A Crane Valley Dam Update meeting was held at The Pines Resort on Wednesday evening, April 7, 2010. Representatives from PG&E, The U.S. Forest Service, and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission were on hand to provide information on progress on the Crane Valley Dam Retrofit Project.
The permitting process is still proceeding through the several agencies involved. Submitting the applications concurrently has kept this process moving more quickly than might otherwise be expected. The hope is to have all of the agencies signed off on their permits by mid to late summer of this year. The work on preparing the quarry for use will then begin in September.
The quarry is located off Road 222 within a mile of the dam. The site is about 8 acres, and 30 acres will be cleared for roadway purposes and for storage of material. Timber removal is the first step. Approximately 2300 trees greater than 10″ in diameter will need to be taken down to obtain the rock below. After the project is completed new trees will be planted to replace those lost to the project. Approximately 253,000 cubic yards of material will be removed, transported to the work site, and placed on either side and on top of the existing dam for reinforcement.
Road 222 will stay open during the project, but will be subject to traffic control while material is hauled to the dam.
It is anticipated that the retrofit project will take 19 months to complete. Water levels are projected to be at the same level as 2009 for the summers of 2010 and 2011, with slightly lower than normal levels in the winter period of 2010-2011. Work will proceed as quickly as possible Monday through Friday, five days per week at this point. Blasting at the quarry will be performed one day per week only, with plenty of notice to occupants of homes nearby. The completion date is scheduled for February 2012.
Please feel free to keep checking our site for further updates as they become available.