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SUNNY Temp: 90 °F Wind: CLM at 0 mph Tuesday, July 29, 2003 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA HomeLife Magazine W3 Magazine Jobs @ Mail Tribune Tempo A & E Oregon CarZone Wellness Connection Real Estate Newspaper in Education Prime Times Outdoor Journal Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find Everything E SOUTHERN OREGON Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar ABOUT US FAQ What's New Advertise Home Delivery Classified Ad Contact Us Media Kit Email Story to a Friend June 29, 2003 Jerry Nikodym of Medford sets up a temporary power supply needed to demolish the Talent water treatment station and a nearby dam on Wagner Creek. Talent now uses water supplied by the Medford Water Commission and doesn�t need its old system. Mail Tribune / Bob Pennell Fish will benefit from intertie Small dam on Wagner Creek and the water treatment plant near Talent will be removed By TONY BOOM Mail Tribune TALENT — A dam that impedes fish migration, along with an unneeded water treatment plant, will be demolished this summer at a city facility a mile from town on Wagner Creek Removal of the small dam and treatment plant building are part of the intertie project that brings Medford Water Commission water to town. Completion of a pump station at Rapp and Wagner Creek roads in March allows the city to send water up to two storage tanks at the Wagner Creek site instead of drawing it from the stream. Workers from Welburn Electrical Inc. installed a temporary post Thursday to move the power lines from the treatment plant. Oregon’s Division of State Lands has issued a permit to allow work in the stream through Sept. 15. "It’s basically a fish barrier," said Bob Lobdel with the Division of State Lands. "(The dam) is maybe about 10 cubic yards." There won’t be any restoration work on the stream bank or bottom on the advice of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, said Talent Public Works Director Joe Strahl. The agency wants the waterway to establish its own natural gradient and doesn’t want gravel removed. Removal of the dam should take less than a day, Strahl estimated. The dam is about 12 feet wide, and last week water spilling over its top dropped 2 feet to the stream below. City officials opened bids for the dam and building work on June 19. Ledford Construction of Medford submitted the low bid at $24,999. Western State Environmental Services submitted a bid of $39,000. City Manager Betty Wheeler will recommend the City Council accept Ledford’s bid at Wednesday’s meeting. Ledford has previously worked in streams on Oregon Department of Transportation projects, said the company president, Mark Ledford. The firm will begin work within two weeks of the bid’s acceptance. A six-person crew will work on the project. A drained, man-made pond next to the creek will be used for disposal of inert materials like concrete and steel. Oregon’s Department of Environmental Quality told Strahl there’s no prohibition against burying the material on site, but that it would investigate any complaints. But city officials aren’t going to take any chances. "The council requested that we get an inspector on site when the company’s doing the work so that it’s monitored," said Wheeler. "The city would pay under a separate contract and would be able to observe what’s going on to make sure that nothing’s going in there that shouldn’t." On-site disposal will save the city about $10,000, Strahl estimated. Motors, wires, chemicals and insulation will be hauled to other sites. Equipment at the Wagner Creek plant is too old to have any value. The plant was built in 1963. Originally water was pumped from a well. In 1969, the dam was installed and the pond created to store water. The city hopes to sell more modern treatment equipment valued at $100,000 from its Bear Creek water treatment plant, which was built in 1979. Reach Ashland bureau reporter Tony Boom at 482-4651, or e-mail [email protected] Printer Friendly Version Email Story to a Friend Subscribe Archive: Click to Search Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2003 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback A D V E R T I S E R S SPECIAL SECTIONS Rogue Valley Auto Finder Rogue Valley Job Finder --> Rogue Valley Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Real Estate Showcase Food for Thought Hike of the Week Wellness Connection Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Openings Prime Times