Drawdown of West Enfield Hydroelectric: Good Evening, Brookfield Renewables efforts over the last couple of days to seal the dewatering gate for Unit #2 at West Enfield have not been successful, and we have exhausted options for closing this gate without conducting a drawdown of the river. We will proceed with reducing water levels upstream of the West Enfield Dam starting on the morning of Monday, September 9, 2024. Our new plans call for limiting the drawdown to 7.5 feet, which less than the originally planned 10 foot maximum and is the normal drawdown target utilized annually for flashboard maintenance at the West Enfield Project. Starting on Monday morning, we will attempt to close the dewatering gate at every 6-inch increment down to 7.5 feet below full pond. As a reminder, the river only needs to be drawn down for the amount of time needed to get the Unit #2 dewatering headgate all the way down and sealed. Refill of the impoundment will begin immediately once the dewatering gate is closed and/or the 7.5-foot drawdown target is reached, even if this approach proves to be unsuccessful. Based on current river conditions, should we need to use all 7.5 feet, we expect that normal water levels will return within 24 hours.
We want to remind everyone that today marks the opening of the public roads for ATV use here in Howland. According to club news the ATV trails on private property don’t open until May 18th. Please remember to obey all traffic laws including the speed limit for ATV’s. Remember please respect landowners property because without the use of their land there would be no ATV trails. RIDE SAFE RIDE SMART