Boundary Dam work nearly complete

August 16, 2011

Seattle City Light is scheduled to reopen the Forebay Recreation Area at Boundary Dam in Pend Oreille County Sept. 30.

The recreation area and campground have been closed while City Light crews rehabilitated a 312-ton sluice maintenance gate on the dam.

The gate seals the dam from the outside so maintenance can be done on any of the sluice gates, which open and close to control the amount of water in the reservoir. It has been 27 years since the maintenance gate was last removed for its own maintenance. Boat launch access has remained open throughout project work.

Crews removed the gate last September and a temporary building was constructed for maintenance work, which includes high-pressure blasting to remove rust and paint, applying a new finish, taking down the temporary building and replacing bearings and wheels on the gate before it is back on the dam.

City Light has scheduled the complex set of moves to put the gate back on the dam for Sept. 20-22. That process involves lowering and raising the elevation of the Pend Oreille River behind the dam several times to float the gate off a trailer and position it on the dam.

 After that work is completed, equipment and materials will be removed from Forebay. Water service to the recreational area will be turned off for winter at the end of September.

Journal Staff

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