The electrical conduit inside one of the Green Lake dam tunnels. A leak has allowed water to be released down the conduit and into the Green Lake powerhouse. (Photo courtesy of CBS Electric Department)
Sitka’s Green Lake power plant was shut down yesterday (06-19-17), after electric department staff discovered a leak in an electrical conduit.
The conduit, which is a galvanized two-inch pipe, is located inside the tunnel that carries water from the dam to the powerhouse. Water is leaking into that conduit. The city shut down the whole operation at at 1 p.m. Monday afternoon and is determining the cause of the leak, as well as plan for repair. This is the second time in the last year the city has shut down the Green Lake operation due to broken parts.
Bryan Bertacchi, the city’s utility director, considers this a further failing of Sitka’s aging electrical infrastructure, some of which is 40 to 60 years old.
In a press release issued Monday, Bertacchi said, “These failures are a reminder to the community that our established plans to repair our old infrastructure are important to the success of our City and Borough.” The city has also also developed 10-year capital plans for Sitka’s harbors, wastewater, and drinking water systems.
Moreover, Bertacchi hopes the city will explore alternative sources for drinking water in the event there’s a similar failure at the Blue Lake power plant.
“The problem with the city is we only have eight hours of water storage capability for that water coming down from Blue Lake. Many of us in the city have been working trying to identify clearly what the alternative is, to provide a secondary source of domestic water supply,” Bertacchi said.
The Green Lake closure does not impact the city’s drinking water. But it’s closure does mean that Sitka will receive all of its electricity from the Blue Lake power plant. The diesel plant on Jarvis Street will serve as a back-up.
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