Unless someone else pays for it, the city of Bend seems poised to delay adding a $13 million hydropower plant to a $58 million reconstruction of its Bridge Creek water system that aims to replace aging infrastructure and meet federal mandates.
In the Media
January 19, 2011 – Bend Bulletin – Bend water issues to be debated, explained at forums
A $58 million to $73 million reconstruction of Bend's Bridge Creek water system will undergo some additional scrutiny over the next week as opponents of the project, city officials and various experts dissect and analyze the merits of the overhaul during two upcoming public forums.
December 28, 2010 – Sisters Nugget – Preserve will help create steelhead stronghold
Some 450 acres along Whychus Creek northeast of Sisters will be preserved as prime habitat for steelhead reintroduction.
January 6, 2011 – Bend Bulletin – Bend to fix Tumalo's muddy flow
The city of Bend could face enforcement action from the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality if officials here can't fix a glitch in the municipal water system that occasionally dumps large amounts of sediment into Tumalo Creek.
December 26, 2011 – Bend Bulletin – Fixing Mirror Pond demands a new look, officials say
Officials from local government and the private sector recently teamed up to hire someone who they hope can find a solution to the long-standing sedimentation problem in Bend’s Mirror Pond.
December 30, 2010 – Captial Press – Forest Service restoration plan angers irrigators
A U.S. Forest Service plan to create a central Oregon wetland from the Deschutes River has drawn protests from local irrigation districts who say the project will suck off water from irrigators downstream.
January 6, 2011 – Bend Bulletin – Restoring river’s path might be best Mirror Pond solution
It’s no surprise, really: The Bend community remains mired in the muck over how to pay for the dredging of Mirror Pond (“Fixing Mirror Pond demands a new look, officials say,” The Bulletin, Dec. 26).
December 23, 2010 – Bend Bulletin – EPA urges testing for hexavalent chromium
The Environmental Protection Agency is suggesting that water utilities nationwide test their drinking water for hexavalent chromium, a probable carcinogen, after an independent survey released earlier this week found the chemical in tap water drawn from 31 cities, including Bend.
December 26, 2010 – Bend Bulletin – Water test has Bend, Redmond officials talking
When the report came out last week that Bend’s tap water contained a carcinogen, city officials were scrambling.