City Light Completes Repairs on Newhalem Penstock

September 21, 2017 by Hernann Ambion Leave a Comment

A Seattle City Light contractor recently completed a year long project at the Skagit Hydroelectric Project to replace 52 deteriorating, wooden saddles that support the Newhalem Penstock. The old wooden saddles were replaced with new, cast-in-place concrete saddles that will provide structural support so that the penstock will not collapse.

Original wooden saddles (left image) that support the Newhalem Penstock were replaced with new, concrete saddles (right image).

The Newhalem Penstock is located on the south bank of the Skagit River, in the town of Newhalem, WA. The project is within the Ross Lake National Recreation Area, which is part of the North Cascades National Park Complex.

The penstock is a pipe that provides water from the creek to the hydro turbines that are located inside the historical Newhalem Powerhouse. The water turns the turbines, which produces electricity for City Light.

Seattle City Light thanks all campground visitors for their patience during the successful completion of this project.

Learn about this project and others by visiting Seattle City Light’s “At Work in Your Neighborhood” website.

Seattle City (spot)Light: Al Ferrara

July 10, 2017 by Valerie Szopa

Al Ferrara has served City Light the past three years as the Maintenance Manager at the utility’s Skagit Project. Hailing from Rochester in upstate New York, Al’s been an electrician most of his career. Ask him what he misses most about his hometown and he’ll quickly mention the food and the diversity. “New York is huge melting pot,” he said.

Al is also a proud father of four daughters. Since moving to Washington, he and his wife have become empty-nesters and spend their extra time wine tasting, exploring the PNW and cooking. “I love cooking pizzas,” he said. “My grill goes up to 1,000 degrees so I can cook a pie in minutes.” In this week’s (spot)Light, we chat with Al about life in Skagit and his role at the utility.

Al volunteers with the Whatcom Sheriff’s department (and, yes, he had to pass the Police Academy!)

“Part of my job is to work closely with the many country stakeholders like law enforcement, community leaders and the National Park Services. Because we’re so close to the Canadian border, we also deal with a ton of agencies, from homeland security and state patrol to Whatcom County and the Border Patrol. At Skagit, I oversee the warehouse, trades, grounds, General Store and Skagit Tours. A recent project we worked on is the bridge at Ladder Creek Falls. Our trade professionals hand-cut that bridge from cedar. The crews, the laborers, the carpenters, the right of ways…everyone worked hand in hand on that. It was a great project for us.”

“One of the perks to living here is dining at The Gorge Inn. I don’t eat there all the time, but when I do, it’s always a treat. They recently served an elk dish that was phenomenal. The Dam Good Chicken dinner is out of this world. The homemade desserts are incredible. I’ve never been too much of a pie person until I came here and tasted Washington state berries. Having our master chefs bake them in a pie has just been delightful.”

“The greatest ‘A-ha!’ for me in coming to work at City Light is the utility’s environmental impact. It’s something for which I’m very thankful—that the organization dedicates an entire division to the environment. At times, we’ll deal with things like invasive species. When that happens, our team will come in, mitigate and fix it. It’s just amazing and I get excited knowing I’m part of that team. We should be smiling about the work that we do.”

“There are great people at City Light. I try to help and mentor our employees. The piece of advice I always give is to enroll in a degree program so that when they’re done with their apprenticeship, they have that piece of paper as well. I went back to school at age 48. It was a big feat, but thank goodness I had my daughters to teach me study habits!”

See Skagit: Dam Good Chicken Dinner

July 7, 2017 by Valerie Szopa

This summer, see the many places and meet the many faces of Skagit.

Chris is a culinary force of the Gorge Inn at City Light’s Skagit Project

Meet Chris Gochenour. He’s part of the culinary team behind Skagit’s hottest dinner reservation—the immensely popular Dam Good Chicken Dinner. When he’s not cranking out chicken for hungry visitors, you can catch Chris serving up meals at the Gorge Inn, a dining hall in Newhalem that caters to City Light employees and workers. Chris recently sat down with us for a quick chat about cooking, chicken and tradition.

What attracted you to working in Skagit?
“Working at a national park. I used to work at Denali National Park as a head chef at one of the park’s lodges. I’ve always liked working in this type of environment so here I am.”

Can you share a little bit about the history of the area?
“There used to be a train that came up here in the early 1900s which allowed folks to see the landscape up here and enjoy the mountains. It also helped to promote the Skagit Hydroelectric Project and educate people about the dams.”

The Gorge Inn is a fixture at City Light’s Skagit Project

The Dam Good Chicken Dinner is longstanding tradition here at the Gorge Inn. Tell us about that.
“The dinner is a signature stamp of the Gorge Inn. It’s a tradition that goes back to the 1930s. When we cook this meal, we’re recreating the magic of the dinner that was served back then. A lot of people have passed through these doors JUST for this dinner. It’s cool to be part of its history—to serve a historic meal. It’s only featured in the summer so it’s in demand when the season comes around.

