The Bureau of Reclamation awarded a $4.9 million contract today for work to modify Upper Stillwater Dam. Purcell Painting and Coating of Tukwila, Washington, was awarded the contract to conduct phase two of a modification contract for the dam. The work will consist of installing membranes on minor cracks on the upstream face of the dam.

"This work has been ongoing for several years," said William Rinne, Acting Commissioner for the Bureau of Reclamation, "and this award allows the work on Upper Stillwater Dam to continue on track."

The work, which began in 2003, includes a phase one component which grouted cracks on the dam and installed a stainless-steel membrane in three cracks. Reclamation expects to issue a Notice to Proceed, with the work beginning in the near future.

Upper Stillwater Dam is a gravity dam built in 1987 and is 10 miles NW of Mountain Home, Utah. It is a roller-compacted concrete structure that is 2,700 in length and 188 feet high. It impounds a reservoir of 32,496 acre feet.