July 6, 2001
John Redding
(208) 378-5212
Larry Wolf
(208) 378-5220

Reclamation Awards Wickiup Contract

The Bureau of Reclamation awarded a $23 million contract on July 5 to Hayward Baker of Santa Paula, California to make modifications at Wickiup Dam. The modifications are necessary to upgrade the dam to current earthquake safety standards. Wickiup Dam is located on the upper Deschutes River, approximately forty miles southwest of Bend.

Modifications will consist of treating a portion of the foundation at the toe of the dam with a technique called jet grouting, which was successfully tested at Wickiup Dam during December, 1999. Hayward Baker was also the firm that conducted the test section. The modifications will also include a stability berm and a new drainage system. The contractor has until October 2003 to complete the work.

Repairs to Wickiup Dam are part of Reclamation’s safety of dams program which examines and evaluates the structural integrity of its dams and identifies potential public safety risks. Wickiup Dam is considered safe under normal operating conditions. However, an emergency response plan remains in effect until modifications to the dam are complete to reduce the potential for loss of life during an earthquake. People living or recreating on the upper Deschutes River from the dam downstream to Pringle Falls are reminded to exercise caution and leave the river corridor in the event of an earthquake.

The emergency response plan designates travel routes and locations to gather following an earthquake. On the west side of Deschutes River, go to the junction of Forest Service Roads 42 and 43; on the east side of the river, go to Rosland Campground located on Forest Road 43, Burgess Road. Follow directions given by local authorities.

Current modifications to the dam are authorized under the Reclamation Safety of Dams Act of 1978, as amended in 1984. According to the 1984 amendments to Act, water users are required to repay 15 percent of the safety of dams project costs. Total project costs are estimated to be $44 million. The total project cost includes the construction contract, but also the design costs, construction management, investigations and other Safety of Dams activities.

Wickiup Dam was completed by the Bureau of Reclamation in the 1940's. It is operated and maintained by the North Unit Irrigation District. The reservoir provides 200,000 acre-feet of storage for irrigation of 50,000 acres near Madras.

For more information, contact Leo Busch, Bend Field Office, 1375 SE Wilson Avenue, Suite 200, Bend OR, or call (541) 389-6541.