Calapooia River, Oregon - 3 dams removed, 2011
Shearer
Dam,
one of three small dams removed on the Calapooia River.
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The
Calapooia is one of the upper Willamette Rivers without a major
hydroelectric dam. But three small dams block fish passage. A
video summarizes the
project
to remove the
Brownsville, Sodom, and
Shearer Dams. Source:
Calapooia Watershed Council | |
Condit, 2011 - Little White Salmon River, Washington
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Condit was removed by PacifiCorp to enable salmon and steelhead to get upstream. The dam was completed in 1913 and in order to meet relicensing
requirements, it was cheaper to remove the dam.
See PacifiCorp, The History of the Condit Hydroelectric Project (2002). This is a 131 page, 31 mb
file.
Also see the Oregonian videos
giving history and the
removal. The breaching video (3 minutes) shows technique used.
Stats: 125 feet tall concrete dam. |
Elk Creek Dam, 2008 - tributary to Rogue River
Source: WaterWatch Oregon
| Construction on the Elk Creek Dam was stopped in 1987 because of
litigation about the environmental impacts.
The
dam was originally part of a three dam mainly flood control project
(Lost Creek, 1977 and
Applegate, 1980).
Elk Creek is estimated to have been the nursery site for as much as a
third of the Rogue River's salmon runs.
Political leaders prevented dam removal. After more litigation,
the US Army
Corps of
Engineers was authorized to knotch the dam, which was completed in 2008.
A stream for passage was established around the dam.
For additional information see Oregon Wild, WaterWatch Oregon, and Neil Kagan in the Pace Environmental Law.
Review
Stats: Projected for 240 feet, dam construction reached only one third that height. |
Elwha, in process - Elwha River, Washington
Source: American
Rivers |
Two Elwha River Dams are slated for removal. Their story is
told by the National
Parks
Service. The Elwha (1914) and Glines Canyon (1927) dams were built for power generation. Indigenous rights, being in a national park, endangered species,
and water quality are issues
lead to removal of these dams.
To follow the removal process see National Parks Service
webcams.
Stats: Elwha Dam is 110 feet and Glines Dam is 210 feet tall. |
Marmot, 2007 - Sandy River, Oregon
 |
Marmot Dam was removed by Portland General Electric to enable salmon and steelhead to get access to 100 miles of
upstream habitat. The dam was completed in 1913 and in order to meet relicensing
requirements, it was cheaper to remove the dam.
Oregon Field
Guide did a 9 minute
program segment, "Marmot Dam Removed." The program details the surprising result of the experiment in sediment removal.
For assessment of the dam removal, see the USGS
study, "Dam Removal and Sediment
Transport
in the Sandy River Basin, Oregon."
Stats: The 47 foot dam held 900,000 cubic yards of sediment. |
Savage Rapids, 2009 - Rogue River, Oregon
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Savage Rapids Dam was removed for a mix of economic and endangered species reasons. Built in 1921, the expense of maintenance and aging were
becoming too expensive for the Grant's Pass Irrigation District. Dam passage for endangered salmon was in effective for both up and downstream migrating
salmon. The dam was replaced by a pumping plant and the hydoelectric water right was converted to an instream right with a 1918 date.
WaterWatch
Oregon presents the story in a 9 minute video.
Look for the dinosour metaphor in the removal process at 6
minutes into the video.
Check the Bureau of Reclamation videos.
Stats: Savage Rapids Dam was a 39-foot high, 500-foot long diversion dam. |
Drivers of Dam Removal
- age of dams, typically approaching 100 years
- cost of maintenance, the technology is old and outdated
- environmental issues, endangered species, environmental preferences,
costs to retrofit
- indigenous rights, treaties and obligations to native peoples
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Issueslong and arduous legal, social, political process
dealing with amount of sediment buildup and accumulated contaminants
lake versus river uses
loss of original purposes, mainly hydroelectrict production and irrigation water
other environmental impacts, such as flooding, debris, siltation, water quality
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