Work to repair damage caused by a clogged spillway at the Yelm Hydroelectric Project is expected to be done by the end of the month, according to an update given by Centralia City Light General Manager M.L. Norton at Tuesday’s meeting of the Centralia City Council.
City Light contracted with Rognlin’s, Inc. of Aberdeen to rebuild a hillside and repair more than 100 feet of pipework at an estimated cost of $200,000. The hydroelectric plant was damaged when debris from a Jan. 6 windstorm got into the main canal, forced huge amounts of water through a small ventilation pipe and out of the apparatus that makes more than 11 megawatts of electricity for Centralia.
Norton said engineers completed a design plan which was approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Jan. 22. Work began the same day to repair the pipe coating and establish a foundation at the bottom of the hill.
The damage caused by the debris, including uprooted trees, has not and is not expected to cause any power disruptions for Centralia City Light customers.
