PacificCorp’s decision to inspect the Mirror Pond dam is independent of the discussion about the future of the pond, a spokesman said Monday.

At the same time, PacifiCorp spokesman Bob Gravely said a thorough inspection of the dam could produce some of the information necessary to make a decision about the future of the pond. Silt buildup could eventually create mud flats in Mirror Pond, and officials are discussing how to manage this section of the Deschutes River in the future.

PacifiCorp, a Northwest utility that operates as Pacific Power in Oregon, discovered a leak in the dam, which is more than 100 years old, on Wednesday. It was the third leak in the last five years. The utility installed sheet piling to control the previous leaks.

PacifiCorp repaired at least one of the previous leaks without lowering the water level in Mirror Pond, Gravely said.

This time, the water level already dropped significantly due to the leak, and PacifiCorp plans to further lower the water in order to conduct the inspection. The utility has not set a date for the inspection, so it is unclear when the water level will increase in the pond.

“It leaked once, it leaked twice and now this is a third one, so we think this is more of a pattern,” Gravely said. “It’s hard to see it as isolated events when it happened three times in five years … With this third one, we just wanted to take a look at the broader situation, and we also think the community is interested at this point to get a better sense of the future as well,” Gravely said. At the same time, Gravely said, the utility is not conducting the inspection because of discussions about the future of Mirror Pond. “I think we would be doing this anyway,” he said.

Gravely said the decision to inspect the dam is also tied to economics. “Primarily, the cost of power is much lower, so that effects the overall calculations of repairs and continuing to go forward,” Gravely said.

Two local public officials were supposed to meet behind closed doors with PacifiCorp in early September and then report back to the full Mirror Pond ad hoc committee, which was formed to research options for the future of the pond and potentially select a plan. However, one of those officials, City Councilor Mark Capell, said Monday that he and park district Executive Director Don Horton have not met with PacifiCorp.

The six-member Mirror Pond ad hoc committee planned to hold its meetings behind closed doors, in part so that it could meet privately with PacifiCorp representatives. But the ad hoc committee stopped the practice after just one meeting when at least one lawyer said it violated Oregon public meetings law.

Instead, it formed a subcommittee that consists of Capell, Horton and park district lawyer Neil Bryant to meet privately with the utility.

Capell said he did not know about the leak in the dam and the drop in water levels until he read about them in Saturday’s edition of The Bulletin. Capell said he hopes to meet with PacifiCorp representatives by the end of this month.

“I have no way of knowing what they’re thinking because we haven’t met,” Capell said.

Gravely said the meeting was delayed because Horton is traveling.

The Oregon Water Resources Department manages rivers and other bodies of water. Kyle Gorman, south central region manager with the Oregon Water Resources Department, said the utility does not require permission from his agency to lower the water level.

“What they want to do as far as lowering the water to go in and inspect would be routine, and I don’t see why our department would object,” Gorman said.

PacifiCorp was not even required to notify the state of the leak and subsequent drop in the water level of Mirror Pond, but the utility did so as a courtesy, Gorman said.