KDRV Staff
 
July 29, 2010
 
GRANTS PASS, Ore. - Demolition of the Rogue River's Gold Ray Dam is underway, and homeowners near the dam are afraid they could be left without water.
 
At least half-a-dozen landowners who live upstream of the dam say they rely on it to fill their wells, the only source of water to their homes, they say.
 
On Wednesday, a federal judge refused to extend a temporary stop-work order sought by a group trying to prevent removal of the century-old, defunct hydroelectric dam.
 
Jackson County officials say no one is certain what will happen to the water levels in the wells when the dam is removed. They believe the reservoir will continue to provide water.
 
If the wells do go dry, the county has said they will work with property owners to find a solution.
 
The county must remove the dam by October 31st. In order for the county to use $5 million in federal stimulus funds for removal, the dam must be out by that date. The money is through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. In September of 2009 Slayden Construction signed a notice of intent with the county to remove the dam. The contract was for just over $5.5 million.
 
Jackson County commissioners voted unanimously in May to use the federal and state funding to remove the 106-year-old dam. Jackson County owns the dam, which was decommissioned as a hydropower facility in 1972.
 
The dam has long been identified by biologists as an obstacle to salmon and steelhead on the Rogue.