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Gold Hill told to move water intake system By MELISSA MARTIN GOLD HILL � The city of Gold Hill must relocate its water intake system about a half-mile downstream on the Rogue River and remove part or all of the nearby diversion dam, the fish passage team decided. The city must also dry up the canal by closing the headgates that divert 130 cubic feet of water per second from the Rogue River into a channel that runs along Gold Hill�s bike path near the Little League fields. Gold Beach�s �rainy well� provides clean water Gold Beach is the last city along the Rogue River that draws and treats river water. But it�s not getting the leftovers, thanks to an efficient collection system. This coastal town pulls 1.2 million gallons a day in the summer months for its 1,300 customers using an infiltration gallery installed in the 1950s. Rather than sticking a pipe in the river the way the other cities do, Gold Beach has a "rainy well," a cast-iron pipe buried beneath a gravel bar. "Originally, it was 10 to 12 feet deep, but now as the surface has become more shallow, it�s about five to seven feet below the river," said Jeff Denney, Gold Beach�s superintendent of public works. The buried collection pipe is perforated and has a layer of sand on top that naturally filters the water, Denney said. The state labels this water "ground water under direct influence," and Gold Beach holds a water right of 9.2 cubic feet per second. The water has been so pure that the city until recently only had to add chlorine and pipe it to households, Denney said. But last spring, Gold Beach built a treatment plant to deal with turbidity, a cloudy look to the water that can interfere with chlorination. The advantage of the underground collection system is that the city has a consistent, clean water source year-round, while cities that draw from the river�s flow fight muddy water in the winter and high algae content in the summer, he said. "It�s a mother nature filtration system," Denney said. "I hear people say, �You�re at the end of the line after Medford, Rogue River and Grants Pass dumping their treated sewage into the river. But with this system, our water quality is excellent. And all of our test results show it." In exchange for losing the canal that state biologists call a fish trap, the city of Gold Hill will get a new park on the Rogue River. "I think this compromise provides the most benefit for fish, the city as a whole and has the added benefit of a park," said Chuck Corson of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation office in Bend. He chairs the Rogue River Basin Fish Passage Technical Committee that has been deciding the fate of the city of Gold Hill�s water supply. At issue is a half-mile-long diversion canal rebuilt in the 1940s to bring water to a cement company�s power plant. The canal traps fish, which enter at the headgates and exit violently down a 20-foot rock tunnel that shoots the diverted water back to the river. Furthermore, the concrete L-shaped diversion dam is among the top three barriers on the Rogue River that delay coho salmon migrating upriver during the fall and early winter, according to a list created by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. But the canal is the spot where Gold Hill draws about 646,000 gallons of water a day for its 466 homes and businesses. According to the state water master, the city is diverting more than its water right of 3 cfs allows. Gold Hill is one of five communities that draw and treat water from the Rogue River for household use. The others are Medford Water Commission, Rogue River, Grants Pass, Gold Beach and Nesika Beach Water District. "We consider ourselves a partner with the fish agencies to do our part to help protect the endangered species," said Royal Gasso, public works director for Gold Hill. "Our part is to remove the dam," he said. "We understand the implications and responsibilities of being the owners of that dam." The next step is collecting engineer cost estimates for moving the city�s intake pumps, notching or removing the L-shaped dam and maintaining and operating the new system. City officials hope the estimates also will include the extension of the city�s paved bike path along the river and the creation of a park. State and federal agencies have promised to help fund the projects, Gasso said. "I do think it�s a win-win situation," Gasso said. State and federal officials will be on hand to discuss the city�s water supply during a June Town Hall meeting in Gold Hill. The fish passage team meets again at 9 a.m. on July 20 at the ODFW office, 1495 E. Gregory Road, Central Point. Today's Edition : News | Sports | Business | Weather | Tempo | Classifieds Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA