A final tour of the Bull Run Hydroelectric Project on the Sandy River in Oregon sparked a series of Memorial Day weekend news articles.
Oregon Public Broadcasting ran a feature highlighting Portland General Electric's (PGE) decision to remove three dams on the Sandy and Little Sandy rivers rather than relicense the aging facilities.
OPB News
PGE Prepares To Remove Two Dams On The Sandy River
By Colin FogartyPORTLAND, OR (2007-05-23) For nearly a century, Portland General Electric has gotten some of its power from the Sandy River basin.
Now, the company is preparing to vacate the Sandy and Little Sandy Rivers and turn much of the land over for conservation.
Eight years ago, PGE decided it would be more expensive to repair and keep up the Marmot and Little Sandy Dams than to just tear them out. Colin Fogarty was among several reporters who went on the last tour of the dams before removal begins this summer.
Read or listen to the full OPB article, with slideshow >>
The Oregonian also ran a full feature on the decision >>
From the May 30th Gresham Outlook feature:
Technology has changed a lot since 1906, when construction of the first components of the Bull Run Hydroelectric Project began.
Despite the advancements, when work begins this summer to dismantle the project – including the Marmot Dam on the Sandy River, the Little Sandy Dam on the Little Sandy River, a 22-megawatt powerhouse on Bull Run River, a 15,000-foot wooden-box flume, canals and tunnels between the Marmot and Little Sandy dams and the draining of Roslyn Lake – Portland General Electric will turn the clock back 100 years.