Early Thursday afternoon, three employees of the Carson Hills Dam hydroelectric power plant were performing routine maintenance on the trash rack when the gate malfunctioned and let a rush of water through the dam. The rakes being used by the employees were caught in the current and they were pulled into the blades of the turbine, killing them instantly. The victims were Aaron Pullman, 36; Siobhan Conlee, 28, and Marcus Weaver, 23.

Plant manager Lyle Tanner was put on suspension pending an investigation into the accidental deaths. Employees had reported major mechanical problems with the gate’s electrical systems numerous times over the last six months, but no effort had been made to repair the issues.

The dam is owned by the Carson Hills Electric Department, who have come under fire over the last few years for the rising costs in electricity and repeated instances of extended blackouts. They blamed the unpredictable water levels of Silver Creek River for the blackouts, but former employees have claimed it was due to easily-avoidable operational failures. The company’s public relations representative, Emerson Valley resident Richard Warren, insisted that Mr. Tanner never informed them of the reports about the repairs needed to keep the gate from failing like it did.

“While the Carson Hills Electric Department is saddened by this tragedy and offer our condolences to the victims’ loved ones, we want to make it clear that we had no way of knowing our employees were at risk because Mr. Tanner failed to alert us to the problems. We have launched an investigation into the matter, but it’s pretty clear that Mr. Tanner’s actions are directly responsible for these unfortunate and entirely preventable deaths.”

For his part, Mr. Tanner claims the opposite is true. “I sent them every single report the same day they were made,” he told the Gazette in a phone interview. “I was begging them to just shut the plant down at least long enough to fix the electrical issues with the control system. But they refused every single time and ordered me to do whatever I could to keep it running until our major spring maintenance shutdown. They said it we couldn’t afford any more unscheduled shutdowns, so all of our livelihoods were on the line. I wish I’d taken a stand and refused to work till they fixed the problems, but they’d have just fired me and found someone who would.”

As of this morning, nearly 48% of Carson Hills, 23% of Stonybrook, and 8% of Emerson Valley has been without power since the incident occurred. CHED has asked that its customers remain patient while they work to solve the problem and make the necessary repairs to the systems that led to the deaths.

“Nobody wants to be without power,” Mr. Warren said in his statement to the press. “Just about everything we use needs it. While we’re correcting the issue, we’ll be implementing rolling brownouts. Everyone will be without power for a day, but nobody will have to be without power for more than that. It’s the best anyone can do during such a trying time for the CHED family.”

-Quinn Paxton, Acting Editor-in-Chief, Emerson Valley Gazette