As the last of the four key elements of the Penobscot River restoration effort to be implemented, the Howland hydroelectric station (21’ hydraulic height, 570’ spillway) on the Piscataquis River was decommissioned including powerhouse demolition, with a major fish bypass channel constructed around the spillway.

Looking upstream at the bypass channel just after construction.

Mike Burke (left) and Nick Nelson (right) measure water velocity in the bypass channel. The 100-foot wide and 1000-feet long bypass channel was required to provide a high level of service, stability and function over a broad range in design flows spanning from 250 cfs to nearly 12,000 cfs in the bypass channel alone.