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News stories claim Willow
Creek Dam unsafe
WETZ CLL
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The Heppner
Senator Hatfield speaks during dedication of Willow Creek Dam, July 1983
K d U o r'i note
imes
a zette
The following copyright story a/t
peared in Surukis s edition o f The
t.ugene Register (¡mini
by Lisa Strycker
of The Eugene Register-Guard
issue." according to the memo
"W e urge you to fund remedial ac
non during fiscal year 1988 and not
to place tins program on the shelf "
No such action was financed for
1988, hut the studies continue
Although they can tell the dam is
leaking, Heppner residents know
very little about the troubles beset
ting their com m unity’ s largest land
mark, and they resent being left in
the dark
"W c can sec it's disintegrating hut
they're not telling us anything.”
complained Ed H ictm tru. whose
hack yard looks out on the dam's wet
face ‘ They were looking for a
sparsely settled area they could ex
periment on w ith this new type o f
dam. and now we re stuck w ith it ”
Die W illo w Creek project is the
w orld's first dam to be built entire
ly w ith roller compac ted concrete It
sits just upstream o f Heppner on
W illow Creek, a tributary to the Col
unihia River
From the start, the 169 foot dam
leaked like a sieve between the one
foot layers o f compacted concrete
A $2 m illion grouting project four
years ago stopped some o f Ihe flow
But recently, the dam began show
mg signs that the seepage may he
promoting decay o f the concrete
Used
To determine whether the struc
tural integrity ot the dam is at risk,
studies arc under way on the
geochemistry, m icorbiology and
hydrodynamics o f the dam’s seepage
waters
Privately, corps staff members
complain o f bureaucratic irrespon
sihility and toot dragging at W illow
Creek O ffic ia lly , the corps mam
tains it has taken the proper steps to
m onitor the dam ami to ensure its
safety
As much as H2 metric tons o f the
dam's utX).(XXI ton structure arc
Icaihing out ot the concrete and
washing downstream every year, ac
cording to estimates prepared for the
corps Although the annual dissolu
lion rate represents a small fraction
of the total dam mass, si icntists warn
that dciay may t»c occurring in nar
row zones .uul could rcsuli in loc.iliz
ed weakening
The degradation threatens the
dam's "stru ctu ra l in te g rity " and
raises questions about the "health
and safety ot the public and the
employees o f ihe p ro je c t." accor
ding to internal memoranda written
by corps stall in |9h6 and I9H7
Ihe corps was warned that pro
blems would result it the dam was
built In 197 3, a Washington State
U niversity siientist under contract
with the corps conducted a pre
impoundment study ot the W illow
( reek area I he predictions that en
vironment.il engineering professor
33 iIIlain I unk made then have all
come true and worse
He foresaw that beiause ot
chemicals and manure associated
with agriculture and i.ittle prodm
lion m the W illow ( reek watershed
the reservoir would be enriched with
nutrients that would teed a prolusion
ot blue green algae He predicted tin*
algae would bloom, die silt to the
bottom ot the reservoir and decom
pose, m the prixess depleting m
ygen Irom Ihe depths and creating
potsomms and corrosive substances,
such as hydrogen sultidc and am
morniim
A massive dam built five years
V O I. 106 NO. 3«
W ednesday, September 21. I9XH
H eppner 25‘
ago with a novel construction tcchm
8 Pages
que is divsolving at the city lim its o f
Heppner. threatening to wipe out the
north central Oregon community
with a catastrophic flood it was
designed to prevent
U S Arm y Corps o f Fngmeers
docum ents exam ined by the
Register ('ward indicate that the
agency is well aware o f the problems
at ihe dam. but o fficials have given
no warning to the I ,3(X) residents
who stand to lose life and property
in
a torrent o f water that could he
•
•
unleashed in a dam breach
"W e have a potential hazard here
and all the components arc present
that could cause a breach.” said
corps lake scientist lh>ug Larson,
who has cntensively studied the
W illow Creek project "W hether or
not this occurs depends on whether
or not the corps decides to do
something to prevent it "
To date, the corps has spent more
than SMK),(*X) studying the dam's
problems, but a promising solution
that would cost about SI 30.(XX) was
shelved because o f a lack o f funding,
, according to staff memoranda
Preliminary results from corps-
• tlM
___
financed studies indicate that the in
Members of the presi. h o sp ita l t,i‘f
. t> . fM T ■, and re p re s e n ta tiv e s of the Morrow
novalivc dam, built in layers of con
County Medical B oard in sp e cts A e' M * - :
q t r a m b u la n c e on th e o c c a s io n o f its visit to the crete stead o f being poured into a
L e xin g to n airport last W e d n e sd a y
coneretc form , is being dissolved bv
water and by to xic chemicals
by M arie Struthers
F lig ht" facilitates transfer ot patients
I lie smaller plane has a maximum
originating in ihe nutrient enriched
At first sight the C’csna 421 leeks
to the hospital after XcroMedicaTs
range of 4 hours (or Him miles) and
reservoir behind it
small hut the job that it decs as one
arrival at the airport
W hile corps documents am! scicn
of Blue Mountain AeroMedicuTs travels about twice as last as a
l ikely candidates lor transjxirt bv
lists warn of the threat o f a dam
twi) fixed wing air ambulances is helicopter n uking the trip from
fixed wing ambulance include hun
failure, corps engineers insist that
l.aGrandc to Portland in about l ' i
very big Based ai Grand Rhonde
ting
accident
victims,
burn
patients,
the
dam is sale at present
hours
According
to
pilot
Barry.
