Oak Grove Hydroelectric Project

The Oak Grove Hydroelectric Project is a 44 megawatt hydroelectric plant operated by Portland General Electric (PGE) on the Oak Grove Fork Clackamas River. Water for this project is held by three lakes, built between 1923 and 1956.[1] The dam creates the impoundment Lake Harriet.

History

In 1907, the Southern Pacific Company began to acquire water rights for the Oak Grove fork.[2] These rights were transferred in 1911 to the Portland Railway, Light and Power Company,[2] which later became PGE.

In 1923, the concrete diversion dam at Lake Harriet was completed.[2] This lake holds 300 acre feet (370,000 m3)[3] with a surface area of 150 acres (0.61 km2).[4] A 9-foot (2.7 m) pipeline goes downstream from Lake Harriet to the powerhouse.[3] Power generation from the Oak Grove fork began in August 1924.[5]

In 1953, Frog Lake was completed, adding 430 acre feet (530,000 m3) of storage with 13 acres (53,000 m2) of surface, which was later reduced to 266 acre feet (328,000 m3) on 6 acres (24,000 m2) in 1997.[2][3] Finally, in 1956,[2] the compacted-earth dam for Timothy Lake was completed, creating the largest lake in the system at 1,430 acres (5.8 km2) and 69,000 acre feet (85,000,000 m3).[3] The Oak Grove Powerhouse contains two Francis turbines.[3]

References
  1. PGE power plant capacity
  2. FWS: Eagle Creek: Appendix B: history
  3. FERC EIS P-2195
  4. Photo tour: Harriet Dam
  5. Electrifying Eden: Craig Wollner, p 111

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