Oregon Public Broadcasting

The city of Klamath Falls is expecting the state to lend it more than $1 million next year to replace aging geothermal piping.

Since 1981, Klamath Falls has used the cheap, renewable energy from deep within the earth’s crust to heat some city buildings.

Randy Travis is the city’s water and geothermal supervisor.

Travis says the old pipes leak hot water, which isn’t dangerous but is costly and less efficient.

Randy Travis: “I am probably more excited than anything, because this will make the geothermal system much more reliable. As part of this project, this gives us the opportunity to potentially allow for expansion of the system as well.”

The city’s geothermal system pays for itself, with money left over to pay for maintenance.

That extra money will be used to pay off the $1.5 million loan from the Oregon Economic and Community Development Department.