The proposed project is located 11 miles northeast of Klamath Falls, Oregon. Renewable electricity stored at the facility would be transmitted from the powerhouse along a 32.8-mile-long, 230-kilovolt (kV) aboveground transmission line to interconnect with the Malin Substation.
Team Members
Swan Lake North Hydro LLC
Stantec
Crux Subsurface
Crux’s Role
Crux was contracted to provide challenging access geotechnical exploration services to support design for the future pumped storage project. The scope involved drilling and sampling 25 borings to depths between 30 and 110 feet. Three of the borings were angled and the remaining 22 were vertical. Crux performed permeability testing and downhole imaging at select borings and installed vibrating wire piezometers in two.
Access to the borings was challenging and involved a combination of helicopter and track. Higher than average snow levels created muddy conditions, and required different means of access than originally anticipated. Crux worked with the client to select the most efficient means of accessing each boring. Additional challenges included drilling through fractured and disjointed rock, which resulted in lost circulation and core blockages during drilling. Crux crews took the time to adjust drilling techniques appropriately, ultimately providing 100% recovery to the client.