April 13, 2020: The Low Impact Hydropower Institute has received a complete application for Low Impact Certification of the Dwight Hydroelectric Project.  LIHI is seeking public comment on this application.  Specifically, we are interested in knowing whether you think the Project meets the LIHI Low Impact Certification Criteria, as revised in the 2nd Edition Handbook.  Please review the program and criteria in LIHI’s revised Manualy luego revise los materiales de solicitud del Proyecto a continuación.

Comentarios que están directamente relacionados con criterios específicos de LIHI (caudales, calidad del agua, paso de peces, etc.) serán de gran ayuda, pero se considerarán todos los comentarios. Los comentarios pueden enviarse al Instituto por correo electrónico a comentarios@lowimpacthydro.org con “Comentarios del Proyecto Dwight” en la línea de asunto, o por correo dirigido al Low Impact Hydropower Institute, 329 Massachusetts Avenue, Suite 6, Lexington, MA 02420.  Los comentarios deben recibirse antes de las 5 p. m., hora del Este, el 12 de junio de 2020 Se considerarán todos los comentarios. Se publicarán en el sitio web y el solicitante tendrá la oportunidad de responder. También se publicarán todas las respuestas.

Descripción del proyecto:

The Dwight Project (Comisión Federal de Comercio No. 10675, exempt) is located in the City of Chicopee in Hampden County, Massachusetts, at approximate river mile 1.2 on the Chicopee River.

The project works include a stone masonry presa with a crest elevation of 77.0 feet (Vehículo motorizado nacional), an impoundment, a canal headgate house, a power canal, an intake structure for three operable tuberías forzadas, a central eléctrica with three operable turbine/generating units, a tailrace channel (44.5 feet NGVD) and appurtenant facilities.

The dam, which was built ca. 1860, and consists of a 306-foot-long aliviadero and abutments.  The northern contrafuerte is constructed of cut stone and measures approximately 12 feet by 25 feet.  The stone masonry overflow spillway is 15 feet high by 306 feet long, with a permanent crest elevation of 77.0 feet.  The southern abutment is also constructed of cut stone, measures approximately 9 feet by 23 feet, and also serves as the north abutment of the headgate house.  The dam creates and impoundment extending approximately 1,500 feet upstream with a surface area is approximately 32 acres.The canal headgate house is a brick structure on a concrete foundation, housing the six intake puertas that control the flow from the impoundment to the power canal.  The southern abutment of the canal headgate house is constructed of cut granite.  The six cabeza gates are all of timber construction, 5.5 feet-high by 8-feet wide. Each gate is equipped with a motor-driven rack and pinion operator.

The 80-foot-wide power canal extends 1,500 feet from the compuertas de entrada hacia compuerta intake structure.  The power canal extends another 1,500 feet further downstream where historically other industrial water users on the canal diverted the water from the downstream end of the canal.  The south wall of the canal is of concrete and masonry construction while the north wall is formed from masonry and rock ledge.  The canal is about 6 to 8-feet deep during normal operation.

The intake structure is constructed of concrete and measures approximately 69 feet by 22 feet.  Steel trashracks span 54 feet of the north wall of the canal, across the three operable penstocks.  A rail-mounted trash rake traverses the intake.  Three float-activated, wooden, 8-feet-diameter gates are operated by rack-and-pinion operators. Three operable penstocks lead through a manufacturing complex to the existing units at the Project.  The steel penstocks are 7 feet in diameter and 168 feet long.

The powerhouse was built in 1920 to contain three turbines-generator units that replaced the existing hydromechanical units at the site.  The present generating capacity is 1.464 MW.  The powerhouse was shut down in 1973, pending extensive repairs and was rehabilitated in 1980.  The powerhouse was again shutdown in September 2013 and was not returned to full-time service until December 2016.  The powerhouse contains three S. Morgan Smith turbines each with a nameplate capacity of 488 kW for a total capacity of 1.464 MW, averaging 3,493 MWh per year.

Archivos

• 01A_Dwight Certification Application – REVISED
• Attachments 02-21
• Attachments 22-31
• Attachments 32-38
• Attachments 39-43
• Attachments 43A-63
• Attachments 64-84
• MDFW Dwight LIHI comments
• CRC comments Dwight LIHI 06-12-20