A proposed 5-foot drawdown of the water levels at the Balsam Row Dam was rejected by federal officials, forcing Wolf River Hydropower LP, the dam’s owner, to complete a full drawdown of 14 feet in preparation for winter.
That has several area residents concerned.
About 50 people gathered at Forest Haven Park on Sept. 30 to try and get some answers.
“We moved here about 10 years ago. We had white sand along the river then. We had a huge area of wild rice,” said Michelle Long, one of the meeting organizers. “In the last two years, that’s all badly diminished.”
She is concerned that a drawdown of the water will only make matters worse. With less water, the banks of the river become more exposed, as will the soil and sediment at the bottom of the river.
“It will expose the silt and the muck, and we don’t know what’s in that,” she said. “We have an abundance of wildlife that use the river, including wood ducks, migrating birds, bullfrogs, turtles.”
On Sept. 22, WRHLP proposed the 5-foot drawdown to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The plan would reduce Wolf River water levels downstream of Keshena and upstream of the Balsam Row Road dam.
The upstream reservoir water level is normally controlled by spill gates at the dam.
“Our spill gates are leaky and require repair, operating fine in the spring, summer and fall, at risk of freezing in the winter,” said David Cheung Atkinson, a consultant with WRHLP. “FERC is concerned that we may not finish before freezing temperatures arrive, leading to frozen gates and an uncontrolled water level. There is a low risk of high water and flooding on the Wolf River that frozen spill gates would not be able to mitigate.
“FERC is most concerned with dam safety and uncontrolled flow and flooding. We dealt with this situation last winter by de-icing frozen gates using a hot water pressure washer. FERC asked us to find a better solution this winter and has asked us to open the gates and draw down the reservoir to avoid the risk entirely until we have finished the repairs.”
The drawdown was proposed to start no earlier than Oct. 1.
In a Sept. 22 letter to FERC, WRHLP Chief Operations Officer Daniel Charette said the 5-foot drawdown was proposed from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.
“The Wisconsin DNR’s concerns were about the potential for upstream passage of fish carrying viral hemorrhagic septicemia (VHS) and the upstream passage of common carp Cyprinus carpio if the reservoir elevation were to be reduced a maximum depth of approximately 14 feet and the existing radial-type gates were opened and ‘dogged off,’” Charette wrote. “Neither fish carrying VHS nor common carp are believed to be present in the Wolf River and its tributaries upstream of the Shawano Project.”
He said the DNR also provided input indicating a drawdown of 5 feet would provide the velocity gradient necessary to eliminate the potential for upstream passage of common carp and other species carrying VHS.
However, on Sept. 26, WRHLP officials notified stakeholders the FERC had rejected the plan and required a drawdown of 14 feet.
There are parts of the river north of the dam that have less water than that, and even a small drop in water level could create significant issues, residents said.
“If we draw down 14 feet, aquatic life such as fish, turtles and mussels may become stranded,” Atkinson said. “We will have an environmental rescue team comprised of professionals, and perhaps volunteers as well, surveying the river during daylight hours seven days a week, and rescuing aquatic life as may be required. Organisms will be moved to the nearest higher water upstream or downstream of the dam. We still hope to avoid the full drawdown by completing the work in time, or showing through engineering calculations that a draw down less than 14 feet still provides for safe operation even in the event of a 1 in 100-year flood.”
There is also concern about where the water will go downstream of the dam.
The water level reduction will begin slowly during the forecasted warm weather the remainder of this week. At this time, the FERC directive requires an ultimate water level reduction of 14 feet for safer winter operation. However, FERC is willing to consider other repairs or work, that if completed timely to the approval of FERC may result in a water level reduction of less than 14 feet.
WRHLP continues to proceed in securing designs, approvals, materials and contractors for the repairs required to minimize the water level reduction.
“Primarily, the repairs consist of replacing seals and repairing concrete around the gates,” Atkinson said. “This kind of work has not be done for many years and may lead to additional work as we get closer to the structure and the equipment. The investment is significant.”
Atkinson said any discussion of removing the dam completely is separate from the repairs.
“Wolf River Hydro is actively pursuing repair of the generator that failed at the end of last year and resuming power generation at the facility,” he said. “This is another, significant investment.”
kpasson@newmedia-wi.com
