Newsletter

Please ask Governor Kotek and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) to hold Winchester Water Control District (WWCD) accountable for the harm and killing of state sensitive species.

On Aug. 7th, WWCD began repairs on the dilapidated Winchester Dam on the North Umpqua River to the minimum extent necessary to address public safety issues. Despite river advocates raising concerns about the high-impact method of the proposed repairs, and formally requesting that agencies use available authorities to require a less impactful method, the high-impact, low-cost plan was permitted by our government agencies — including ODFW.

Specifically, ODFW allowed the repairs to drain the reservoir pool and block upstream fish migration for three weeks, instead of requiring a common dam repair method which would not have drained the pool nor stopped upstream migration. As a result, repairs have been nothing short of disastrous.

Hundreds of thousands of Pacific lamprey have been killed, water polluted with wet concrete was spilled into the river, fill materials such as boulders forming a roadbed upstream of the dam have been left in designated essential salmonid habitat, mats for heavy machinery made from old tires likely containing chemicals toxic to salmon were used in the river and river bed during repairs, and agencies granted extensions to block migration for Summer Steelhead, Spring Chinook, Lamprey, and ESA-listed Coho salmon.

To top it all off, WWCD and the repair contractor, Terra Firma Foundation Systems, installed large horizontal I-beams to reinforce the dam’s structure. These I-beams sit just behind the water curtain, or false attraction flow, at an ideal height for jumping salmon or steelhead to slam their heads into the structure, become caught in the trough of the I-beam, or fall between the I-beam and the old, disintegrating wall of the dam. The contractor also installed large steel attachment struts with sharp edges that project like fish spears or bludgeons from the dam face at typical jump heights.

More recently, WWCD applied for an extension from Aug. 31st through Sept. 6th. ODFW and other agencies granted this extension with specific terms and conditions, including adult migratory fish passage at Winchester Dam. Nevertheless, river advocates did not observe fish ladder conditions approaching possible fish passage until Sept. 5th. 

Thankfully, this ecological disaster is coming to an end. Fish passage is being restored and native migratory fish will once again be able to access the 160 miles of habitat upstream. But fish migration has been blocked for 30 days — an unacceptable timeframe for any river with or without native migratory fish.

It’s now time for us to demand that ODFW hold dam owners accountable. We know from previous experience that during similarly disastrous repairs at the very same dam ODFW will do nothing to hold dam owners accountable unless the public demands it. You have the power to make ODFW act.

Please take action by asking the Governor and the ODFW Commission to investigate these reported violations, and if they are substantiated, to bring enforcement action to the fullest extent possible.

Together, we can end the ongoing harm from Winchester Dam. Please encourage the ODFW Commission to support the removal of Winchester Dam and restore a free-flowing North Umpqua River that benefits fish, wildlife, and the Oregon communities that depend on it.

*** If you would like to testify to the ODFW Commission in person at their next meeting in Bend on Friday, Sept. 15th, at Seventh Mountain Resort, click here for information and to sign up for a slot, and please contact WaterWatch’s Jim McCarthy at jim@waterwatch.org to let us know you plan on attending. ***

Form Letter:

Chair Wahl, Commissioners, and Director Melcher,

I’m contacting you today regarding Winchester Dam on the North Umpqua River and the disastrous repairs that were recently completed on Sept. 6th. I am disappointed with Winchester Water Control District (WWCD) and Terra Firma Foundations for showing little concern for the fish, river and communities of the North Umpqua during the repairs which have, and will have, devastating impacts to fish, habitat and water quality.

