The McKenzie Valley's Weekly Newspaper
May 8, 2002
Volume 24, Issue 38
Quicksand danger closes Cougar Dam's mud flats
The U.S. Army Corps' draw down of Cougar Reservoir is expected to continue until early June. Three zones on the lake bed, like the mud flats below Slide Creek, have been completely closed off due to quicksand dangers.
BLUE RIVER: Anglers have been quick to complain about the impact of muddy water associated with construction activity at Cougar Dam. It's likely they won't be alone.
Off roaders are finding they're barred from running motorized vehicles inside the reservoir. Explorers won't be able to hike in to some areas of the lake bed. Even next month's Free Fishing Day at the Leaburg Trout Hatchery could be in peril.
Phil Raab, recreation staffer with the McKenzie River Ranger District, said the motorized vehicle closure extends from the high water mark at the top of the reservoir down to the pool left behind as the draining continues.
Dangers inside the basin aren't confined to rocks falling from steep slopes, Raab notes. "We're also finding to assume anything out in the reservoir is rooted solidly in place is a serious error," he said. The dangers aren't limited to undercut, crumbling streambanks. Of particular concern are three sediment zones which will be a no-man's land because of quicksand. They include an area along the east fork arm of the reservoir, another at the mouth of Walker Creek, as well as the delta below the aptly named Slide Creek Campground. Raab said further inspections are underway to determine if more danger areas exist.
Adding cooling towers to the dam's outlet has been a long planned improvement aimed at enhancing fisheries. Although the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) filed with the project said there would be no impacts on downstream recreation, quite the opposite has happened. An Oregon Dept. of Fish & Wildlife (ODFW) survey on Opening Day of fishing season saw a 30 percent decline in anglers. River guides and lodge owners have reported cancellations. Fly fishers have encountered a silted stream that renders their gear invisible.
Perhaps the biggest concern could be the health of fish stocks reared in ODFW hatcheries. "The ones I'm really worried about are our cutthroat brood stock," according to Leaburg Trout Hatchery manager Tim Wright. "There's the potential we could lose virtually all of them."
Over the last month - since the reservoir's draw down began - 15 percent of hatchery cutthroat have died off. Close to 5,000 remain - including three year olds, two year olds and yearlings. The youngest fish are thought to have the best chances for survival. EWEB's transfer of cutthroat the Walterville power canal could be in danger too when they're placed in a hatchery storage pool.
Much like school kids who pass on sniffles, colds and other maladies from close association, hatchery fish are stressed. Normally, their holding tank waters are treated three times a week with doses of formaldehyde and hydrogen peroxide to ward off parasites and fungus growth. Lately, those additives have been bonding with clays suspended in the Cougar runoff and washed downstream. "Our pathologist came out yesterday and said 'you're just wasting your money treating them,'" Wright said. "It's a serious situation and we're just going to have to deal with it as best we can. I hope we have something left when we come out the other end."
Last Friday, Cougar Reservoir was still a hundred feet above the final projected construction level. At a draw down rate of 3 feet per day, predictions are it will take at least another month to reach a point that will allow workers access to the base of the existing outlet structure.
A month from now would also coincide with Oregon's annual Free Fishing Day on June 8. It's hard to predict that water flows would be clear by then or if fish held in the Leaburg Hatchery's trophy pond will be covered with fungus. "I've got my fingers crossed. The water might start clearing up but it won't happen overnight," Wright said. "Even if the water's still muddy, if the fish are presentable or at least decent the kids are going to catch them."
So far, angling concerns have centered on what's happening out in the wild. People have expressed fears that herbicides, pesticides or heavy metals are part of the muddy flows they see coming downstream.
McKenzie River District Ranger John Allen is fairly certain there was "very little or no mining done in the South Fork area," as opposed to numerous claims worked in the Blue River Mining District. Likewise, he feels people making a connection to U.S. Forest Service herbicide spraying on federal lands in the late 70s and early 80s needn't be worried. "There's probably more herbicide runoff from one farm field than what would come off that entire watershed," Allen said. "I'd be surprised if anyone could even find a trace of older herbicides."
Most closely associated with fears of water quality would be the Eugene Water & Electric Board, which draws the metro area's drinking water supply from the McKenzie River. Utility spokesman Lance Robertson said the muddy conditions people are seeing in the river are measured on a relational turbidity scale. In general, turbidity levels over the last few weeks have been recorded in the range of 10 to 12 nephelometric turbidity units (ntu's). By comparison, during the big winter flood of 1996, the ntu level at the utility's Hayden Bridge water intake peaked in excess of 2,000 ntu's.
"In the winter it's going to spike up into the hundreds of ntu's," Robertson said. "We're conducting bacterial and odor testing every day and we're not seeing anything we'd call extremely out of the ordinary."
Robertson did say the suspended clays coming out of Cougar have caused EWEB to increase the amount of chlorine introduced into drinking water. Technicians are also cleaning the intake's water filters more frequently. "This is the time of year where we're getting runoff so the ntu's are elevated," he said. Normally, however, the effects of spring "freshets" don't last more than a few days.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineer's project manager for the Cougar upgrades, George Miller, admits there's been a breakdown in communications. Extensive modelling exercises have dealt with a number of sediment and water quality issues, he said. "I think where we may have failed is in getting that information out to the public. We made several attempts but the interest didn't peak until the turbidity levels were apparent - now we're trying to deal with the backlash."
Part of the problem, Miller feels, can be attributed to construction delays which threw the draw down schedule off by about three weeks. An earlier starting date, it's felt, would have had less of an impact on the fishing season.
Miller said the Corps is considering increasing the draw down rate from three feet to five feet per day, shortening the amount of time before the muddy water releases are over.
"We're dealing with suspended clays - not herbicides, pesticides, heavy metals, or something that's abrasive," Miller said. "This entire project was designed to trap those abrasive materials, keeping them in the residual pool."
Mark Wade, an Oregon Dept. of Fish and Wildlife biologist now working for the Corps' Cougar Research Group, said current conditions for water coming out of the dam have resulted in a ntu level below the 100 range. "The ESI noted levels that would hurt fish exceed 700 ntu's," Wade said. "We don't think there's any direct physical impact on the fish in the river."
Jeff Ziller, ODFW district biologist, says the agency is aware its big issue is the reduced number of anglers on the river and "the perceived reduced angler efficiency, especially for a fly angler."
With fewer people out there to catch them, ODFW has reduced the number of hatchery fish traditionally planted in the McKenzie River at this time of year. Last week's upriver release was reduced from 11,000 to 8,000 fish. Rather than 8,000 trout, ODFW released 6,000 hatchery trout in the lower river last week.
"There's still plenty of fish out there," Ziller said. "Anglers who want to get out there and beat the water for them with different methods can probably do fairly well."
Those "different methods" include using bait and flashing lures where they're allowed. Fly anglers can increase the likelihood of a strike by opting for a submersible, Ziller feels.
Miller has his hopes as well. He's encouraged by the fact water now entering the upper portions of Cougar Reservoir appears to be stabilized, flowing clearly and following a route long ago established as the original river channel.
"Forecasting is very difficult, especially in predicting normal precipitation," Miller said. "We're thinking the turbidity should be less next year and even less the year after. What we're seeing now may be the worst of it."
Landwatch funding Camp Yale appeal
MCKENZIE BRIDGE: Lane County Landwatch last Thursday put its pocketbook in opposition to the proposed resort development at Camp Yale, paying $3,000 to fund Jim Baker's appeal of the proposal. Baker, of Finn Rock, listed eight points in his challenge to a hearings official's approval for lodge with up to 30 rental units and a restaurant.
A key point, according to Baker, lies in calling the development a lodge, rather than a resort. In his appeal, Baker questions impacts the development would have on the involved rural residentially zoned parcels as well as impacts to the area's current density.
The appeal also questions how sewage will be handled. Baker says there's no evidence the site is suitable for a subsurface disposal system and couldn't find a record for an easement allowing it to use an adjoining larger lot. That property currently is the site of the Camp Yale RV Park, which along with the lodge site, is owned by Norm McDougal of Creswell.
If the hearings official doesn't reconsider his decision, Baker is asking his appeal be given a hearing before the Lane County Board of Commissioners.
Old gym sports a classic design
Buttresses for the Leaburg gym's arched roof are visible from the outside but hidden inside the building's north wall.
LEABURG: Remember the clear open space at the old indoor Willamalane Pool? How about the UO's Mac Court? Both shared a wooden arched roof uninterrupted by interior supports similar to the one used in 1931 during the construction of the Leaburg Community Center's gymnasium. The building was the home base for the Leaburg School's McKenzie Redsides basketball team.
Next door, research has revealed interesting things had been going on in the school house. Original plans for the building show play time didn't end on rainy days. In the basement were two play rooms - one for boys and one for girls. Both had sand floors, making them into big sand boxes.
Suspects nabbed in sculptor's break-in
LEABURG: An April break-in led to the burglary arrest of five suspects last Thursday. Connected to the crime were Devan McAlexander, 20; Scott Brooks, 28; Justin Walker, 18; Stephanie Halladay, 18; and a male juvenile.
The case stems from a reported burglary in the 89000 block of the Greenwood Drive. The home is also the business of a local sculptor/artist.
According to Lane County Sheriff's Office reports, follow up investigative leads were developed that identified some of the subjects.
On May 1st, Detectives from the Lane County Sheriff's Office and Parole and Probation served a search warrant at the home of Scott Brooks in the 6300 block of Main Street in Springfield. Approximately $8,000 worth of the victim's property was recovered and McAlexander was arrested there. Brooks was arrested at his work place and the others had already been taken into custody in prior arrests.
In addition to the burglary charges, McAlexander was on probation for Escape 2, and was placed on a probation hold.
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