Copco 2 P-2082

Copco 2 dam being removed in June 2023.

Klamath Hydropower Project Facts

Year built: 1918 and later

Capacity: 160 megawatts

Generation provided: 1% of PacifiCorp demand

Miles of habitat blocked: 350

Fish species affected: coho, chinook, steelhead, lamprey

Klamath Hydropower Project Consists of:

1. Keno Dam, a 24-ft non-hydro dam that smoothes return flows from the Bureau’s Klamath Irrigation Project.
2. JC Boyle Dam, a 60-ft high dam and 90 MW powerhouse that dewaters 4.3 miles of river.
3. Copco 1 Dam, a 120 ft-high dam and 20 MW powerhouse.
4. Copco 2 Dam, a 25 ft-high dam and 27 MW powerhouse that dewaters 1.4 miles of river.
5. Iron Gate Dam, a 162 ft dam and 18 MW powerhouse.
6. Fall Creek Dam, a small diversion dam and 2.2 MW powerhouse on a tributary to the Klamath.

The Klamath River begins in a high arid basin ringed by the volcanic peaks of the Cascade Range in Oregon and flows for over 250 miles to the Pacific south of Crescent City in California.

Much of the wetland habitat of the Upper Klamath Basin was converted to irrigated agriculture, but remaining habitat in National Wildlife Refuges still attracts a majority of migrating birds on the Pacific Flyway.

Downstream of the Upper Klamath Lake, the river plunges into a canyon where PacifiCorp operates five mainstem dams, two in Oregon and three in California. In between two of these dams is a Wild and Scenic stretch that is well-known for its fishing and whitewater rafting.

Since the first dam was constructed in 1918, salmon and steelhead have been prevented from reaching more than 350 miles of historic spawning and rearing habitat in the upper basin.

Iron Gate dam blocks 200-250 mi. of historic salmon and steelhead spawning habitat.

Type of proceeding: Hybrid

Threatened/endangered: Coho salmon

Recreational values: Whitewater below JC Boyle dam and powerhouse

Other values: Yurok reservation on lower 44 mi. of river. 70% of the reservation is without electricity- tribal culture and economy depends on healthy fish populations.