News Release
| Release Number: | 02-068 |
| Dated: | 4/11/2002 |
| Contact: | Heidi Y. Helwig, 503-808-4510 |
Portland, Ore.-The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will host four public meetings this month to share its proposed water management plans for Willamette Valley reservoirs. The meetings are being held to allow for direct feedback about the proposals from residents and other interested people.
The first meeting will be at 7 p.m. on April 23 in Eugene at the Lane County Public Services Building, Harris Hall, 125 E. 8th Street. On April 24, the meeting in Sweet Home begins at 7 p.m. in the Sweet Home High School auditorium, 1641 Long Street. At 1 p.m. on April 25, the meeting will be in Salem at the Mission Mill Museum in The Dye House, 1313 Mill Street, S.E. The last meeting will be held at 7 p.m. on April 25 in Detroit in the Charter School gym, 345 Santiam Avenue.
While the public meetings provide a forum to discuss some of the nuts and bolts of the Corps' water management plans, including anticipated downstream water releases and reservoir elevations, the Corps also will use the meetings to spread some good news: most of the Willamette Valley reservoirs will likely fill by the start of the recreation season and remain full until September.
Matt Rea, Corps coordinator for the Willamette Valley, has expressed continued optimism that recreationists in the Willamette Valley will have plenty of water this year, even at Detroit Reservoir, which did not fill last year. In fact, Rea said he expects all boating facilities at Detroit Reservoir, including marinas, to be usable by mid- to late-April.
Information discussed at the meetings also will benefit irrigators, river guides, sport anglers, boaters and rafters since the final plans will affect the flows of the Willamette River and its tributaries.
The Corps coordinates a delicate balancing act when managing its multiple purpose projects. In the summer, two of the most prevalent competing needs are recreation and water quality. "Our goal is to continue to operate the projects in the Willamette Basin in a balanced manner to address the multiple purposes for which they were authorized," Rea said.
In addition to water quality and recreation, other authorized purposes the Corps balances include fisheries, flood damage reduction, hydroelectric power production, irrigation, navigation and municipal and industrial needs.
Final water management plans are based on water runoff forecasts and on recommendations from the following agencies: National Marine Fisheries Service, the U.S. Forest Service, the Oregon Water Resources Department, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management and the Oregon State Marine Board.
Real time data about each of the Willamette Valley reservoirs can be viewed on the Corps' Internet site at https://www.nwp.usace.army.mil/pa/river.htm.