Suggested Remarks by
BG William E. Rapp
Commander and Division Engineer
Northwestern Division
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Inland Waterways Users Board
Walla Walla, Washington
31 July 2008
Good morning and welcome to Walla Walla.
How very appropriate that we – whose livelihoods, missions and stewardship responsibilities center on water resources -- are meeting in a place whose name, loosely translated, means “many waters,” or “water, water.”
I know you’ll enjoy your time spent in the region. I’ve been very impressed to learn of the kudos that the City and County of Walla Walla have earned in recent years – everything from being named by CNN as one of the five Best Retirement Cities . . . to selection by Sunset magazine as Wine Destination of the Year.
Even the legendary Lewis and Clark group stopped overnight nearby when they took a shortcut through the area on their return trip 200 years ago.
Regrettably, there are no shortcuts to solving the dilemmas we’re here to discuss -- scarce resources, aging infrastructure, and competing demands.
I believe that the last time a Northwestern Division Commander addressed this group was eight years ago when a future Chief of Engineers, BG Carl Strock, and his team briefed you on Columbia River channel deepening, Missouri River Master Manual operations, ESA listings, and Snake River operations.
Well, things have not necessarily gotten easier since then. In fact, our nation faces maritime issues of a magnitude and complexity never seen before.
The situation we face with our aging infrastructure reminds me of the story where a nervous patient, worried about an upcoming operation, asks his doctor, “Will I really be okay?”
“Don’t worry,” says the surgeon. “It’s a simple procedure.”
“Well, when it’s over will my heart pump blood?
“Will my brain process information?
“Will my lungs breathe air?
“And will my liver function?”
“Of course,” said the doctor, “but if I run into trouble, will you prioritize those for me?”
Folks, we face the same problem in water resources – each element plays a critical role in ensuring the smooth functioning and survivability of the whole system.
• Many of our Northwest and Missouri Basin projects -- dams, locks, navigation channels, jetties and recreation facilities were built in the 1940s – 1960’s. A few, including three of the four nearby Snake River dams and Dworshak (the tallest concrete dam in the U.S. at over 700 feet) were constructed in the 1970’s.
• The oldest navigation structure in NWD is the Willamette Falls Locks, built in 1873, followed by the Lake Washington Ship Canal, built in 1916.
Collectively, their average age is well over 40 years. Middle-aged, like most of us, and requiring increased attention to keep operating as intended . . . leaving less money for routine operations
• An ongoing USACE-wide risk screening process is underway to identify the highest risk dams in our national portfolio and prioritize repair actions. Dams are entered into one several Dam Safety Action Classifications (DSAC).
• Approximately half of the USACE 610 locks and dams have already been evaluated, with the remainder of the screening expected to continue through 2009.
• 6 flood control dams and 5 navigation dams have been identified in the highest risk, unsafe category (DSAC 1).
• A total of 40 locks and dams are in the next grouping and considered potentially unsafe (DSAC II).
• In Northwestern division, more than 45 of our 82 locks and dams have been screened.
• Two of our locks – at John Day and Willamette Falls -- have been placed in the highest risk category, and are considered critically near failure or extremely high risk.
• Another three flood control dams (Dworshak, Howard Hanson and Cherry Creek) have been assigned to the second tier and classified as very high risk.
The good news is that, based on this new risk-based system, funding has been provided by headquarters to allow us to advance needed investigations, studies and designs.
We are working to get to permanent repair solutions as quickly as we can.
Balancing investment decisions between routine operations and/or maintenance is very difficult.
We have experienced costly emergency failures in recent years at have increased dramatically in recent years at our Fern Ridge, John Day, and Lower Monumental projects.
Fortunately, we were able to take heroic actions and prevent catastrophic losses in all three cases. Certainly, we will continue to remain diligent to preclude future problems.
Some of you got an inkling of what’s happening in this Basin yesterday when Witt Anderson provided an overview of Corps responsibilities and activities in the Columbia-Snake system. Witt also discussed the complexities of operating the system for its authorized multiple purposes, and the need to simultaneously meet ESA and Treaty requirements.
LTC Farrell drilled down more specifically into the Snake River portion, while Kristin Meira from PNWA provided great information on the regional and national economic significance of the navigation system.
Kevin Brice also briefed you on what’s going on at the John Day Lock and you saw first hand the problems at the Lower Monumental nav lock.
Today, you will get a brief on the five-year plan being developed to assess and rank the condition of aging infrastructure elements of the Columbia-Snake river system and prioritize programming to maintain them.
You will also hear from USACE headquarters (MG Riley and Gary Loew) and from others about the national perspective and status of the Inland Waterways Trust Fund.
This is a truly a wonderful forum to engage with one another. We have a great opportunity to discuss how to enhance the river system and its infrastructure, balancing environmental considerations and economic development in the process.
Clearly, we must understand the upriver and downriver impacts of our work and the importance of developing sustainable solutions for the navigation system compatible with our ESA responsibilities.
Your efforts have been important in bringing needed national attention to our aging infrastructure and in launching the conversation about rethinking funding formulae options.
Thank you for your help in telling the story about the value an efficient, reliable, safe and environmentally sustainable infrastructure brings to the nation.