U.S. Army Corps: Albeni Falls Dam gate design expected to be complete in July

By Zach Hagadone
Reader Staff

Representatives of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers spoke before the Lakes Commission on Jan. 10, providing updates on a range of issues related to Lake Pend Oreille; but, of particular interest was the current state of the gate replacement project at Albeni Falls Dam.

During a routine maintenance check of the dam in 2023, the contractor discovered delaminations on Gate No. 3 — that is, cracks and pits that had developed in the steel used to fabricate the gate in the 1950s.

Following that, the Corps was advised to keep gate movements to a minimum, and put in place restricted operations in spring 2024 that resulted in a slower-than-typical refilling of the lake. Meanwhile, analysis of the other 10 gates at the dam indicated the presence of similar structural damage, which has led to a larger project to replace all the gates.

According to the Jan. 10 presentation by USACE Natural Resources Chief Taylor Johnson, Gate No. 3 has been removed and replaced with a spare gate while it is undergoing rehabilitation.

“We are expecting that gate to be returned back to the project in time for the spring runoff period,” Johnson said, adding later that once it is returned in spring 2025, the gate will be reinforced with a fiber reinforced polymer to serve as a “Band-Aid” in order to “get us back to somewhat normal operations.”

At the same time, design of the new gates has been funded and is in progress, with design completion expected in July.

“That’s probably the biggest update that I have from our public meeting last fall,” Johnson said, noting that the previous timeline showed design would be concluded in September.

 “The concern that we have is through the movement of those gates,” he said. “There’s concern that those gates could suddenly fail, which will then result in damage to infrastructure on the spillway, damage to our crane, damage to the operator. The risk is really on the Corps, to the infrastructure. …

“There’s a lot of different scenarios that would have to take place, and we can’t even begin to speculate,” Johnson added. “We are being cautious.”

Continued progress on the gate replacement project will be informed by two “Industry Day” events scheduled for online attendance from 10 a.m.-noon on Wednesday, Jan. 29 and in-person at the dam from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 30.

Those events are intended to attract parties interested in bidding on the contracts to build the new gates, including sharing capabilities and timelines. 

Johnson said the Corps is expected to learn much more about the industrial capacity to deliver the gates, though the agency expects the first gate to be delivered in 2027, followed by nine other gates and a spare in six-month intervals.

More information about the project solicitation can be found at sam.gov by searching for Notice ID W912DW25R13H0.

In addition to the Albeni Falls Dam updates, the Lakes Commission hosted Sen. Jim Woodward, R-Sagle, and Rep. Mark Sauter, R-Sandpoint, who attended remotely from Boise to announce a new study that would analyze how Lake Pend Oreille levels affect the local economy.

Professors from the University of Idaho and Washington State University would conduct the study, looking at impacts to marinas, hotels, lakefront housing, service businesses and more during times of uncertainty about when lake levels will reach the necessary pool to accommodate the recreational season.

“This has been a long time coming,” Sauter said, adding that delivery of the report is scheduled for the early summer. “We’re excited to get some real science and math, rather than just our beliefs that the lake level directly affects our local economy. … I’m excited to look at it.”

Lakes Commission Chair Ford Elsaesser said the legislation that created the Albeni Falls Dam had been in part intended to provide seasonal consistency for recreational use.

However, “it’s a continuous struggle to get a full season,” he said. “We believe that there is a serious economic impact that results from that uncertainty.”

What’s more, Elsaesser added, “This is an issue that the folks at Priest Lake and the folks at Coeur d’Alene Lake or Hayden Lake don’t have to deal with because their seasons are set. … 

[T]here is not a question that from Memorial Day from the very least until well into the fall that those bodies of water have a guaranteed season. We are put in a position where we’ve seen it’s the second week of July before we have a full, stable lake.”

The Lakes Commission voted unanimously Jan. 10 to contribute $35,000 from its state-allocated budget to support the economic impact study.

“The confluence of the events of the last year and the assistance provided by our legislators — particularly Mark and Jim — have given us now this opportunity to get the study done,” Elsaesser said.

Woodward added that his hope for the analysis is to identify “a different answer on how we operate the lake to benefit the people surrounding it.”