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GPID canal beset by water woes GRANTS PASS � Regardless of the weather, Grants Pass Irrigation District officials are predicting a dry Memorial Day weekend for about 2,000 patrons along the Highline Canal. A "catastrophic" turbine failure at Savage Rapids Dam left the canal south of the Rogue River high and dry Friday morning. GPID officials are working to repair the problem, but fear the holiday weekend may delay efforts to get water back in the ditch. "We�re very sorry this happened," said GPID Chairman Don Greenwood. "It was totally unforeseen. We�re going to get the water back to our patrons just as soon as we can." The water-driven turbine that helps pump water into the Highline Canal somehow broke at about 11 a.m. Friday. Late in the afternoon, Greenwood said district officials still weren�t sure what had caused the system to fail. "Up until this morning it was purring like a kitten," Greenwood said. Workers were waiting Friday for water within the turbine bay to recede before they could analyze the problem. Meanwhile, GPID officials were trying to locate a diesel engine to drive the pump until the turbine could be repaired. "Until we can get some sort of replacement system set up, there won�t be any water in the Highline Canal," Greenwood said. The Highline Canal services about 2,000 GPID patrons south of the Rogue River from Grants Pass to Jerome Prairie, Greenwood said. "It�s a fairly extensive area." The district�s other two canals, a gravity-fed line south of the river and the Tokay Canal to the north, were not affected by the failure. Obituaries | Sports | Business | Classifieds | Tempo | Prime Times | So Oregon Sites | Outdoor Journal | Subscribe | Contact | Movies | Advertise | Real Estate Showcase | Archive | Editorials | Letters to the editor | Religion | Wake-up Call | NIE | Cyber Chef | Job Network | So Oregon Weather | WSJ Northwest | Forums | AP Wire | AP Money | F.A.Q. | Awards Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. The Community Newspaper Subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co, Inc Copyright �The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA