Fourth dam breached on the Klamath River

 Construction crews blasted a hole in the Copco No. 1 dam on Tuesday. It’s the final dam of four that will be removed from the hydroelectric reach of the Klamath River this year.

Video of the event shows a small explosion at the foot of the century-old, 120-foot-tall cement dam, followed by a plume of brown water being released downriver.

“We observed, within just a matter of a few seconds after the explosion, the initial push of water and sediment coming from the reservoir,” said Mark Bransom, the CEO of the Klamath River Renewal Corporation, the organization in charge of removing the four dams.

According to Bransom, the event went as planned, and they expect water to continue draining from Copco Lake, as well as the JC Boyle and Iron Gate reservoirs, for three weeks to a month...more