Corps studying whether to drop hydropower at 9 Willamette Valley dams to help fish passage - Statesman Journal

Corps studying whether to drop hydropower at 9 Willamette Valley dams

Corps studying whether to drop hydropower at 9 Willamette Valley dams to help fish passage
Zach Urness

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is studying the possibility of ending hydropower production at its system of dams in the Willamette River Basin.

The federal agency manages the dams and reservoirs, mostly located on tributaries east of Salem and Eugene, primarily for flood control. But the dams are also used for water storage, recreation and hydropower. Collectively, nine dams in the Willamette system can produce a combined 500 megawatts of hydropower, or enough to power 300,000 homes.

In 2022, Congress asked the Corps to “assess the future of hydropower” in the Willamette Valley, and specifically, whether the agency should remove hydropower at one or more of the dams.

The Corps is holding a virtual public meeting Wednesday from noon to 1 p.m. and Thursday from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. The virtual sessions will include time for questions from the public.

The Corps is in the process of planning the long-term future and mission of the system of 13 dams and reservoirs. The dams won’t be removed, but they are being retrofit with the goal of improving the passage of endangered spring chinook salmon and winter steelhead.

One way to improve fish passage through the dams is to drop the reservoirs to historically low levels so the fish can swim through outlets at the bottom of the dams. That action is already taking place at Fall Creek, Green Peter, Cougar and Lookout Point reservoirs. But dropping reservoirs that low makes producing hydropower difficult, if not impossible.

More: Explore Oregon Podcast: A 'fish taxi' and a billion-dollar plan to save endangered salmon

Travis Williams, executive director of the environmental group Willamette Riverkeeper, said dropping hydropower in the Willamette was a good move that would give the agency better flexibility at dams to move wild fish through its system.

“Discontinuing hydropower generation makes sense at these Corps dams,” Williams said. “They do not produce a lot of power compared to the other Corps dams in the Columbia Basin, given they were first and foremost constructed for flood control.

“Eliminating hydropower would increase needed flexibility in relation to improving fish passage, which is critical to restoring wild salmon in the Willamette system.”

Nine of the Willamette Valley dams generate hydroelectricity from the power of water passing through the dams. Eight of these facilities are owned and operated by the Corps, and one is a private facility licensed by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

Later this year, the Corps will host separate public listening sessions, during which the public can provide their perspective on the future of hydropower across the Corps’ Willamette Valley system of dams. The Corps will record the comments during those sessions and include them in its report to Congress to help inform Congress’ decision-making process. The dates of these future sessions will be published on the Portland District website.

To join the public meetings via Webex, follow this link: https://usace1.webex.com/meet/WVSHydropower-WRDA22-InformationSession.

To listen in via phone, call U.S. Toll Free: 1-844-800-2712 and use the access Code: 1998 06 7062

Zach Urness has been an outdoors reporter in Oregon for 15 years and is host of the Explore Oregon Podcast. To support his work, subscribe to the Statesman Journal. Urness is the author of “ Best Hikes with Kids: Oregon” and “ Hiking Southern Oregon.” He can be reached at zurness@StatesmanJournal.com or (503) 399-6801. Find him on Twitter at @ZachsORoutdoors.