chroot said:
Wouldn't the installation of a dam end up producing a (potentially very large) lake behind it? Wouldn't this need considerable environmental study and collaboration with downstream residents and so on? I'm actually curious about the feasability.
- Warren
If the dam were located near the foot bridge, the maximum head might be obtained by doing some dozing work down stream. At that point I have enough storage up-stream to accommodate the water level without backing up water on the adjacent property.
Since it is a seasonal creek and is known not to contain anadromous fish populations, and since I have water rights as it crosses the property, in principle I can do this with almost no regulation. I would need a good number of permits to start but most of those are really just a formality. However, a couple could be sticky, esp mainly when it comes to approval from the neighbors. The next property on either side [up-stream and down-stream] would have to agree to the installation.
Oregon really was encouraging low-head hydro for a while, and part of the economic feasibility was based on the 30% tax credit that was once available. This is not available any longer but I believe that there are still federal tax credits available.
Even though oxygenation of the water is problem with any turbine, apparently low-head systems escape most environmental regulation; presumably since the benefits are believed to outweigh the costs. Note also that by design, the electrical would be isolated from the grid, thus reducing the number of regulations and avoiding the famous $10K safety switch.
Of course the real key here in the backwoods is that you do what you want as long as you don't bother anyone. To tell you the truth, the county officials would probably have a heart attack if I walked in the office with the engineering plans. But for me the other key point is that my experience in the real world tells me that there are too many variables involved here to be certain of how it would work out, and I have never done this because in spite of the numbers, my gut tells me that I won't come out ahead on this one. I keep waiting for a change of heart.
Edit: If we had a five foot water fall I wouldn't hesitate [except perhaps due to cosmetics], but I suspect that maintenance of the creek bed would kill it. I need four feet of effective head or the whole thing falls apart. At that point the turbine's eff curve drops like a rock as it starts to function improperly, and getting those four feet is not only the hardest part of the job, the maintenance requirements afterwards are some of the greatest unknowns. It can be a very dynamic creek; as you can see.
It's my ace in the hole. How do you think I get my way as much as I do? 
