GATES, Ore. (KOIN) — Detroit Lake could disappear for 2 years while the Army Corps of Engineers builds a system to improve the fish habitat.
The Army Corps of Engineers is required by law to build a passageway and temperature control system at the dam to protect native fish like steelhead and salmon but developing a plan to construct it hasn’t been easy.
“We are trying to get everybody’s input,” project manager Jeff Ament said.
Ament said there are 5 alternative construction plans proposed and only one involves sending divers into a full lake to complete the project, others require draining it for potentially 1-2 years.
The cheapest and easiest plan for the corps would require draining the reservoir to build above the water lever. The most popular plan among residents would keep the reservoir at its normal level but is expensive and carries other risks to the water quality and safety.
Some residents are worried about what that would mean for their town and businesses.
Residents concerned about how draining the lake would impact the water supply and the economy packed into the Gates Fire Hall Wednesday night to learn more about the proposal.
Larry Loveberg from Kane’s Marina is worried this plan would sink local businesses like his.
“Keeping a marina even when it’s closed is an expensive proposition,” Loveberg said. “We sustained low water a couple years ago, I cannot continue to operate a business that has no customers.”
Residents who saw the plans worry they could also hurt the water supply beyond the lakefront.
“If they draw down the dam and draw down the rivers, where are we going to get our water from?” Stayton resident Damian Centanni said.
After recovering from the drought-induced low river in 2015 and wildfire smoke that kept people away last summer, Detroit’s mayor said this project will be a hardship.
“Coming back and doing this in 2021 has the potential to finish off a struggling economy for this whole canyon,” Mayor Jim Trett said.
It’s too early to tell which plan might be chosen but construction is targeted to begin in 2021.