This article was published on: 11/25/13 12:00 AM
Mirror Pond dam would require extensive repairs; utility will look to transfer ownership
PacifiCorp plans to decommission the Mirror Pond dam or transfer ownership of it to another entity.
Utility executives revealed their plan and the preliminary results of an engineering survey of the dam during a private meeting with Bend City Councilor Mark Capell and Bend Park & Recreation District Executive Director Don Horton on Friday, according to Capell.
PacifiCorp confirmed the decision in a press release issued today. “It simply isn’t cost-effective or in the best interests of all our customers throughout six western states for PacifiCorp to rebuild the facility and generate power to serve current and future generations of customers,” PacifiCorp’s Vice President for Renewable Resources Mark Tallman stated in the press release.
Capell said he and Horton will negotiate with PacifiCorp to determine how much, if anything, it would cost for local governments to obtain ownership of the dam, but officials would have to hold a public discussion of those options before they could commit to spending public money on the dam.