Dam Good Chicken Dinner is made especially at City Light’s Skagit Project

“The chicken itself is oven baked, but somehow, some way it looks like regular fried chicken. It’s breaded, buttered and cooked at a high temperature. It’s a recipe that has been passed down for generations. The dinner comes with a side of mashed potatoes which are cooked with rosemary and garlic. We also infuse thyme into the cream. Fresh green beans and homemade gravy complete the entrée.

Freshly baked Apple Blueberry pie—a specialty of the Gorge Inn

“Then there’s dessert. We bake a fresh pie each dinner. Our usual flavors are peach and apple blueberry—all locally sourced ingredients. We’ve also served other flavors; it just depends on the season.”

Tell us about the people who attend the Dam Good Chicken Dinner.
“A lot of people from the nearby campgrounds will plan the dinner as part of their trip. We have a lot of families. Other folks have heard about it in Seattle and make a little road trip out of it. Then, of course, there are those who book it as part of the Ladder Creek Falls tour, which makes for a great evening here.”

Can you describe the vibe of the Gorge Inn on these dinner nights?
“It’s friendly—a communal atmosphere. A lot of folks talk to one another. They meet new people sitting at their tables, talk about similar interests and learn what they might have in common. It always happens that a group will meet hiking on a trail and then they unexpectedly run into each other at the dinner. Everyone is generally pretty happy by the end of the meal.” T

Thank you, Chris, for providing a sneak peek of the “Skagit Magic” one can expect when visiting the Gorge Inn, an historic part of Seattle City Light’s Skagit River Hydroelectric Project which provides clean, low-cost, renewable power to Seattle. To learn more or to secure your reservation for the Dam Good Chicken dinner, click here.

City Light to Replace Newhalem Penstock Saddles

June 27, 2016 by Hernann Ambion 1 Comment

Seattle City Light will be replacing 52 deteriorating, wooden saddles that support the Newhalem Penstock with new, cast-in-place concrete saddles. These new saddles will provide structural stability and protect the integrity of the penstock.

The penstock is a pipe that delivers water from the creek to the hydro turbines that are located inside the Newhalem powerhouse. The water turns the turbines, which eventually produces electricity.

The Newhalem Penstock is located on the south bank of the Skagit River in the town of Newhalem, WA. The project is within the Ross Lake National Recreation Area, which is part of the North Cascades National Park Complex.

This project is expected to start in mid-July 2016 and last approximately 12 to 14 weeks. Daily work hours are from Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Weekend work is possible.

Map of the construction work area

During construction, trucks will use the access road to Loop C and Group Sites A and B of the Newhalem campground. All park facilities will remain open. At times, a helicopter may be used to deliver materials and concrete to the site. Park users may encounter additional noise. The Trail of the Cedars will also be open during construction. It will be rerouted around the construction site.

For more information, customers can contact Lisa Williams, Project Manager at (206) 733-9268 or lisa.williams@seattle.gov.

This information is also available on the City Light construction website: http://www.seattle.gov/light/atwork/release.asp?RN=364.

Diablo Lake Lowering Delayed Until Sept. 23

September 10, 2015 by thomses Leave a Comment

Seattle City Light is delaying the start of a drawdown of Diablo Lake until Sept. 23.

City Light plans to lower the lake at the utility’s Skagit Hydroelectric Project by 10 feet to continue construction of a new heavy barge landing dock.

The drawdown will take up to six days to complete and low lake levels are scheduled to last until Nov. 5.

The drawdown was scheduled to start Sept. 10, but the contractor working on the project was not ready to start work, so the utility is maintaining lake levels to reduce the impact on recreational opportunities.

Once the lake is lowered, the boat ramp and fishing dock at Colonial Creek Campground in the North Cascades National Park complex will not be usable. The Diablo Lake ferry service will operate as scheduled though passengers should be prepared to walk much steeper ramps at the docks.

This $1.5 million project is one of the final phases of work needed to replace facilities destroyed by a 2010 rockslide. The project must be completed to allow for the delivery of six new transformers to Ross Powerhouse scheduled for 2016.

Seattle City Light is the 10th largest public electric utility in the United States. It has some of the lowest cost customer rates of any urban utility, providing reliable, renewable and environmentally responsible power to about 750,000 Seattle area residents. City Light has been greenhouse gas neutral since 2005, the first electric utility in the nation to achieve that distinction.

Seattle City Light Evacuates Diablo as Goodell Creek Fire Approaches

August 19, 2015 by thomses 2 Comments

Seattle City Light started evacuating employees Wednesday from the town of Diablo and helped evacuate visitors at the North Cascades Institute’s Environmental Learning Center on Diablo Lake and at the Ross Lake Resort as the Goodell Creek Fire approached facilities at the utility’s Skagit Hydroelectric Project.

The fire was burning on the north side of Highway 20 in Newhalem across from City Light’s Skagit administration building and east of the Gorge Powerhouse. Prevailing winds were pushing the fire east toward Diablo.

Highway 20 between the utility-owned towns of Newhalem and Diablo was shut down by a fallen tree and numerous rocks loosened by the fire.

