Reservoir draw downs drying up wells, leaving residents without water - KEZI TV

Reservoir draw downs drying up wells, leaving residents without water | News | kezi.com
The Army Corps of Engineers is drawing down Green Peter and Lookout Point Reservoirs to help local fish populations, but there have been some unintended consequences.

LOWELL, Ore. – The Army Corps of Engineers has been gradually lowering the levels of Lookout Point and Green Peter Reservoirs since June. Even as the reservoirs are drained, there have been some unintended consequences as nearby residents are seeing their wells dry up.

The goal of the draw down project is to help young Chinook salmon and steelhead populations pass through the reservoirs and get past the dams. But for residents in the area like Larry Nelson, the draw down is hitting their wells.

"Honestly, I was in the shower,” he said. “It went dry, it quit. And I'd just been told a few days before by the neighbor that his well went dry so I thought, 'Oh, don't tell me.' Because I was feeling bad for him."

Nelson said he knew what the problem was instantly, and the dry well started a whole flow of problems for him.

The Army Corps of Engineers is drawing down Lookout Point and Green Peter Reservoirs to record low levels.

"Oh, I was pretty upset,” he said. “I thought-- I just wasn't happy. I thought, 'Oh, there goes a bunch of money. And what do I do next? And where do I get a tank to start hauling water?' All kinds of things."

He has seen the water levels of the reservoir drain over the past few months, and has had to take it upon himself to keep supplying his house with water.

"Every eight to ten days I've got to take my 500 gallon tank, go to Lowell after the water's been treated through their treatment plant and fill my tank up, and drive my trailer back and my containers, then I'm good for eight or ten days,” Nelson said.

Getting the water is the first step. Making it last is a challenge in itself.

The draw down is meant to help young Chinook and steelhead populations move through the reservoirs and get past the dams.

"And we have to really watch the water. We're eating on paper plates, we're using paper cups… Yeah, we're being real conservative with the water."

Nelson said he is okay going out and filling his tank every so often for now. But if this draw down is a continued thing, he will need to do something about it to make sure he has water.

"And you know, can I wait for the water to come back up and get it back this summer? I've heard horror stories where wells go dry, they cave in, you never get your water back,” he said. “And I'm not going to-- I can't wait to find out. I'm going to bite the bullet and put in a 400-foot well."

But just because he has made the decision to get a new well does not mean he is okay with it.

"I got places I'd rather spend that money than something I already have, that I should be using, that I paid for already, that is useless because of the water level,” he said.

KEZI 9 News reached out to the Army Corps of Engineers for more information on the project and their response to the dry wells, but has not heard back as of October 24.