Over the past year, Copper Valley Electric Association's Gavin Blood has started taking regular dips in the frigid waters of Solomon Lake near Valdez, Alaska.

But Blood's no thrill-seeker. Clad in rubber hip or chest waders, thermals “and lots of layers," the plant operator trainee is learning to “stream gage," measuring flow volumes and taking sensor readings at the Solomon Gulch hydroelectric plant to ensure it's operating efficiently.

It's chilly work even during summer, when temperatures in Solomon Lake barely top 40 degrees Fahrenheit.

“There aren't very many times in Alaska that anyone jumps in the water and says, 'Oh, it's nice and warm,'" Blood says.

Blood is one of several operations crew members at the 3,900-member, Glenallen-based co-op assigned to the quarterly task of stream gaging at Solomon Gulch, a 12-megawatt hydroelectric project, and at the 6.7-MW run-of-river Allison Creek hydroelectric project.

It's a job the co-op used to outsource to a contractor for the U.S. Geological Survey.

“Now we get real-time data immediately," says Power Generation Manager Steve Williams. “Before, you had to wait quite a while to get data from the USGS website."

DIY stream gaging means the co-op can quickly determine several things, including whether the facility's water flow meets federal guidelines and if recording instruments are working properly. And it also saves members money.

“By having the guys in-house, if we decided today that the conditions were right and we needed to do a stream gage, we're not flying somebody up from the Lower 48, having them drive four hours from the airport in Anchorage and then paying for housing," Williams says.

The co-op started training crews to stream gage around 2020 at the suggestion of McMillan, the company that built the Allison Creek project in 2016.

“Once it was in operation, they sent techs for a few years after," says Solomon Gulch Chief Plant Operator Kyle Anderson. “A tech told us we could do it ourselves and offered to train us."

With the rapids of Allison Creek surrounding them, McMillan techs showed CVEA plant operators where to find the plant's multiple sensors and how to capture and record their data. McMillan checked the co-op's work and, if necessary, adjusted formulas to recalibrate recording equipment.

Eventually, the CVEA crews “graduated" to the larger Solomon Gulch project, a more complex task that involves surveying the river bottom, installing sensors and designating and benchmarking sensors for surface water elevation reads.

“The process wasn't very difficult, but we still use McMillan for data processing and assistance with setting value equations for our sensor calibrations," Williams says.

One hurdle: fitting training into busy schedules amid the vagaries of Mother Nature. If water levels are too high or there's ice, crews can't safely reach the measuring points.

“This takes extra planning and monitoring of flows to ensure we get enough reads per year," Anderson says. “The person performing the measurements must wade in the river for 35 to 45 minutes, and during poor weather this can be challenging."

The experience is rewarding for crews because it diversifies their skillsets and gives them a change of scenery, Williams says.

“Sometimes you want to get outside and get out of here a little bit. And most of the guys are very happy to do that."

“We pride ourselves in performing as much work in-house as we can," he says. “We like to get our guys trained up on all aspects of our work because everything we do in-house saves the co-op and the membership money."