No injuries have been reported. All City Light employees and their families are accounted for. Two employees did leave Newhalem earlier in the day after complaining of respiratory difficulties from the smoke.

City Light was operating its three dams remotely, but the fire forced the utility to shut down the transmission lines that carry electricity from the hydroelectric project. Spillgates at all three dams were being opened to maintain river flows to protect fish. The inability to deliver electricity could cost the utility about $100,000 per day.

Six City Light firefighters with two fire engines were working to protect people and property from the blaze. One crew was working with the National Park Service. The other was defending the Gorge Powerhouse.

Skagit Tours scheduled for Thursday through Sunday have been canceled.

Diablo Lake to Be Lowered for Construction Work

August 19, 2015 by thomses Leave a Comment

Diablo Lake

To continue construction of a new heavy barge landing dock, Seattle City Light will lower the water level of Diablo Lake at the utility’s Skagit Hydroelectric Project by up to 10 feet. The drawdown will start on Sept. 10 and take up to six days to complete. Low lake levels are scheduled to last until Nov. 5.

Construction workers install a rockery fence above the site for the new barge landing.

With lower water levels, the boat ramp and fishing dock at Colonial Creek Campground will not be usable. Skagit Tours and the Diablo Lake ferry service will operate as scheduled though passengers should be prepared to walk much steeper ramps at the docks.

Seattle City Light-Funded Researchers Publish Scientific Paper on Pikas

August 17, 2015 by thomses Leave a Comment

American pika. Photographer: Matthew Waterhouse

A team of researchers from the University of British Columbia studying pikas with help from a Seattle City Light grant issued under the Skagit River Hydroelectric Project Wildlife Research Program has published a scientific paper with its findings about the biodiversity of the tiny mammals.

Michael Russello, Matthew Waterhouse, Paul Etter and Eric Johnson published “From promise to practice: pairing non-invasive sampling with genomics in conservation” with PeerJ.

Their research identified a connection between gene diversity and elevation among pikas studied in the North Cascades National Park.

Researchers non-invasively collected hair samples from the elusive pikas using hair snares and compared the DNA of the various samples.

Pikas are considered by some to be sentinels of climate change. The study recommended further research to identify underlying mechanisms associated with the pikas ability to disperse across their mountainous habitat.

More information on wildlife researched funded by the City Light Wildlife Research Program can be found at http://www.seattle.gov/light/environment/wildlifegrant/

Seattle City Light Funds Study of the American Pika in North Cascades

November 4, 2014 by Francesca Kostal 2 Comments

Photograph by Matthew Waterhouse

Seattle City Light’s Wildlife Research Grants Program began in 1995 as one of the requirements of the federal license to operate the Skagit River Hydroelectric Project. The main goal of the program is to “facilitate the development of improved methods for the understanding, management and protection of wildlife resources in the North Cascades ecosystem, with an emphasis on the Skagit River Watershed.”

Each year, the program funds a number of qualified projects selected through a competitive application process. Priority is given to projects that address topics of interest to the agencies in the Skagit River Hydroelectric Project Area, the Skagit River Watershed and the North Cascades/ Western Okanagan ecoregions.

One ongoing project in the North Cascades National Park Complex is studying the American pika (Ochotona princeps). The project is addressing the research question: “How is climate change affecting high elevation mammal populations such as pika?”

The American pika is a very outgoing herbivore that is a tiny relative of rabbits and hares. These critters can be found at high altitudes in North American mountain ranges. In order to test the effect climate has on these mammals, this research project will be retrieving DNA samples through hair snares. Samples will be taken at multiple different location sites at multiple levels of elevation.

This research project is still underway and is expected to be completed within the next year. Check out the University of British Columbia researchers’ Pika blog at http://www.science-live.org/pikas/follow/.

Ross Lake Now Open for Fishing

July 3, 2014 by thomses

Ross Lake is formed by Ross Dam, part of Seattle City Light’s Skagit Hydroelectric Project.

The return of summer opens new opportunities for exploring the rugged and beautiful North Cascades, including Ross Lake, which is now open for fishing.

The North Cascades are a popular destination for fishing, wildlife viewing and outdoor recreation. They are also home to three hydroelectric dams supplying green renewable energy to the city of Seattle and Seattle City Light. Ross Lake is City Light’s largest hydroelectric reservoir and is a popular trout fishing destination. Home to native rainbow trout and federally protected bull trout, Ross Lake also contains cutthroat and eastern brook trout. Seattle City Light is committed to environmental stewardship and supports public land along the Skagit River.

Overnight accommodations near Ross Lake are available and include developed campgrounds within the North Cascades National Park complex and the floating Ross Lake Resort. There is a public boat launch at the north end of the lake accessible through British Colombia and several boat-access on the east shore and south end.

According to the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife (http://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/washington/122/), September and October are the best times to catch Rainbow trout and July and August offer “fair” prospects. Anglers are permitted to keep three fish per day excluding the protected native char. Fishing licenses are required and can be obtained through onsite at Ross Lake Resort.

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