Gov. Newsom latest to tour the Siskiyou site where crews are tearing down four huge dams

With less than four months left before all four dams on the Klamath River are removed, California Gov. Gavin Newsom visited Siskiyou County on Wednesday to check on the progress of what is being called the nation's largest-ever dam removal project.

Newsom visited what is left of Iron Gate Dam and the former locations of Copco Dams No. 1 and No. 2. He was joined by top state officials from the Department of Fish and Wildlife, the California Environmental Protection Agency and the Natural Resources Agency.

Members of the Shasta Indian Nation tribe, which once had villages on the river where the dams were located, also joined in the tour with the governor.

"It's been on our radar from day one. And so, here we are five years later and now we're just five or six months away from this thing coming out," Newsom said in an interview with the Record Searchlight.

Below the overlook at Iron Gate Dam site, heavy equipment moved back and forth, digging up and hauling away the soil and rock that composed the earthen dam.

Soil used to build the dam was taken from a nearby hill when Iron Gate was built in the early 1960s. The dirt and rocks from the dam were being excavated from the dam and returned to the hill where it came from, according to Daniel Petersen, project manager for Kiewit Corp., the contractor in charge of the deconstruction.

At Copco Dam No. 2, there was little evidence remaining that a diversion dam once existed at the location.

There were the remnants of a retaining wall, high on the walls of the river canyon, anti-erosion material and riprap rocks lining another portion of the river where the 33-foot-tall Copco Dam once stood. A tunnel that diverted water from the river was no longer visible.

The governor last visited the river in December 2022, when the $500 million dam removal project was getting underway. Half the money used to pay for the project comes from a bond being repaid by the state and the other half is being paid for from a surcharge on ratepayers that purchase utilities from PacifiCorps.

The Klamath River Renewal Corporation, which is overseeing the project, hopes to have all four dams removed from the river by the end of September, said Mark Bransom, CEO of the corporation.

Newsom said he was happy to see the project finishing up.

"That's a powerful thing at a time when we're so consumed situationally with power, dominance and aggression in our personalized politics. This is a sustainable framework that I think just sort of softens the edges a little bit for everyone," he said.

There has been some edgy opposition to removing the dams, though.

The Iron Gate Dam, Copco Dams No. 1 and No. 2 and the J.C. Boyle Dam are being removed to improve conditions on the river for spawning salmon and steelhead.

During the hot summers, harmful algae blooms in the reservoirs and in the river were not uncommon. And fish in the river were prone to infections from parasites in the water when the river level ran warm, low and slow during the hot summers, said Ren Brownell, a spokeswoman for the renewal corporation.

Native American tribes in the area — such as the Karuk, Yurok and Shasta — supported the dam removal, as the river and the fishery are an integral part of their culture.

Bransom said the river below the Copco No. 2 Dam was nearly drained, as the dam was used to divert water from the river for generating hydroelectric power.

Brownell said that in recent years the dams produced very little power and none of it was used by Siskiyou County residents.

"It's outlived its usefulness, in terms of its economic benefits. And now we're restoring it, I think, in a way where Mother Nature approves," Newsom said.

Note to readers: If you enjoy the work we do here at the Redding Record Searchlight, please consider subscribing yourself or giving the gift of a subscription to someone you know.

Even though the dam removal was seen as a boon to the salmon and steelhead fishery, there was widespread opposition to the project by Siskiyou County officials and residents.

"They're the ones directly impacted. I respect that. And I think what I'm hearing today — and another reason it's good to come in and hear firsthand and check in — is I think they've been hurt and they've been listened to. It doesn't mean that everybody's happy and gets everything they want. But the fact is, it's an iterative process. It's a two-way conversation, not a one-way conversation," Newsom said.

There have been reports of some wildlife incidents on the river since the dam removal project started, including reports of wildlife becoming stuck in the mud after the dams were breached and the reservoirs were drawn down.

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife released 830,000 hatchery-raised salmon into the river in February, but a large number of them were killed by what officials called "gas bubble disease" when the fish passed through a tunnel at the base of Iron Gate Dam.

The Siskiyou County Board of Supervisors, which has long opposed the dam removal, passed a resolution in March declaring a local emergency and warning of the dangers in the river due to alleged toxic chemicals in the water from breaching the dams.

The resolution warns the public not to come in contact with the water and says the "increased turbidity and sediment transport occurring during the drawdown phase of the project has resulted in public and environmental health concerns related to heavy metals and other undesirable water quality constituents."

The county has also asked the state to do monthly water quality testing in the river and of residential groundwater wells in the area around the river.

Brownell said she disagreed with the interpretation of the test results the county had done, as the county obtained results from water quality testing in the river in January when turbidity was highest. But even then, water in the river was safe to come in contact with.

She also said drinking water in the river was not an issue because only the California Department of Transportation was taking water from the river for drinking, and the agency suspended pumping before the dams were removed.

Caltrans has resumed taking drinking water from the river, but treats it before it is available for people to drink, she said. All surface water from any stream or river used for drinking must be treated to make it safe and meet state and federal standards, she said.

Many of the chemicals ― including arsenic and other heavy metals ― cited by the county occur naturally in the river, she said.

Jacqueline Nushi, who lives along the Klamath River just south of the Iron Gate Dam site, said there was intense opposition to the project, but with the dam removal nearly complete, resistance seems to be dying down.

"I just feel like we all need to just take a deep breath, let nature return the way it was and move forward with what we have," she said.

Nushi said she could understand why residents who lived along the shores of the reservoirs would be upset to lose the lake access and views.

Since the reservoirs were drained, "there's nothing. It's just dirt all the way down. It actually reminds me a little bit of the Grand Canyon and the Colorado River, but not as great," Nushi said.

She said the river seems murkier now that the dams have been removed and silt washes downstream, but birds, otter and other wildlife also are returning to the river.

Bransom said it will take about two years for the silt that built up behind the dams to continue to dilute and wash downstream. In the meantime, the renewal corporation also plans to replant trees and other vegetation along the riverbank to restore the stream to how it looked before the dams were built.

"In my humble opinion, when this is done. I can't conceive that it doesn't drive property values anywhere but up, ultimately," Newsom said.

Reporter Damon Arthur welcomes story tips at 530-338-8834, by email at damon.arthur@redding.com and on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @damonarthur_RS . Help local journalism thrive by subscribing today !

This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: Gov. Newsom latest to tour the Siskiyou site where crews are tearing down four huge dams