Decommissioning the Leaburg Hydroelectric Project FAQ

A: Removing Leaburg Dam will return the McKenzie River to its natural flow, likely returning to its original channel along the Highway 126 side of this section (river right). During the decommissioning process, EWEB intends to keep Lloyd Knox Park open for recreation unless future construction activities require it closed for safety. Upon completing all decommissioning requirements, EWEB will evaluate whether to retain ownership of the park or seek to transfer ownership to a local recreation or environmental land management entity.

A: The Leaburg Project had a rated capacity – its maximum ability to produce energy – of 15.9 Megawatts (MWs). But like most other energy generation resources, Leaburg rarely produced the maximum amount possible. Assuming normal water supply conditions, Leaburg could produce, on average, 92,000 Megawatt hours (MWhs) of electricity per year, which represented 4% of EWEB’s annual electricity demand – or enough electricity to power about 13,000 average single-family homes.

Currently, EWEB’s power supply portfolio (owned generation and power supply contracts) exceeds what the community is using, on average. As such, EWEB has not needed to replace the electricity that the Project contributed towards EWEB’s local demand. Instead, EWEB simply had less excess electricity to sell to other utilities. With the Leaburg Project offline, EWEB used more of our excess electricity to satisfy local power demands, rather than selling it to other utilities.

In the long term, as local power demand increases, EWEB will pursue an expanded BPA contract, or comparably low-priced power supply sources, to replace the electricity production historically supplied by the Leaburg Project. 

A: Safety is our highest priority: There is not an imminent danger of a canal breach. Even though the canal is dewatered and not conveying operational flows to generate power, EWEB staff continue to monitor the Leaburg Canal on a daily basis to ensure that the canal facilities are safely managing stormwater and tributary creek flows. These creeks, including Johnson Creek, Cogswell Creek and others, flow into the Leaburg Canal, which acts as a tributary to convey those waters to the McKenzie River. As Commissioners have voted to permanently discontinue power generation, the canal will only be used to convey stormwater and tributary creek flows until the long-term canal modifications are complete. The risk of a potential failure is greatly reduced in the de-watered, non-operational condition. EWEB is already implementing near-term risk reduction modifications to further mitigate any hazards posed by a severe precipitation event that could increase stormwater and tributary creek flows. EWEB monitors the canal particularly closely in the wet weather season and during storm events when tributary creek flows rise. EWEB staff members are poised to identify and respond to any unexpected developments along the full length of the canal and will inform canal neighbors of any changes of concern. 

A: EWEB has implemented several risk reduction measures and is evaluating the potential for additional near-term, risk reduction measures to mitigate the risk of structural failure from landslides, earthquakes, floods, and internal erosion. These measures include:  

• removing hazard trees above the canal that may fall during a storm and obstruct the canal, causing water to pool up and potentially flood or clog outlets to the river (implemented and ongoing), 
• leaving the gate at Luffman Spillway open at all times during the wet-weather season to ensure continuous safe discharge to the river (implemented),  
• installing pressure transducers that monitor water levels and trigger alarms if water levels increase beyond our currently desired levels (implemented), 
• implementing a drilling plan to better understand the canal’s structure and critical subsurface conditions (in process), 
• increasing the discharge capacity through the power plant to minimize water levels in the canal during storm events (in design),  
• isolating portions of the canal from the high flow creeks, such as Johnson and Cogswell Creeks (potential).  

A: The Leaburg Power Plant was designed in 1929 by noted Oregon architect Ellis F. Lawrence in the Art Deco style and includes motifs from Greek mythology. The Project is on the National Register of Historic Places. EWEB will abide by all regulations and make all necessary and prudent attempts to preserve the artwork as much as possible, but the fate of the building and future disposition of the art is yet to be determined. As with all of the critical decisions on decommissioning details, EWEB will consider all options and provide opportunities for stakeholders to help with the identification of important issues to consider during the decision-making process.