'
Hospital, the little plane can a*,
cardiac ctncrgcncies. or any patient
I would agree that there appears
miles v isihility and a I 3*10 toot ceil
eomplish the flight from Latirande
that cannot be adequately stabilized
ing arc m inimum requirements
to be some dissolution ot the con
to larxington A irport in 3 1 minutes
at available facilities In nearly all
Together with the condition of the
crete.” said Dennnis Hopruan. chief
This time can vary depending on
cases an attending physician deter
landing site, this inform ation deter
of the concrete and dam safety sec
weather conditions hut the plane was
mins whether a patient's condition
mins whether a flight w ill he attemp
lion of Ihe Portland district corps ot
right on time last Wedcnsday after
warrants transjx>rt be air Frequent
ted The second plane, a Cesna 441
lice "B u t it’ s stable ami sate now
noon when representatives from the
Is
land
transport
is
quicker
and
Conquest,
is
both
larger
ami
faster
Still, engineers want to doselv
Morrow Counts Medical Board
The Conquest can and docs make
safer, particularly during severe
monitor the structure and conduct
local EM I ’s, doctors, hospital stall
flights to Montana and Nevada
studies to find out how much ot the
weather conditions or when the
and members of the press gathered
destination hospital is quite near
concrete is dissolving, where i t ’ s
Inside, the C42I is equipped to
to meet it at the airport
( >nce Aero Medical is called in. the
dissolving and whether it’ s com
transport one patient and three
On hoard were Greg Sanders.
appropriate plane is dispatched
passengers in addition to the pilot
promising ihe dam’ s strength in Ihe
F light Service C oordinator lor
quickly, staffed with health care per
The stall on board can he adjusted
long run
Grand Rhonde Hospital anil a flight
sonnel to meet the specific needs ol
paramedic 4, K J Schrank, RN . a to accomodate almost any kind o f
W e’ re not jumping to com lu
the patient to he transported
medical emergency including ia r
critical care nurse and F M T V and
sioris ’ llopman said "W e ’ re look
Although not lor , asiul use- it is nice
M ike’ Barry, pilot In response to d isc care and severe trauma
mg .it it \nv prudent person would
to know that (lie little plane (li.it does
I ransport to any appropriate hospital
many questions, the crew described
We .ire approaching ibis the same
the big job is there tor the real
w ithin range is routine and coopera
the capabilities ami limitations o f the
wav we would look at any other tvpc
emergencies
lion w ith ambulances and helicopter
tw o
Ccsnas
e m p lo ye d
b\
ot potential problem that we have
services such as Portland’ s " l i f e
AcroMedical
w ithin our dam safety program
( orps si icntists are primarily con
ccrned alvout the processes under I v
mg the decay, arguing that what's
happening to the dam shouldn’ t be
happening
"N ohodv who designed and c n
Morrow County I ivestm k ( ¡rowers
I own and Countrv Dav s has been
strutted this dam was aware ot w
M orro w County C utileW omen
scheduled tor the week o l January 9.
would happen."said I arson, who
Morrow ( <nintv (¿rum Growers
|9H9 w ith the banquet to he held on
has a doctorate in limnology the
l mutillu National Forest. Kinzua
I rulav the 13th I h e v iLites were set
s iie m e o t lakes
II ihev had been
Corporation, ONI I xtcnsion Set
at the recent Town and Country
aware, ihev either would not have
vice.
Small
Woodlands
Association.
S teering C o m m itte e m ee ting ,
The lu s t Gasp ( io lt Tournament
built the dam or would have done
Morrow s\S( I) Heppner ( hamtx-r
chaired bv W ayne I vans
w ill he this Sunday. September 23.
something to avoid these pri »blems
of Commerce, the port ol M orrow .
I "he theme lor this years event w ill
at the W illow Creek Country Club
Concerns about the structural m
Willow Creek Park District, the I Iks
be " ( hir Future, Our C ountry. < hir
This is 18 hole team play with the
tegrity ot W illow Creek Dam are ex
C lub, and i< Alto
K id s’ ’ Included may be a panel
front nine being Best Ball and the
pressed in a number of corps
Commodity meetings w ill he held
discussion ^v county high school
back nine. Chapman
docum ents, in c lu d in g a 1987
on Friday. January I I Ih eS W ( D.
students about th eir concerns,
Play w ill begin at 9 a m
memorandum from the corps' i hie I
ihe Livestock Growers, the Wheat
follow ed by a question anil answer
Entry fee is S I3 per team Teams
o f the engineering division to the
League, the ( attleWomen and the
pern k I
may be men men. men women, or
He could not predict because
Small
Woodlands Association w ill chief ot die operations division in the
A
wine
lasting
event
lor
Ihursday
women women
Portland district, which is respond
neither
he nor anyone else knew ex
meet at the Elks A ll are welcome
evening w ill be repeated, with Sorop
No. 13 is Gambler's Hole
blc fo r the dam
aclly
how
a roller compacted dam
to sit in on their meetings
timists hosting this v c jr
Lunch w ill be served
"W a te r quality at W illow Creek
would behave how severely the
The
next
planning
meeting
tor
M any
o rg a n iz a tio n s
are
Lake has been identified as both a water chemistry would erode Ihe
Town and Country is scheduled tor
cooperating to put on Town and
puhlu health issue and a dam satetv
dam
Tue v lu v . Oc tober 4. 7 30 p in T c
Country Days, including M orrow
tension Conference Room
Countv Wheat Growers league.
Air am bulance service just
m inutes away
/■
U r,
: Y <*1 -
Flan ahead for Town &
Last gasp golf Country '89
tournament
September 25
by Oy m
United Wav kickoff Sept. 22 - 23
Sept 13 - Sept. 1
Tue*.
Weds
Thurs.
Frl.
Sat.
Sun.
Mon.
High low P m
H4I
50
0
87
50
0
79
47
.0
.38
.0
65
61
01
36
7.3
47
.20
60
41
.15
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Morrow County's Hom ^Ow ned Newspaper
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Weather Report
I
The United Way of M orrow
County 1988-89 campaign o ffic ia l
ly hegins this week with kicko ff
celebrations m tw o communities
Thursday, September 22 in Board
n un . there w ill be free Pepsi, hot
dogs and balloons in front ot
hcgler's Nenlrv Market Irom 3 p m
to 3 p m Friday. September 23
■ i s n a
there w ill be free hot dogs. Pepsi .uul
balloons between the Post ( Mfice and
the Shoe Box in Heppner
The
Heppner booth w ill he open Irom I I
a m to I p m
Brochures and other information
w ill he available Everyone is invited
to stop by and e njoy the
refreshments
L o w e s t R a te s
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But m 1983, corps employees
noticed a rotten egg smell in the in
spcclion tunnel that runs the length
o l the dam le th a l hydrogen sullide
gas was seeping Irom the reservoir
into the com rete in such concentra
lions that corps employees were re
quired to wear gas masks when
w orking in ihe dam's gallery
The corps immediately began siu
dying the cause and c tte its o f the
h vdrog en s u llid e
and other
chem icals, in clu d in g explosive
methane tfi.it ajipeared to he prodm
eil m the oxvgen depleted deep lake
water
A rlin g to n • H e p p n e r • lo n e
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Besiiles the potential for corrosion
o f the concrete surface -xposed to
the reservoir, the leaks between
layers in W illow Creek Dam provide
additonal surfaces where corrosion
can take place
That seepage w ithin the concrete,
scientists now know, provides a
watery breeding ground for bacteria
which can generate sulfuric and
n itric acids that are even more cor
rosive to the vulnerable concrete
than hydrogen sulfide.
"People d id n't believe me when
I told them what was going to hap
pen th e re ," said Funk, who now
directs the stale o f Washington
Water Research Center " Y o u ’ ve
seen the big caverns like Carlsbad
and Oregon Caves What happens is
there’ s been enough acid in the soil
for the breakdown o f the limestone
v i it creates big caverns I'm not say
ing the dam is going to have big
caverns in it 1 am saying it w ill
break the concrete down They're
going to have to vtop the breakdown
o f the dam "
The co rp s used the n e w ly
pioneered technique o f ro lle r-
compacled conc rete at W illow Creek
to save time and money. The $34.7
m illio n dam was constructed bet
ween 1981 and 1983 with only about
one founh the materials and about
tw o thirds the cost typical for a con
ventional conc rete dam o f the same
size
' There were fairly substantial
dollar suv mgs between the cheapest
normal way o f constructing the dam
versus the roller compacted con
c re te ." said W illia m Branch, chief
o f the hydraulics and hydrology
brunch w ithin the corps engineering
division in Portland
In its efforts to save money, the
corps has bought itself a problem o f
potentially huge proportions
At first, W illow Creek Dam ap
peared to suffer most from leakage
After it was filled in 1983. the
leakage was close to 3 3**1 gallons
jxt minute, seeping thnmgh the con
crete and pouring o ff the face o f the
dam m torrents A m ajor grouting
p ro ie it greatly reduced the flow to
a steady stream ot about I AO gallons
per minute
W H E N YO U R 0 LD CAR G IV E S U P
NEW
n A ljK OF
D E
‘ a ste rn (jrvq cn
AUTO
LOANS
S ee U s For
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