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News Releases

  • Corps extends public comment period for proposed Willamette Valley System 30-year plan

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Portland District (Corps) has extended the deadline from Jan. 19 to Feb. 23 for public feedback on its proposed 30-year plan for the operation and maintenance of 13 dams and reservoirs across the Willamette River Basin.

  • Corps seeking public comment on proposed 30-year plan for Willamette Valley System

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Portland District (Corps) is asking for public feedback now through Jan. 19 on its proposed 30-year plan for the operation and maintenance of its system of 13 dams and reservoirs across the Willamette River Basin.

  • Corps’ hurricane response mission finds new home in Portland

    As Hurricane Ian made landfall in Florida Sept. 28, more than a dozen volunteers with the Portland District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers prepared for a new mission: taking calls from those affected by the natural disaster.

  • Winter recreational lock schedule begins Sept. 15 on Lower Columbia

    Motorized recreational boaters who need to pass through the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ (Corps’) three lower Columbia River dams must do so during daylight hours only, upon request, Sept. 15 through May 14, 2023.

  • 9,200 buckets later, Corps dredging halfway complete at Gold Beach

    A giant bucket – the size of a 1970s Volkswagen bus – swings through the air after it gobbles up 20 cubic yards of gravel blocking (shoaling-in) access to parts of the Port of Gold Beach, Ore. The small community on the southern coast, where the Rogue River meets the Pacific Ocean, doesn’t have much, but it has a port that sees upwards of 35,000 visitors per year for jet boat tours and averages 75-100 fishing boats a day, according to port officials.

  • Port managers, Army engineers agree to $2.1 million study

    Leadership from the Ports of Longview and Kalama, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have agreed to fund an estimated $2.1 million study. The study will investigate what changes or improvements engineers can make to turning basins in the Columbia River to help larger, deeper-drafting vessels, safely navigate when turning.

  • Commerce flows normally after Army engineers repair John Day Lock

    Commerce is now moving normally along the Columbia River and through John Day Lock after Army engineers completed repairs to damaged guide wheels by 12:30 p.m., August 5. Technicians originally discovered damage to a lower guide wheel on July 25, which initially closed the lock, and then slowed traffic at that point in the river.

  • Heat wave fuels needless drownings, boating deaths in Oregon

    Drownings and boating-related deaths needlessly continue claiming lives in Oregon, recently fueled by a heat wave. The Oregon State Marine Board (OSMB) reported 19 boating-related fatalities in 2021 and the Oregon Health Authority recorded 57 drownings in natural waters in 2020, which is 160% increase from 2019 (35 drownings). Life jackets may have prevented many of these deaths.

  • Damage closes John Day Lock, slows Columbia River traffic

    A broken portion of John Day Lock and Dam’s upstream navigation lock gate has slowed river traffic through that portion of the Columbia River.

  • Hydropower offers stability during heat waves

    Hydropower dams do not produce emissions like fossil-fuel burning resources, making the Northwest’s power system the cleanest in the nation. Dams can also ramp up and down within minutes or seconds, making them very nimble and flexible during heat waves and cold snaps.