Mission Successful: travel gate testing at Buffalo Bill Dam in Wyoming complete

The Wyoming Area Office completed a full travel gate testing at Buffalo Bill Dam outside of Cody, Wyoming, Aug. 22-24, according to an email from the Bureau of Reclamation.

“The last time that we did a full travel test at this facility was in 2015,” said Mark Skoric, Big Horn Basin Facilities Manager. “We were delayed one year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so we are excited to complete the testing.”

The Reclamation employees perform full travel testing on Buffalo Bill's two spillway gates every six years to check that the 28-foot by 20-foot stainless steel faced gates are working correctly and release water from Buffalo Bill Reservoir.

While the full travel test is done in six-year intervals, Reclamation does a 10% test yearly to ensure everything is in working order. This mandated testing integrates Operations and Maintenance work activities alongside Reclamation’s Safety of Dams Program.

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The Reclamation employees of Buffalo Bill Dam began preparing for the test in August. First the water from the reservoir was cut off by lifting massive steel logs with rubber seals down the upstream face of the spillway structure, closing the flow of water to the gates.

Once the stop logs were in place, the void immediately behind the spillway gate was drained and the differential pressure created pressed the stop logs in place. The gates were able to maneuver freely after the water was drained.

The employees and engineer teams then maneuvered the gate fully open. While the gate was moving, it was timed and visually inspected. The gate was checked for deterioration, the rubber seal condition was inspected, and the massive hydraulic cylinder was inspected as it lifted the load.

Upon completion, the team closed the gate, refilled the void behind it, and relieving the pressure, lifted the stop logs out of place, and began the same process on the second gate.

“All in all, we had a successful and safe examination on both gates,” said Skoric. “Both are fully operational and doing what they need to do to ensure water flows from Buffalo Bill Dam when required.”

"The planning, safe execution, and examination exemplify the careful dedication Reclamation brings to ensure water is reliably delivered to the state of Wyoming and the American West", said the Bureau of Reclamation.

Buffalo Bill Dam, on the Shoshone River about 4 miles upstream from Cody, Wyoming. The structural height is 350 feet and the volume is 87,515 cubic yards. It is one of the first high concrete dams built in the United States. The reservoir impounds 646,565 acre-feet of water.