preparation, replacement of the 109-year-old Dog River pipeline is underway. Contractors are clearing timber from the site while the new pipe sits ready for installation.
The old pipe, which is made of milled Douglas fir and heavy galvanized wire sealed with tar, leaks an estimated 1 million gallons per day during the spring flood, according to Dave Anderson, The Dalles Public Works director. “It has served its useful life, and it’s time to replace it,” Anderson said during the groundbreaking ceremony high in the Mt. Hood National Forest Monday, July 18.
Construction will continue for two summers, skipping winters when the snow is too deep to work. Completion is expected by December 2023. The city has contracted Bounds Excavating to remove timber from the site and K&E Excavating to install the new pipeline, following a design completed this spring by Jacob’s Engineering Group. The city’s timber management consultant was Wy’east Timber Services.
The Dog River pipeline is the city’s highest-elevation water source, highly dependent on snowpack. The pipe transfers over half the city’s water supply from the Dog River into South Fork Mill Creek. The combined waters are impounded behind Crow Creek Dam, then slowly released to Wick’s Water Treatment plant. The treated water is piped to The Dalles.
The new pipe will provide a more “robust and reliable” water supply. It is made of high density polyethylene plastic, and is designed to last another 100 years. It will be 30 inches in diameter and will carry 17 million gallons of water per day, compared to 8 million gallons per day carried by the old, 20 inch pipe, according to Anderson. “This is a really important water source and piece of infrastructure for the city,” Anderson admitted.
To save time, pipe has been pre-purchased and stored on land leased from Port of The Dalles. “Projects can be just really delayed if you can’t get that raw material on the ground,” said Andrea Klaas, executive director of Port of The Dalles.
The project will cost about $13.5 million. The city netted significant outside funding for the project. A $1,000,000 grant was received from the Oregon Water Resources Department. About $8,030,000 was acquired through a combination of low-interest and forgivable loans from the Oregon Infrastructure Finance Authority. The balance is provided by city water utility revenues. Mid-Columbia Economic Development District helped the city administer these funds.
More than a dozen permits and authorizations were needed, said Anderson. The pipeline is on Forest Service property, and approval was needed from the U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife, and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. At the state and local level, Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, the Oregon Division of State Lands, and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife all had to issue authorizations. The State Historical Preservation Office approved a report on a deteriorating historical cabin at the construction site.
The city is also voluntarily partnering with the Department of Fish and Wildlife create improved fish passage at the intake on Dog River, according to Barlow District Ranger Kameron C. Sam.
The current intake has no fish ladder, and a drop of several inches at the outlet blocks fish passage upriver when water level is low. Dog River’s cutthroat trout travel upriver to spawn in spring and fall, when more water is released over the falls. The rest of the year they are stuck, Sam explained,pointing out a small brown cutthroat circling slowly in the foam below a waterfall too high for it to jump. Fish also become trapped in front of the current fish screen and have to be netted out by Fish and Wildlife inspectors.
The new pipeline will feature an updated fish screen and a fish ladder.
A four-sided culvert will also be installed where the pipeline crosses Brooks Meadow Creek, where an old Forest Service culvert has failed, forcing traffic through the stream bed. The new culvert will improve fish passage and water quality.
Other partners include 44 Trails Association, which oversees the Surveyor’s Ridge Trail, a popular mountain biking trail that approaches one part of the construction site. Outreach and relocation of some nearby trails was undertaken to reduce potential conflicts during construction.
“We’re in a place where there’s so many natural resources. So, so sensitive, that in order to balance this, you have to have the right analysis, the right public outreach, you have to understand the social side of things,” said Sam. He was standing on a streambank crowded with officials, several large earth-moving machines waiting in the wings, while the cutthroat continued slowly circling. “This has always been a number one on my list to get this done… Big excavator sitting right here. Yes. Ready to go.”
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