The Bureau of Reclamation said repairs are being carried out to a concrete structure in the afterbay at the 33.25 MW Pole Hill Powerplant, and the Pole Hill and Flatiron plants will not operate while this is taking place.
Inspections at the Pole Hill facility in December 2023 revealed a need for repairs to the structure, Reclamation said. Pole Hill is located west of Carter Lake in Larimer County, Colo., and the repair work began in January and will continue through March 2024. Reclamation said the Pole Hill and 94.5 MW Flatiron facilities, both part of the Colorado-Big Thompson Project, are expected to resume operation by April 2024.
The Pole Hill Powerplant began operating in 1954.
“Reclamation understands the importance of the Colorado-Big Thompson Project to users of water and power in Northeastern Colorado,” said Jeff Rieker, Reclamation Eastern Colorado Area Manager. “With repairs under way, we plan to restore power generation and water operations to the system as efficiently as possible.”
The Colorado-Big Thompson Project is one of the largest and most complex natural resource developments undertaken by Reclamation. It consists of over 100 structures integrated into a transmountain water diversion system through which multiple benefits are provided to the people. The project spreads over about 250 miles in Colorado. It stores, regulates and diverts water from the Colorado River west of the Continental Divide to provide supplemental irrigation water for 615,000 acres east of the Rocky Mountains. It supplements the municipal and industrial water supply and provides recreation for more than 1 million residents in Northeastern Colorado. It also produces enough electricity to power nearly 68,000 households.
Reclamation is a federal agency under the U.S. Department of the Interior and is the largest wholesale water supplier and second largest producer of hydroelectric power in the U.S.
