January 31, 2024, Vancouver, BC, Canada – The Klamath River Renewal Project has reached a major milestone in January 2024, with all four dams now breached and the start of drawdowns for the reservoirs.

For nearly five years, Knight Piésold has been working closely with the prime contractor Kiewit Infrastructure West Co. (Kiewit) as their prime civil design partner, under a progressive design-build contract with the project owner Klamath River Renewal Corporation (KRRC).

“We are incredibly proud to be part of a collaborative effort with Kiewit and KRRC to bring the largest dam removal and restoration project in U.S. history to completion,” said Sam Mottram, Project Principal at Knight Piésold. “Our team was involved in developing innovative designs for the safe decommissioning of this massive, multifaceted project, and we are continuing to assist with dam removal works this year.”

The project involves the removal of the J.C. Boyle, Copco No. 1, Copco No. 2, and Iron Gate dams, located along Klamath River in southern Oregon and northern California. The four aging dams, which were built between 1918 and 1962, impound water for hydroelectric facilities with a combined capacity of 163 MW.

Once complete, over 400 stream-miles of the Klamath River will be reconnected, restoring fish passage to historic habitat and spawning grounds.

KRRC and Swiftwater Films have released the following videos that show breaches of the four dams: 

• Dam breach video of the J.C. Boyle dam
• Dam breach video of the Copco No. 1 dam
• Timelapse video of the dam removal of the Copco No. 2 dam
• Video of the modified diversion tunnel opening at the Iron Gate dam

For more information about the project and recent updates, visit KRRC’s project website.