Nuclear Accidents 26 - Damage to Wanapum Dam near Hanford
The Wanapum Dam on the Columbia River in south central Washington State is owned by the Grant County Public Utility District. The reservoir created by the dam is called Lake Wanapum. The dam was licensed in 1955 for a fifty year span. Construction started in 1959 and the dam went operational in 1963, generating about a gigawatt of electricity. The cost of construction was about a ninety million dollars.
After the original license expired in 2005, the dam was operated on a year to year license until an extension of forty four years was granted in 2008. The extension was conditional on the achievement of the following goals.
- modernize the power generation capability of the dam
- monitor water quality
- improve wildlife habitat
- protect nearly 700 Wanapum Tribe archaeological sites in the vicinity
- enhance recreation with new campsites, picnic areas and trails
A few days ago on the 1st of March, a two inch crack was discovered that extended sixty five feet in one of the tall sections of concrete in the spillway of the dam. The Grant County PUD immediately began lowering the level of water behind the dam by twenty five feet in order to reduce pressure on the dam while a inspection was conducted. After the water level went down, the crack closed by an inch as the stress was reduced. A spokesperson for the Grant County PUD issued the following statement: "Now we are moving into the next phase, which is to investigate it further, identify a cause, and begin looking into some of those short term and long term potential fixes."
The Columbia River and Lake Wanapum are recreational boating areas where tourism is important to the economy. The area has been closed to boating because of the lowered water level. It will likely be kept at the lower level all summer, impacting the local economy.
The Grant County PUD has come under intense criticism for not having any contingency plan in place to deal with such cracks even though it was probable that some cracks would form over time. The Grant County PUD spokesperson said that even if the spillway with the crack failed, the rest of the dam would keep the flow of water manageable. We can only hope that this is true.
The reason that I have been talking about the problems at the Wanapum Dam is that it is about forty miles north of the Hanford Nuclear Reservation. Nuclear reactors require a great deal of water for cooling. One in five of the operating nuclear power reactors is under threat of flood and the U.S. Nuclear Regulation Commission is pressuring the owners of the endangered reactors to upgrade their preparations for dealing with floods.
The Priest Rapids Dam is downstream from the Wanapum Dam and only ten miles from the Hanford Nuclear Reservation. The Columbia River follows the north and east borders of Hanford. If there was a break in the Wanapum Dam that impacted the Priest Rapids Dam, flood waters could enter Hanford. There is still a lot of radioactive contamination in the soil at Hanford. Flooding could very well leach these radioactive materials out of the soil and carry them down the Columbia River. The intake for the municipal water supply for Richland is just downstream from the Hanford Reservation.
While the chances of severe flooding at Hanford are slim, potential flooding is just another reason that Hanford should be cleaned up. The discussion of locating a new reactor at Hanford must take into account the possibility of flooding among many other issues.
Wanapum Dam:
