Commerce Flows Normally After John Day Lock Repaired
Commerce is now moving normally along the Columbia River and through John Day Lock after U.S. 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.The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was able to re-open the lock to river traffic on July 26 by using a floating bulkhead. However, a tug had to move…
John Day Dam Storing Water to Minimize Lower Columbia River Flooding
Federal water managers are changing release and storage schedules at several Pacific Northwest dams because of a late season and strong atmospheric river that began June 9. Significant amounts of rainfall have fallen across the Columbia River Basin filling reservoirs and rivers.To assist in managing river stages at Vancouver, Wash., the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Northwestern Division, is increasing storage behind the John Day Dam in Eastern Oregon. Where most dams on the Columbia and lower Snake rivers are “run of river” projects…
Corps Cited for Spills on Rivers
More than 33 oil spills from nine dams on the Columbia and Snake rivers have prompted the Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology) to take enforcement action against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Ecology issued a notice of violation today that lists the state oil spill and clean-water laws that have been violated. It also cites the Corps for insufficiently training and preparing staff to respond to oil spills, and it describes the potential that exists for further spills from the nine hydropower dams the Corps operates on the river system. Spills were reported for the following dams from 1999 to 2004: Bonneville, The Dalles, John Day, Chief Joseph, McNary, Lower Monumental, Ice Harbor, Little Goose and Lower Granite.
