J.C. Boyle Dam Site

J.C. Boyle Dam, originally named Big Bend Dam, was an earthfill dam with a concrete spillway that included three gate structures. The dam diverted the river into a suspended pipe and a concrete canal that delivered nearly off the the river's flow to a downstream powerhouse with two turbines that provided a total generation capacity of up to 98.7 MW. The river was dewatered between the dam and powerhouse, ponly lowing during special spill events or unusually high winter flows.

The J.C. Boyle Dam, part of the Klamath River Hydroelectric Project, was issued its original federal license in 1954. Construction began in 1956 and it was completed in 1958. The project license expired in 2006. On January 16, 2024, the dam was breached with an explosive charge to open a low level outlet and the JC Boyle Reservoir was completely drained. The dam was fully removed by September 2024, with river and reservoir footprint restoration ongoing.