A year after a major pipe rupture in the Flaming Gorge Dam caused a weeklong power plant shutdown, the 66-inch outlet pipe has been replaced and is scheduled to be tested next week.
On June 21, 1997, one of the two outlet bypass pipes failed, causing flooding in the outlet control facility and shorting out power to the pipe control mechanism and the adjacent power plant.The tube and another just like it are used to shunt water from deep within the reservoir directly into the Green River in order to accommodate spring runoff. Usually, they aren't needed, but 1997's heavy snowmelt required them to be opened for the first time in 11 years.
The power plant provides power to Utah, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona and Nevada. During the shutdown other generators in the West picked up the slack and no blackouts were reported and the power plant was repaired and running eight days later.
Replacing the pipe took longer, as crews worked in cramped quarters to remove 51/2-feet of pipe encased in concrete weighing 8,000 pounds. The concrete was jackhammered away. The new pipe was installed, rebolted and encased in new concrete. The cost of the project is estimated to total $1 million
Devices were also installed to allow gates to be closed without electricity in order to prevent future occurrences, and equipment was added to monitor temperatures to benefit endangered fish downstream and to waterproof the gatehouse where the pipe's controls are, including sensors to detect if water enters the gatehouse.
Since the inflow forecast for Flaming Gorge Reservoir is only 92 percent of normal, the Bureau of Reclamation does not anticipate having to use the outlet pipes or the spillway this spring.