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CENTRAL OREGON Recently opened Bend Whitewater Park closing for repairs Comment By Scott Hammers The Bulletin MailTribune.com By Scott Hammers The Bulletin Posted Oct. 14, 2015 at 5:12 PM By Scott Hammers The Bulletin Posted Oct. 14, 2015 at 5:12 PM » Social News BEND — Damaged equipment, washed away rock and unfinished business are behind the closure of the Bend Whitewater Park, which will close Monday, just over a month after it was opened to the public. The Bend Park & Recreation District is shutting down the park to attend to a variety of maintenance issues, some of which were anticipated before the Sept. 18 opening, and others that have emerged since then. The park will remain closed through the end of the year. The $9.7 million project, funded through a park district bond measure approved by voters in 2012, removed the aging dam at the Colorado Avenue bridge and divided the river into three channels. Pneumatic bladders raise panels to control the flow of water into one channel for floaters, and are used to create four standing waves in a second channel for kayakers and other whitewater users. A third channel features slow-moving water and provides wildlife habitat. Project manager Chelsea Schneider said the park district had always expected to be working on the project past its official opening date, to fine-tune the flow of water though the whitewater and floaters' channels. Two of the pneumatic lines used to inflate the bladders are believed to have been damaged during construction, rendering two bladders in the whitewater channel inoperable. Schneider said the district knew the two bladders, both on Wave 2 — the second wave, when counting from downstream — were not working when the park was opened to the public. "It's not a safety issue, it's a performance issue," she said. One potential safety issue has been identified since the park opened, and crews will look to correct it starting Monday. Schneider said that in various locations, large gravel was used to fill gaps between larger rocks. Much of that gravel has been washed away by the river, she said, and will be replaced by concrete grout. In other places, larger rocks will be moved to alter the shape of the waves in the whitewater channel, and the flow of water though the floaters' channel. Schneider said crews will be looking closely at Waves 3 and 4, the two most upstream waves. Wave 4 was designed for river surfing, she said, but appears to be better for kayakers. Reports from users suggest Wave 3 has the potential to be a "great surf wave," she said, and crews will be moving rocks at both waves to try to achieve the desired result. Rocks also will be moved in the floaters' channel, where users have reported getting hung up on rocks just below the surface of the water. Schneider said some of these will be tilted upward, to force more water into the center of the channel and serve as bumpers for floaters who end up slightly off course. The district will also be installing a device called an inclinometer, which will provide whoever is operating the wave system with information on the angles of the panels lifted by the pneumatic bladders. A trail will also be added on the rocky spit separating the whitewater channel and the floaters' channel, giving users an easier route to carry their boats upstream to access the waves. The district has arranged for Pacific Power, the company that operates the Mirror Pond dam, to lower the water level in the pond to better allow crews to work in the river. Schneider said the utility plans to start releasing water from the dam Monday, and that water levels in the pond will be about 3 feet lower than normal through the end of November. By Scott Hammers The Bulletin MailTribune.com By Scott Hammers The Bulletin Posted Oct. 14, 2015 at 5:12 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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