Leaburg Dam's gate repaired

LEABURG: $3 million in successful repair work at Leaburg Dam was completed this week. Following more testing, the Eugene Water & Electric Board plans to refill the lake behind the dam soon. One of the structure’s three circular roll gates broke in 2012. A second failed last month.

The utility locked the remaining gate in an open position, which caused the reservoir to drain. Low water gave repair crews access the mechanisms. The drawdown caused both the Leaburg Trout Hatchery and the McKenzie Salmon Hatchery to truck thousands of fish to other waterways after their fresh water intakes were compromised. Current plans call for workers to determine that both gates 2 and 3 are fully functional, before refilling Leaburg Lake. Gate #1 is expected to be repaired by the end of the year. Repairs to that gate are projected in the $1.5 million range, thanks to work related to repairs on the first gate. While the reservoir was down, excavators removed silt that had built up at the Lloyd Knox Park fish ladder as well as debris near the boat landing.

McKenzie River Reflections