News Release Archive

Reclamation Awards $790,000 Contract for Repairs at Columbia River Pumping Plant

Media Contact: Annette Ross, (208) 378-5322, aross@usbr.gov

For Release: October 04, 2017

BOISE, Idaho – The Bureau of Reclamation awarded a $790,236 contract on September 15 to Burke Electric, LLC, a small business from Bellevue, Washington, to replace motor control equipment at the Columbia River Pumping Plant in Oregon.

The contract requires designing, manufacturing, and installing a new motor control center and accessories for five pump motors; and removing and disposing the motor control center. The work is scheduled to begin approximately October 2018 and be completed by February 2019.

"For nearly two decades, the Columbia River Pumping Plant has been the cornerstone of the Umatilla Basin Project," said Reclamation’s Acting Commissioner Alan Mikkelsen. "This repair work is in line with Reclamation's commitment to refurbish aging infrastructure and will continue the pumping plant’s reliability into future years."

Burke Electric, an award-winning commercial and industrial electrical contractor, has over 59 years of experience and has completed projects at more than 50 different hydroelectric facilities across the United States. They have a wide range of expertise, from small commercial projects to highly complex industrial construction.

The work is within Reclamation’s Umatilla Basin Project area, approximately six miles upstream from McNary Dam on the Oregon side of the Columbia River, in Umatilla County, Oregon. The Umatilla project provides water for irrigation, recreation, fish and wildlife, and reduces flood damage.

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The Bureau of Reclamation is a federal agency under the U.S. Department of the Interior and is the nation's largest wholesale water supplier and second largest producer of hydroelectric power. Our facilities also provide substantial flood control, recreation opportunities, and environmental benefits. Visit our website at https://www.usbr.gov and follow us on Twitter @USBR; Facebook @bureau.of.reclamation; LinkedIn @Bureau of Reclamation; Instagram @bureau_of_reclamation; and YouTube @reclamation.