On Aug. 7th, WWCD began repairs on the 130-year-old Winchester Dam. ODFW has since received multiple complaints regarding the repairs, including:

1. A massive fish kill of Pacific Lamprey that occurred during the repair process. While ODFW allowed WWCD a take permit for 30,000 lamprey, river advocates documented thousands of lamprey suffering and dying on day one of these repairs. This continued until day three when multiple federal, state and local agencies began an emergency fish salvage operation on the reservoir pool of this sensitive species.
2. WWCD used mats made from old vehicle tires. These mats, and the dust and debris generated by driving heavy equipment over them, may contain and shed toxic tire additive 6PPD-q, known to be lethal to salmon and steelhead.
3. WWCD continued to block fish passage for Native Migratory Fish, including imperiled Summer Steelhead, Spring Chinook, and Pacific Lamprey, past ODFW’s deadline. ODFW required WWCD to provide fish passage to Native Migratory Fish starting on Sept. 1st. According to our information, this requirement wasn’t achieved until Sept. 5th.
4. Materials used to temporarily fill the waters of the state for repair purposes were not removed before Sept. 3rd — a direct violation of the fish passage authorization and the terms and conditions of the final ODFW extension granted to WWCD, which did not remove fill from above the dam face nor below the dam face next to the newly poured footer.
5. WWCD pumped concrete into the North Umpqua River, likely affecting the PH level of the water and stressing and killing fish downstream. WWCD caused a massive fish kill that was documented in 2018 from pouring green concrete in the moving waters of the state.

ODFW’s mission is “…to protect and enhance Oregon’s fish and wildlife and their habitats for use and enjoyment by present and future generations.” Please live up to your mission by fully investigating the reports of violations at Winchester Dam, and if substantiated, bring enforcement measures to the fullest extent possible.

Please publicly support removing Winchester Dam and restoring fish, wildlife, and clean water in the North Umpqua River. Removing this dam will support the fish, commercial fishing, recreational fishing, clean water, public access to state waters, and increase the region’s resiliency in the face of climate change.

Thank you for your time and kind consideration in this matter.

Sincerely,

John Smith

Native Fish Society has put up an easy one-click action alert for anyone short on time.

Send a letter and/or call your elected officials in the state of Oregon asking them to investigate these reported violations fully and, if substantiated, bring enforcement action to the fullest extent possible. Please encourage your elected leaders to support the removal of Winchester Dam to restore a free-flowing North Umpqua River.

On August 7, 2023, Winchester Water Control District (WWCD) started repairing the derelict Winchester Dam. Despite far more expansive recent claims about these repairs made to the public by WWCD, WWCD representatives previously told state and federal regulators that the repairs would be  “to the minimum extent necessary to eliminate known and reasonably anticipated dam safety deficiencies at the dam.” (DOWL Technical Memo, April 4, 2022, p. 4). On this basis, WWCD received approvals from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, NOAA Fisheries, and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to proceed with the repairs. State and federal agencies issued the permits even after river advocates repeatedly raised concerns and pointed out multiple irregularities in the process (read about these irregularities and concerns here). 

WWCD has hired the residential/commercial basement repair company of their own board president, Terra Firma Foundation Systems, as the primary dam repair contractor, despite the fact that his company has no experience in dam repair.

Since the start of construction, river advocates have documented and reported multiple apparent legal and permitting violations to regulatory agencies. These include a massive fish kill of native Pacific lamprey resulting from woefully inadequate salvage efforts by WWCD during the dam reservoir drawdown. River advocates believe that WWCD’s contractor continues to violate regulations and permits intended to protect fish, wildlife, and water quality. 

River advocates have been pressing this issue in part because harm from the previous Winchester Dam repair was devastating and well-documented. According to state investigators, pollution from the 2018 repairs at the dam degraded aquatic habitat, killed fish, and harmed the primary drinking water source for the City of Roseburg and the Umpqua Basin Water Association – serving approximately 37,700 people combined. Investigators also found that dam repairs were conducted without following known best management practices, even after authorities provided WWCD with information in advance on how to protect water quality and fish. 

This ecological disaster is happening now because government agencies have consistently failed to hold WWCD accountable. Please take action by sending a letter to your state and federal representatives asking them to fully investigate these reported violations, and if substantiated, bring enforcement action to the fullest extent possible. Together, we can end the ongoing harm from Winchester Dam once and for all. Please encourage your elected leaders to support removal of Winchester Dam to restore a free-flowing North Umpqua River benefiting the fish, wildlife, and people who depend on it!

Sample letter:

Dear XXX

I am contacting you today regarding Winchester Dam on the North Umpqua River and the construction repairs underway. I am disappointed with our state and federal agencies for showing such little concern for the fish, river, and communities of the North Umpqua by approving a repair plan with a documented history of devastating impacts to fish, habitat, and water quality when they had the authority to require a repair plan more protective of our natural resources.

On August 7, 2023, Winchester Water Control District (WWCD) started repairs on the 130-year-old Winchester Dam. Regulating agencies have since received multiple complaints regarding the repairs, including:

Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (ODEQ)

• Operating heavy machinery in flowing water without containment. In addition, some heavy equipment may not be using lubricants approved for in-water work.
• Release of uncured concrete into the North Umpqua River.
• Placement of boulder fill into the few shallow plunge pools available to salmon and steelhead at the base of the dam.
• Use of large mats made from old vehicle tires as a temporary road and work surface for heavy equipment in flowing water and on dewatered river bed. These mats, and the dust and debris generated by driving heavy equipment over them, may contain and shed toxic tire additive 6PPD-q, known to be lethal to salmon and steelhead. 

Department of State Lands (DSL) and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE)

• Construction of permanent concrete support footers in the river bed for a temporary bridge and access road from the north bank of the North Umpqua River downstream of the dam.This road and bridge were not disclosed in WWCD permit applications.
• Placement of boulder fill into the few shallow plunge pools available to salmon and steelhead at the base of the dam. 

Oregon Water Resources Department (OWRD)

• Winchester Dam is storing more water than allowed under WWCD’s filed water storage claim. OWRD issued a letter to WWCD in January directing them to either lower their reservoir pool 1.5 feet or apply for a new water right to come into compliance. WWCD has disregarded OWRD’s direction. As a result, when the dam reservoir is refilled to the top at the end of repairs, WWCD will unlawfully injure instream water rights intended to protect salmon and steelhead in the North Umpqua River.

Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW)

• ODFW inexplicably granted WWCD permission to kill 30,000 Pacific lamprey during the repairs. However, the repair contractor’s woefully inadequate staffing of their required fish salvage effort contributed to a massive Pacific lamprey kill in the dam’s reservoir pool, despite a later emergency salvage effort by state, federal, and tribal agencies alerted to the kill by river advocates on the scene.

NOAA Fisheries

• Winchester Dam lies within designated critical habitat for ESA-listed Coho salmon, and adult Coho typically begin arriving at the dam in late summer. NOAA must fully investigate if these repairs have harmed Coho or their designated habitat. 

As my elected representative, please ensure that state and federal agencies fully investigate the reports of violations at Winchester Dam, and if substantiated, bring enforcement measures to the fullest extent possible. Please publicly support removing Winchester Dam and restoring fish, wildlife, and clean water in the North Umpqua River. Removing this dam will support commercial fishing, recreational fishing, clean water, public access to state waters, and increase the region’s resiliency in the face of climate change.

Thank you for your time and consideration in this matter. 

Sincerely, 

John Smith 

One Click Option through Native Fish Society

Some of North Umpqua’s Last Few Summer Steelhead Face Lethal Combination of Closed Access to Upstream Coldwater Habitat, Low Flows, and Record Heat

FOR FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:
Jim McCarthy, WaterWatch of Oregon, 541-941-9450, jim@waterwatch.org
Kirk Blaine, Steamboaters, 307-299-7834, steamboatersboard@gmail.com

*River advocates are preparing to document another fish kill if it materializes and will be available to reporters for comment and to provide photos and video.*

Winchester, OR – Just days after a sloppy, penny-pinching repair effort at Winchester Dam triggered a massive kill of the North Umpqua River’s Pacific lamprey, river advocates are warning that some of the last few summer steelhead and spring Chinook salmon left in the North Umpqua may become the next aquatic life to die, trapped in the warm water below the dam as a heat wave scorches the region.

On Monday August 7th, the fish ladder at Winchester Dam near Roseburg closed until August 28th to allow reservoir drawdown and structural repairs at the 450-foot wide, 17-foot tall, 130-year-old wood, steel, and concrete structure maintained solely for the private recreational use of approximately 110 landowners surrounding the reservoir. The move also closed off access to migratory fish seeking 160 miles of high quality coldwater salmon and steelhead habitat upstream. Soon after, the National Weather Service issued an Excessive Heat Warning for the region for August 14th through 17th, forecasting “Dangerously hot conditions with temperatures between 102 to 108 degrees expected. A few west side valleys will reach up to 111 degrees.”

The drawdown repair option was chosen by dam owners specifically for its cheapness compared with other common repair options, despite its known high impacts to the North Umpqua’s aquatic life, habitat, and drinking water supplies. State and federal officials chose to approve the owners’ repair proposal, despite having the authority to require lower impact repair methods, despite repeated formal pleas from river advocates to avoid the anticipated mass mortality of aquatic life by requiring a lower impact repair alternative, and despite a well documented history of mass mortality of aquatic life during previous dam repairs using the same drawdown method.

Earlier this year, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) officials declined to answer river advocates’ formal request to use their authority to require a less harmful repair alternative maintaining upstream fish migration ¬– only weeks before collapsing summer steelhead numbers spurred ODFW to shut all angling in the North Umpqua from August through November. The ignored petition (linked below) stated in part: “The North Umpqua in August typically experiences low flows and high temperatures, which cause significant stress and mortality among native fish, as well as angling closures in recent years. In addition, the river reach below Winchester Dam is generally lacking in cold water refugia, so fish stranded below the dam by the project’s interruption period will be even more likely to be highly stressed or die before they can reach the protection of cold water. Migratory fish crowded into refugia downstream by this passage interruption may be more susceptible to predation, poaching, and the spread of disease. The drawdown of the reservoir before repair may draw additional fish towards the dam by temporarily increasing river flows downstream, then strand these fish for three weeks in low, hot water below an impassable dam. Any fish that survive being bottled up against the dam will then face even lower and hotter water when reservoir refill depletes downstream flows.”

Last week, officials from state, federal, and tribal wildlife agencies combed vast stretches of drying reservoir sediments above the dam in an emergency effort to stem losses from a massive lamprey kill sparked by the controversial dam repair effort. This week, the emergency teams have given way to flocks of birds gathered to feast on dead lamprey carpeting the reservoir flats. The death toll for the North Umpqua’s native aquatic life due to the repairs remains to be calculated, but it is expected to be staggering.

Winchester Dam is a derelict former hydropower facility and one of the state’s highest priorities for fish passage correction. According to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, the dam blocks or impedes access to 160 miles of high quality habitat for native fish even when the fish ladder is in operation. River advocates from a coalition of fishing, conservation, and whitewater groups have been working for years to raise alarm bells with government officials over the Winchester Water Control District’s chronic non-compliance with state and federal repair permitting, engineering, water quality, and dam safety requirements as well as their disregard for protections for fish and wildlife despite the essential habitat importance of the North Umpqua for salmon and steelhead.MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:
Jim McCarthy, WaterWatch of Oregon, 541-941-9450, jim@waterwatch.org
Kirk Blaine, Steamboaters, 307-299-7834, steamboatersboard@gmail.com

Winchester, OR – This week, officials from state, federal, and tribal wildlife agencies are combing vast stretches of drying reservoir sediments above Winchester Dam on the North Umpqua River in an effort to stem losses from a massive fish kill sparked by a controversial ongoing dam repair effort. In particular, upwards of hundreds of thousands of young Pacific lamprey are feared lost due to the failure of Winchester Water Control District, the owners of the dam, to meet state and federal requirements for rescuing aquatic life stranded during a reservoir dewatering. This dewatering began around midnight on Monday August 7th in order to provide work crews with three weeks of structural access for repairs. This drawdown repair option was chosen by dam owners specifically for its cheapness compared with other common repair options, despite its known high impacts to the North Umpqua’s aquatic life, habitat, and drinking water supplies. State and federal officials chose to approve the owners’ repair proposal, despite having the authority to require lower impact repair methods, despite repeated formal pleas from river advocates to avoid the anticipated mass mortality of aquatic life by requiring a lower impact repair alternative, and despite a well documented history of mass mortality of aquatic life during previous dam repairs using the same drawdown method.

The death toll for the North Umpqua’s native aquatic life remains to be calculated, but it is expected to be staggering. According to public records, during a 2013 reservoir drawdown and subsequent scramble by wildlife officials and the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians to rescue fish from the carelessness of the Winchester Dam owners, The Cow Creek Tribe “estimated conservatively that for every one live lamprey salvaged there were approximately 10 dead in the same area (about 1ft2).” The dam repair plan calls for the approximately 7,500 foot long reservoir to remain dewatered from August 7th until August 28th.

“This massive fish kill could have been avoided, but wildlife officials chose to put the stinginess of a handful of well-connected private lake owners over their mission to protect our invaluable fish and wildlife.” said Jim McCarthy, Southern Oregon Program Director for WaterWatch of Oregon, and a leader of the coalition of fishing conservation, and whitewater groups to end the harm caused by Winchester Dam. “River advocates knew this would happen and pleaded with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and other agencies in charge to reject the low-cost, high-risk repair proposal of the dam owners, but we were ignored. This latest disaster and the public records from their past dam repair disasters make plain that Winchester Dam’s owners feel free to ignore regulations protecting people, fish, and water quality. It’s one of the many reasons this dam must be torn down, and we are committed to making that happen.”

“This is precisely what happened the last time they worked on the dam in 2013,” said Stan Petrowski, veteran Umpqua River advocate and President/Director of the
South Umpqua Rural Community Partnership. “There was considerable effort to hush hush the entire thing. There were thousands upon thousands of lamprey deaths. This will continue to recur again and again as long as that dam remains in place.”

“I am extremely disappointed in the current situation at Winchester Dam,” said Kirk Blaine, President of the Steamboaters and Southern Oregon Coordinator for Native Fish Society. “ODFW knew this would happen and they said yes for the convenience of the landowners who want to maintain their private water ski lake at the lowest cost possible. Just as ODFW said yes, allowing the landowners to trap our last few summer steelhead and spring Chinook below the dam to bake for three weeks in warm waters. This travesty of fish mortality is unfolding despite an available repair alternative that would have maintained the reservoir pool limiting lamprey mortality and providing continued fish passage during construction, allowing our last few remaining fish the best chance to survive the migration to cold water spawning habitat above the dam.”

Winchester Dam is a derelict former hydropower facility now owned and maintained solely to provide a private water ski lake for approximately 110 landowners surrounding the reservoir pool. River advocates from coalition of fishing, conservation, and whitewater groups have been working for years to raise alarm bells with government officials over the Winchester Water Control District’s chronic non-compliance with state and federal repair permitting, engineering, water quality, and dam safety requirements as well as their disregard for protections for fish and wildlife despite the essential habitat importance of the North Umpqua for salmon and steelhead. According to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, Winchester Dam is one of the state’s highest priorities for fish passage correction, and blocks or impedes access to 160 miles of high quality habitat for salmon and steelhead.

River advocates will be documenting the disaster and available to reporters for comment and to provide photos and video.

River Advocates Petition to ODFW Warning of Mass Lamprey Mortality
https://waterwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Winchester_Dam_Passage_Petition_02_26_23.pdf

Public Records/Agency Notes from Past Winchester Dam repairs:
https://waterwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/WInchester-Draw-Down-Note-Synthesis-Final.docx
https://waterwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/WInchester-Draw-Down-Note-Synthesis-Final.docx
https://waterwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Winchester-Dam-2013-Drawdown-Agency-Meeting2-Notes.docx

Winchester Dam Repair Permits

ODFW Fish Passage Authorization:
https://waterwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/ODFW_Fish_Passage_Authorization_Winchester_Dam_Repair_PA-17-0138.pdf

DEQ 401 permit:
https://waterwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/20230718_DEQ_401_WQC_2018_505_1.pdf

NOAA Biological Opinion:
https://waterwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/2023_07-20_WinchesterDam_WCRO-2022-02717.pdf

Army Corps permit:
https://waterwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/20230726-NWP-Verification-Ltr-NWP-2018-505-1.pdf

Revised WWCD removal-fill application (last one before Corps and DEQ issued permits):
https://waterwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Joint-Permit-Application-DEQ-Submittal_20230707-Updates.pdf