KR3 THREATENS PUBLIC SAFETY
In 2013, the forebay of sister project KR1 failed catastrophically, causing a flood that eroded the mountainside and a landslide that closed Highway 178 for 10 days
ISSUE: Transporting millions of pounds of water every minute in an elevated manmade conduit above a major road is inherently dangerous. The catastrophic failure of sister project KR1 in 2013 proves that the regulatory framework governing project safety is inadequate.
OUR TAKE: KR3 poses a significant threat to public safety.
DETAILS:
In 2013, there was a catastrophic failure of KR3’s sister project KR1, both along its water conveyance and at its forebay, causing erosion of the mountainside resulting in a landslide that completely closed Highway 178 for 10 days.
FERC subsequently increased the hazard rating on KR1 from “low” to “significant.”
KR3 has a similar configuration to KR1: an elevated concrete water conveyance and forebay 821 feet above a major road.
KR3 transports up to 278,256 gallons or 2,309,524 pounds of water every minute — 50% more than KR1.
A catastrophic failure of the KR3 conveyance, forebay, or penstocks would send all of this water downhill, eroding the mountainside and deluging Mountain Highway 99 (aka Sierra Way).
OUR PROPOSAL: An independent engineering firm should evaluate the risks KR3 proposes to public safety and identify measures that can decrease those risks.
EDISON’S RESPONSE: The current regulatory framework is adequate.
HOW TO HELP: Tell FERC (click the link for instructions),
Who you are;
How much you care about the North Fork Kern;
That you are concerned about threat to public safety posed by the KR3 hydroproject;
That you want an independent engineering firm to evaluate project safety; and
You support Kern River Boaters’ Public Safety Study Proposal.
GO DEEPER: Read (1) KRB’s Public Safety Study Proposal and (2) Lois Henry’s article on the KR1 Landslide. Watch this 25-second video of the KR3 siphon:
Recent images of the KR3 conveyance above M99:
The highly pressurized siphon:
We also have teed up information about five other areas in which KR3 harms our river, the natural environment, and the human environment:
Aesthetics ºº Angling ºº Environment ºº Health ºº Whitewater
Please have a look at these resource topics and send your views on them issues to FERC and other managing agencies. Do not simply assume the agencies will resolve these issues in the public’s favor; they have failed in the past and Edison is well funded and politically connected. Speak up now for yourselves and the future. And please consider following our Free The Kern Facebook campaign page. Together, we can Free The Kern.