U.S. Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), a senior member of the Senate Energy and Water Committee, pressed top officials from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to make repairs at Howard Hanson Dam.

Lt. Gen. Robert Van Antwerp assured Sen. Murray that the Corps is doing everything possible to meet the critical June deadline for completion of the dam study. Unless the study is completed on time, the project will not be eligible for construction funding for the 2012 fiscal year.

Lt. Gen. Van Antwerp told Murray that the study would be ready.

“My question is: what assurances can you give me that this study will in fact be ready by June of this year?” Murray asked Lt. Gen. Van Antwerp. “This is so important to moving forward quickly on a solution, and I need to know that the Corps is doing everything possible to meet this critical deadline.”

Lt. Gen. Van Antwerp replied: “The study will be at the point that we will have alternatives identified that we can start with design, so that we can begin the process of the design (by June).”

The Corps discovered sinkholes and rapid seepage of water through an earthen abutment next to the dam after record rain in January 2009. The Corps has been making necessary repairs.

This week the Corps began to slowly allow water levels to rise within the dam’s reservoir for the annual spring fill, a normal seasonal operation.

The Corps operates the dam project, which provides flood damage reduction to the Green River Valley, low-flow augmentation to the Green River for environmental benefits and water supply to the City of Tacoma and its water supply partners.

The Corps also is in the planning process for testing and in-depth investigations of the dam’s current effectiveness this spring. The current draft plan is proposing to target a maximum pool elevation of 1,167 feet, which is consistent with a normal spring refill of the reservoir.

However, throughout the reservoir fill, the Corps constantly would monitor the operations of the facility including special observations and tests to measure the effects of the pool on the right abutment. Because of the damage sustained to the abutment in 2009, a higher frequency of monitoring will be performed once the pool exceeds elevation 1,147 feet.

More details and history about Howard Hanson Dam and the right abutment issue can be found at www.nws.usace.army.mil.