The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers built Blue River Dam and Reservoir in 1969 to manage flood risks from the McKenzie River, a tributary of the Willamette River, east of Eugene, Oregon. It is one 13 dams and reservoirs in the Willamette Valley System and has helped the Corps reduce the severity of floods, which saves the region an estimated one billion dollars per year. Portland District is commemorating the 50th anniversary of the system, this year.
Portland, Ore. - Blue River Dam is a heavy collection of rock, 270 feet high and more than 1,200 feet long. It, along with Cougar Dam, another massive rock-fill structure, work in coordination to provide flood risk management along the McKenzie River, a tributary of the Willamette River.
This year, Blue River Dam turns 50-years-old, and marks the 50th commemoration of the completion of the entire system of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ 13 dams in Oregon’s Willamette Valley, which has been systematically protecting people, infrastructure and a way-of-life since 1969.
Flood control was the main driver behind the multiple purpose development of the Willamette River Basin after World War II. The Flood Control Act of 1938...
Salmon face predation and flooding inundates eggs with too much water, whereas drought leaves them dry. Human irrigation practices can dewater habitats, pollute or return water that is too warm into those environments. Likewise, harsh currents can wash fry away or leave them stranded when water levels recede, and the threats from birds and other fish never cease.
For several months, Jeff Ament has been watching tension simmer along the banks of the North Santiam River, as it churns and empties its frustrations into the Willamette River as residents voice a mix of anxieties about a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ project at Detroit Dam.
The proposed project, a temperature control tower and fish collection facility, will provide temperature regulation and fish passage through the dam for endangered...
An upcoming Corps construction project at Detroit Lake, Oregon has been generating buzz around the region because of its potential impacts on thousands of Willamette Valley residents.
This project, like many U.S. Army Corps of Engineers fish-related projects in the valley, is part of a broader effort to reduce the effects of Corps-operated dams on winter steelhead and spring Chinook salmon. Both species are listed under the Endangered...
