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Archive: 2018
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  • River operators increase flows to welcome returning chum salmon

    Sometimes being underwater is a good thing, especially for Columbia River salmon nests, called redds. This fall, federal agencies are increasing Columbia River flows below Bonneville Dam to ensure the redds of spawning chum salmon stay covered with water. The agencies have conducted these “chum operations” every fall since 2000. Beginning Nov. 2, the river will be held between 11.5 to 13 feet above sea level to ensure chum can spawn at the mouth of Hamilton Creek in the Columbia River Gorge. For chum operations to occur, water is released from reservoirs as far away as Hungry Horse and Libby dams in Montana, more than 850 river-miles upriver from Bonneville Dam. The water is then captured and released as needed to create spawning flows that keep the redds underwater.

  • Reminder for Missouri River basin fall public meetings; some dates rescheduled

    Fall public meetings to discuss Missouri River Water Management operations and plans are scheduled for Nov. 6, 7 and 9. The final day of meetings was originally set for Nov. 8, however, a scheduling conflict required the meetings in Smithville, Missouri, and Nebraska City, Nebraska, be moved to Nov. 9.

  • Partners united for salmon, steelhead and lamprey extend Columbia Basin Fish Accords

    States, tribes, and three federal agencies continue to work side by side for the good of endangered salmon and steelhead as they extend the historic Columbia Basin Fish Accords for up to four more years. The original agreements, signed in 2008, provided states and tribes more than $900 million to implement projects benefitting salmon, steelhead, and other fish and wildlife, and $50 million for Pacific lamprey passage improvements at federal dams on the Columbia and Snake rivers.

  • Heavy Rains in Kansas and Missouri prompt reduced releases from upstream Missouri River dams

    In response to recent heavy rains and runoff in Kansas and Missouri, releases from Fort Randall Dam and Gavins Point Dam will be reduced. Gavins Point releases will be reduced from 58,000 cubic feet per second (cfs) to 46,000 cfs over a 2-day period, starting at noon on Sunday, Oct 7. Fort Randall releases will be decreased from 55,000 cfs to 43,000 cfs over the same 2-day period.

  • Missouri River releases to continue at higher-than-average levels to prepare system for 2019; Public meetings scheduled

    Higher-than-average releases from all Missouri River Mainstem System projects, including Gavins Point, will continue through the fall. “Due to this year’s high runoff and the water currently being stored in the reservoirs, Gavins Point releases will remain near 58,000 cubic feet per second (cfs) for the remainder of the navigation season to ensure evacuation of all stored flood waters prior to the 2019 runoff season with much of that occurring before the river freezes over in the northern reaches,” said John Remus, Chief of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Missouri River Basin Water Management Division.

  • Higher Columbia River water levels possible this fall

    River levels between John Day and McNary dams could be higher during the next three months, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced today. From October through December, Lake Umatilla, the section of the Columbia River above John Day Dam, will be operated in a broader and higher range. That means river users could see river levels 2.5 feet higher than in the spring and summer.