We came a long way in 200 feet.

Few things trump the importance of keeping our water sources safe in the face of natural disasters. So when FERC updated their guidelines to focus on protecting our watersheds during a large earthquake, Duke Energy brought us on board to help them achieve compliance.

With input from a complex set of stakeholders and site constraints, we partnered with Duke to replace their 1920s era Bridgewater Powerhouse with an award-winning facility. We started by working out a plan to comply with the new guidelines, then thoughtfully put the pieces together to balance the priorities of power generation, environmental concerns and recreational water use.

The new facility provides nonstop water flow into the Catawba River and increases flow for recreational needs while using a new aeration process to improve water quality and address environmental requirements. And it does all of this while generating 31.5 MW of clean hydroelectric energy … that’s more than a 50 percent increase from the old powerhouse.