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Author: Tom Conning, Public Affairs Office
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  • June

    Roger Schlough, Bonneville Lock and Dam crane operator, navigates a canoe down the Long Tom River in the Willamette Valley, June 13. Schlough floated the river with about 20 others from the Portland District, the Long Tom Watershed Council and a private citizen to get a better understanding of the challenges and issues of maintaining the channel.

    Float trip conveys canoers, concerns on Corps-altered river

    After the alterations, the Long Tom River was straighter, deeper, wider and, combined with an upstream dam, reduced flood risks to the downstream communities. In the years that followed, the Corps managed the river by balancing flood risk and environmental stewardship with less and less funding for maintenance.
  • An aerial view of flooding along the Willamette River during the Flood of 1996. The Eugene and Springfield area could look like this if Cougar Dam completely failed.

    Living with dams: deluge an ever-present possibility

    If Cougar were to completely fail, that water would rush 60 miles down the McKenzie River, washing away everything in its path, until it reached the Eugene and Springfield area. The deluge could make Eugene and Springfield look like Corvallis, Oregon City and Portland after the Flood of 1996; although no dams failed during that event. That image, and the desire to do everything possible to keep it from becoming reality, was the backdrop for a recent inspection at Cougar Dam, May 24.