The McKenzie Valley's Weekly Newspaper
June 5, 2002
Volume 24, Issue 42
Muddy water continues to flow
from behind Cougar Reservoir
Changes at the dam will include a new, 302 foot tall "we well" with three slots to allow operators to draw water from different levels. After mixing in the wet well to reach proper temperatures, the water will then be routed to the powerhouse and outlet.
BLUE RIVER: A Memorial Day weekend rainstorm didn't help. Nor has runoff as the snowpack in the mountains melts. Both have contributed to the muddy condition of water continuing to flow out of Cougar Reservoir.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers stopped lowering the pool behind the dam on May 25. It was hoped the river would soon clear. So far it hasn't. The day after the draining ceased, rains caused the turbidity to spike as high as 150 ntu's (nephelometric turbidity units).
On Friday the turbidity level was measured at 73 ntu's. That was the lowest reading since April.
At a public meeting in Walterville last month, Corps officials were optimistic about the timing for improvements. Some of their message didn't come across clearly. "When George Miller (the project's chief engineer) was talking about a five day interval, he meant that's when turbidity would begin to decrease," explained Mike McAleer, a public affairs spokesman in the Corps' Portland office. "We're very confident now it's going to continue that way except for occasional spikes."
Even in the 70 ntu range, the river is still running five to six times dirtier than was anticipated. No one is willing to predict an exact date it might return to normal.
On Monday, Doug Esch, a control room operator at the dam, said readings had declined again and were running in the mid 40 ntu range. "That's a significant drop. My best guess is that things will start being pretty clear in another couple of weeks, provided we don't have any rain. Even now our inflows are way up from the snow melt. We're just passing through the inflow."
Esch stressed that the construction project - to regulate water temperatures coming out of the dam - came about as a federal directive. "We're just doing what Congress mandated. Actually, the ODF&W (Oregon Dept. of Fish & Wildlife), the National Marine Fisheries Service, environmental organizations and fishery people were the ones who pushed to put in the temp control tower," Esch said. "I feel bad for a lot of guides and business people. We're doing our best to minimize the situation but we're not the ones who initiated it."
Since Cougar Dam was constructed in the 60's, this is the first time its been drained. That action released material that had built up in the old river channel for decades. During a multi year construction schedule, it will be emptied twice more.
"Hopefully, we'll start the draw down earlier in the following years," Esch said. "But that's somewhat dependent on Mother Nature. She can mess up even the best laid plans of man in one fell swoop."
Gaining a handle on what the human impacts entail isn't easy. A number of area resorts have reported cancellations. Groceries, general stores and restaurants all haven't had their usual boost in customer counts for this time of year.
For the U.S. Forest Service, it's still a little early in the season to make comparisons with years past. Public campgrounds only opened last weekend for the 2002 season.
McKenzie River District Ranger John Allen said a national visitor survey currently underway isn't likely to allow direct links to the impacts of river turbidity. "The questions are broad - like 'What was your purpose in coming here?'"
Allen says it is likely there'll be a decline in recreational activity around Cougar Reservoir this year but expects that will be closer related to the draw down than the color of the river.
Visitors to the district's office, Allen notes, are less likely to be attracted to the area for fishing. A few years ago, ODFW stopped stocking the upper McKenzie River, from Blue River east, setting aside that stretch of the stream for wild trout. Now, most people say they've planned their trips around hiking, sightseeing or camping.
"Off the top of my head, I'd say maybe 5 percent or less of the visitors who come in my office are here primarily for fishing," Allen said.
Quantifying the impacts is the plan behind a survey sponsored by the McKenzie River Chamber of Commerce, the Convention & Visitors Association of Lane County, Oregon and the McKenzie River Guides. All three organizations are asking their members to respond to the survey this week. A copy of the questionnaire is also included on Page 8 of this newspaper.
"We plan to use the results to press for economic relief from the hit tourism has taken this year," said McKenzie Chamber president Ken Engelman. "Besides the individual businesses involved, there's a real danger our River communities will be badly hurt as well."
State to decide fate of Horse Creek bridge
Traffic will be re-routed over a temporary span while upgrades to the Horse Creek Bridge are underway next summer.
RAINBOW: A multi-agency effort to provide a safe crossing for 45 families is expected to get under way next Spring. The work is focused on the "bridge that nobody wanted," which spans Horse Creek along Delta Road.
Who actually owned the structure has been debated for decades. The bridge is not currently maintained or owned by Lane County. Requests from residents in the area spurred the Board of Commissioners to pass an order agreeing to take it into the county's road system once the bridge is brought to current standards. The cost will be nearly a half million dollars.
Under the federal Highway Bridge Replacement and Rehabilitation Program, grant funds will provide 80 percent of the $435,000 estimated project cost. In order to show local commitment, area residents who use the bridge had to agree to come up with ten percent of the costs in cash. The other ten percent is being provided by the Oregon Dept. of Transportation.
Putting together a management plan involving a number of agencies "was a little complicated," admits Mike Russell, the county's capital improvement coordinator. "Since federal money is being used for the project, ODOT will be the contracting agency. This means that the bridge will be brought up to standards under a state contract."
ODOT is using OBEC Consulting Engineers to design and manage the project with Lane County acting as the "lead agency," with design review and engineering decision authority. The US Forest Service is also involved because the land that surrounds the bridge is National Forest land. The Forest Service is contributing some of the local match, along with environmental consulting services and developing the Environmental Assessment document.
Still to be determined is whether the bridge will be rebuilt or replaced. Supporters of rebuilding the span note the structure's "bow truss" design is historically significant. "It's the only one in Lane County and one of only three in the state," Russell said. "We feel the existing bridge is the best fit for the environment and the setting that it's in."
Regardless of the type of construction, a temporary detour bridge will be constructed while work is being done. Located adjacent to the existing bridge on the south side, the 20 foot wide detour will accommodate two way traffic.
A review of the design and impact statement is expected to be completed by July. Russell said construction could begin in March or April, with completion slated for October of 2003.
Committee rejects new resident deputy
EUGENE: A plan to add a McKenzie area resident deputy failed to gain support during the Lane County Budget Committee's final vote last week. The group reviewed nearly 60 requests for additions to next year's General Fund Budget. Only five were approved for a total addition of $232,000.
In making the request, Lane County Sheriff Jan Clements was responding to citizen complaints of poor police protection. Current response times to critical calls for service in the Valley average in excess of 35 minutes. "Due to the many years of funding problems, public safety has not been a priority for these areas," Clements said. "This addition would allow for a timely response to emergency calls for service, and for investigations of lesser crimes against persons and property."
Commenting on the committee's approach was David Garnick, Lane County senior management analyst. "They had a hard job to do and have spent a lot of hours considering requests. While the budget picture looks better than in years past, we are tracking some issues that may seriously impact the budget in the future. For this reason, we've needed to maintain a very conservative approach and prepare the budget for current service levels. That said, many county departments and services have endured reductions for several years and there are a lot of unmet needs out there. It is fortunate that the budget had a measure of flexibility this year to meet some of those needs, even while there were reductions to other programs. We are precariously balanced."
From the start of July 1 through the end of June '03, the County's total proposed operating budget will be just short of $426 million, including $96.5 million for the General Fund. Only $48.9 million are discretionary dollars that can be used to enhance critical life, health and safety programs such as the jail, rural law enforcement, criminal prosecution, and public health. The remaining 49 percent of the General Fund is non-discretionary and is pre-allocated to services that generate revenue.
The recommendations are scheduled go to the Board of Commissioners for final consideration on June 19. On the approved list of additions were: $50,000 for Food for Lane County Food Distribution, $40,000 for Volunteers in Medicine (which provides medication for "working poor" patients), $50,000 for Stand for Children (a pilot project to increase the quality of early childhood education), $50,000 for the Department of Youth Services Psychology Services, and $42,952 for a Domestic Violence Investigator.
"I don't have an answer on how we address the needs up there at this point in time," Clements said on Saturday. The board, he added, could go beyond the budget committee's recommendations, "but I don't hold much hope for that."
Instead, he plans to meet next week with the police services commander to view "a wide range of options - short term, interim and long range. We're going to be looking at all of our staffing and daily configurations to see if there's any stopgap remedy. There's clearly no way we have the wherewithal to commit a full resident up there. But it is abundantly clear to us that we need a greater presence."
One possible approach would be to resurrect the Special Law Enforcement District proposal. Under that plan a new taxing district, dedicated to police services, would be created.
"If people's financial sensibility suggest they want only half of the package, or something like that, it's worthy of consideration," Clements said. But we'd have to move extremely aggressively on that if we were to get it to the voters by November."
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