PORTLAND, Ore. -- The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) invites the public to three online information sessions to learn about Willamette Valley dams and reservoirs operating under court-ordered interim injunction measures.
USACE staff will present current status and planned operations in the Willamette Valley System with a focus on the 2024 deep drawdowns at Lookout Point and Green Peter reservoirs.
The court-ordered deep drawdowns at Lookout Point and Green Peter dams occurred for the first time in 2023 to improve fish passage for spring Chinook and winter steelhead.
USACE gathered valuable information from the 2023 deep drawdowns and asked the court to approve revisions to the fall injunction operations for the 2024 Green Peter deep drawdown.
The U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon granted USACE’s proposed revisions on Sept. 24, 2024.
USACE has enhanced outreach coordination with stakeholders for the 2024 deep drawdowns and is regularly communicating with the cities of Albany, Lebanon, Lowell, Sodaville, and Sweet Home.
The USACE Willamette Valley Project Injunction webpage contains background on the injunction and links to real-time reservoir data for the dams operating under injunction measures.
Online Information Session Details
Date: Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2024
Session #1: noon – 1:00 p.m.
Session #2: 5:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Date: Friday, Oct. 11, 2024
Session #3: noon – 1:00 p.m.
Join online: https://usace1.webex.com/usace1/j.php?MTID=m76365654edf175e73457a0803292a29b
Join toll-free by phone: 1-844-800-2712
Meeting number/access code:2822 001 1537
Meeting password: nyDBJE5x?92
USACE encourages questions but asks participants to type the questions in the chat window or send an email with your question(s) and which session you will be attending (#1,#2 or #3) to cenwp-pa@usace.army.mil the day before the meeting you will be attending (Oct. 8 for Session #1 and #2 or Oct. 10 for Session #3 ).
The primary purpose of the Willamette Valley System is flood risk management. Water managers must keep reservoir elevations low to maintain storage space, capture rainfall, and minimize flooding potential through spring. This must be balanced with what seem to be conflicting purposes: refilling the reservoirs before summer for irrigation, hydropower generation, water quality improvement, and recreation.
On September 1, 2021, the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon issued an interim injunction that requires USACE to undertake specified actions to improve fish passage and water quality at several Willamette Valley Project dams for the benefit of Upper Willamette River (UWR) spring Chinook salmon and UWR winter steelhead salmon, both of which are listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.
Water managers continue to operate under 2021 court-ordered injunction measures aimed at improving conditions for endangered fish species. The injunction measures modify operations for improved downstream fish passage and water quality and range from deep reservoir drawdowns to increased spillway releases at various Willamette Valley system dams. View real-time data for all Willamette Valley reservoirs.