News Release Archive

Flooding Halts Power Generating at Elephant Butte Plant

Media Contact: Mary Perea, (505) 462-3576, mperea@uc.usbr.gov

For Release: August 22, 2005

ELEPHANT BUTTE, N.M. - A rainstorm that dropped between two and three inches of rain in an hour Sunday night near the Elephant Butte Reservoir has forced the Bureau of Reclamation to stop generating power at its plant downstream from the dam.

Culverts in the area were unable to handle the water as it rushed down the canyon and eventually flooded the parking area near the power plant. The system automatically shut down as water gushed under the door and soaked the electric system. This triggered an emergency notice to Reclamation employees, who arrived just after midnight to find two feet of muddy water blocking the power plant door. They worked through that to enter the soaked power plant.

"We can't get back on the grid with the power plant because our transformers are all wet," Galan Hanson, Facility Manager at Reclamation's Elephant Butte office said Monday. The small plant generates about 29,000 kilowatts of power that is marketed by the Western Area Power Administration. Officials there were notified Monday that the plant would be off the grid for about two weeks, Hanson said.

Two generators are being used to provide power to the plant. Much of the facility had been cleaned by Monday afternoon. Transformers that were soaked will be taken apart, inspected and dried out. A worst-case scenario might require them to be sent out for repair. Hanson said a review of records since the plant was built in the 1940s showed no similar situations of flooding. "The thunderstorm moved in over the area and just dumped on us," he said.

Reporters or photographers wishing to visit the site should contact Mary Perea at the Bureau of Reclamation's Albuquerque Area Office to coordinate a visit.

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The Bureau of Reclamation is a federal agency under the U.S. Department of the Interior and is the nation's largest wholesale water supplier and second largest producer of hydroelectric power. Our facilities also provide substantial flood control, recreation opportunities, and environmental benefits. Visit our website at https://www.usbr.gov and follow us on Twitter @USBR; Facebook @bureau.of.reclamation; LinkedIn @Bureau of Reclamation; Instagram @bureau_of_reclamation; and YouTube @reclamation.