Army Corps gives update on Albeni Falls Dam gates

By Ben Olson
Reader Staff

Albeni Falls Dam on the Pend Oreille River, which controls the level of Lake Pend Oreille. Photo courtesy U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Representatives from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers held several public meetings in May to inform stakeholders and members of the public about the defective spillway gate at Albeni Falls Dam, which delayed Lake Pend Oreille reaching summer lake level. Since then, the Corps has worked to address the issue, announcing Aug. 21 that there were solutions in the offing.

“We’re developing an interim solution to return gate No. 3 — which was discovered to have steel defects in April 2024 — to limited use,” USACE Public Affairs Specialist Nicole Celestine told the Reader in an email. “Our engineers are continuing with their required analysis of using fiber-reinforced polymer on that gate.”

Often used for advanced engineering projects on everything from bridges to aircrafts, fiber-reinforced polymers are derived by combining an epoxy, vinylester or polyester thermosetting plastic with carbon or glass fibers, in order to make the polymer strong and stiff.

“For the long-term, we’ve received approval and funding to proceed with designing new gate(s),” Celestine wrote. “The Project Development Team is moving forward with preparing plans and specifications for the gate replacement.”

According to Celestine, the team is working on a new gate design and the Corps is “pursuing the required appropriated funding and Bonneville Power Administration funding approvals to advertise and award a new gate fabrication contract.”

Solicitation of the new gate fabrication contract will occur after the new gate design is complete.

Because securing a new gate design and awarding a contract is an extensive process, Celestine said to expect the first gate to be on-site in three to five years.

“We remain committed to keeping the lines of communication with residents of the community open,” Celestine wrote, noting that the Corps would host another public meeting before the 2025 spring runoff period, when they’ll share progress updates on gate design as well as give an outlook on the spring runoff period with “modified operations.”