Introduction
We have established this site to keep you informed about the U.S. Army’s Corps of Engineers responsibilities and obligations at the entrance to Tillamook Bay. The Corps is charged by Congress to support navigation by maintaining and improving channels across the Nation.
As part of this mission, the Corps is authorized by Congress to maintain an 18-foot-deep channel over the ocean bar at the entrance of Tillamook Bay and an 18-foot-deep channel, which is three miles long and 200 feet wide, from Miami Cove to the entrance. The channel is supported by two jetties that together act like a pinched water hose nozzle to flush sediment out the narrow entrance and into deeper water. The jetties help the Tillamook Bay channel to maintain its depth of 18 feet at the entrance with little or no maintenance from the Corps.
The Corps’ history at Tillamook Bay dates back to the 1890s when improvements were undertaken. Congress authorized a permanent project in 1912. The congressionally authorized depth of the channel is currently 18 feet. The Corps surveys the channel annually, and since 1976, the surveys have shown the channel to be well within the authorized depths. So, dredging has not been necessary under our Congressional authority. Surveys of the Tillamook Channel, conducted the week of June 23, showed that the Tillamook Bay channel is maintaining itself at depths no shallower than 24 feet, which is at least six feet deeper than we are congressionally authorized to dredge.
If you have comments, please email John Craig@usace.army.mil.