The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) will host three public online information sessions regarding Willamette Valley dams and reservoirs operating under court-ordered interim injunction measures.
USACE staff will present current status and planned operations in the Willamette Valley System with a focus on the 2024 deep drawdowns at Lookout Point and Green Peter reservoirs on Oct. 9 and 11. The court-ordered deep drawdowns at Lookout Point and Green Peter dams occurred for the first time in 2023 to improve fish passage for spring Chinook and winter steelhead.
USACE gathered valuable information from the 2023 deep drawdowns and asked the court to approve revisions to the fall injunction operations for the 2024 Green Peter deep drawdown. The U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon granted USACE’s proposed revisions on Sept. 24, 2024.
USACE has enhanced outreach coordination with stakeholders for the 2024 deep drawdowns and is regularly communicating with the cities of Albany, Lebanon, Lowell, Sodaville and Sweet Home. The USACE Willamette Valley Project Injunction webpage contains background on the injunction and links to real-time reservoir data for the dams operating under injunction measures.
Online Information Session Details
Date: Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2024; Session #1: 12-1 p.m.; Session #2: 5-6 p.m.
Date: Friday, Oct. 11, 2024; Session #3: 12-1 p.m.
Join online at https://usace1.webex.com/usace1/j.php?MTID=m76365654edf175e73457a0803292a29b
or toll-free by phone at 1.844.800.2712. Meeting number/access code is 2822 001 1537; Password is nyDBJE5x?92.
USACE encourages questions but asks participants to type the questions in the chat window or send an email with your question(s) and which session you will be attending (#1,#2 or #3) to [email protected] the day before the meeting you will be attending (Oct. 8 for Session #1 and #2 and Oct. 10 for Session #3 ).
The primary purpose of the Willamette Valley System is flood risk management. Water managers must keep reservoir elevations low to maintain storage space, capture rainfall and minimize flooding potential through spring. This must be balanced with what seem to be conflicting purposes: refilling the reservoirs before summer for irrigation, hydropower generation, water quality improvement and recreation.
On Sept. 1, 2021, the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon issued an interim injunction that requires USACE to undertake specified actions to improve fish passage and water quality at several Willamette Valley Project dams for the benefit of Upper Willamette River (UWR) spring Chinook salmon and UWR winter steelhead salmon, both of which are listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.
Water managers continue to operate under 2021 court-ordered injunction measures aimed at improving conditions for endangered fish species. The injunction measures modify operations for improved downstream fish passage and water quality and range from deep reservoir drawdowns to increased spillway releases at various Willamette Valley system dams. View real-time data for all Willamette Valley reservoirs at nwd-wc.usace.army.mil/nwp/teacup/willamette/.
Additional information meeting
A separate, additional meeting will be hosted by the South Santiam Watershed in conjunction with staff from USACE on Thursday, Oct. 10, at 6 p.m. at the Sweet Home High School’s auditorium, 1641 Long St.
The planned operations in 2024 are different than they were in 2023, and community members will have questions about those changes, what they might mean for fish, for drinking water and for the well-being of the larger watershed. This community meeting is not part of a public process, but rather a time for folks who have questions and want to better understand what’s happening in the South Santiam basin to gather. For those not able to make it, a summary of questions and answers will be posted on their website the following week at https://sswc.org/.