PORTLAND, Ore. – Federal water managers at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) will adjust water levels behind John Day Dam (Lake Umatilla), in north-central Oregon, this week to prepare for another round of heavy precipitation in the Columbia River Basin. This will be the third atmospheric river storm event within the last two weeks.
The action is a proactive measure to help manage runoff from recent rainstorms and reduce water levels in the Columbia River near Portland and Vancouver.
“At this time, we don’t anticipate any significant impacts to people who use Lake Umatilla on a regular basis,” said Aaron Marshall, Reservoir Control Center chief. “We mainly want to remind the public that John Day Dam is a critical piece of infrastructure for flood risk management in the Columbia Basin and water levels in Lake Umatilla may fluctuate several feet during these types of high-water events.”
USACE operates and maintains John Day Dam and one of its authorized purposes is flood risk management. It is the only dam on the lower Columbia River that has the ability to adjust to hold water during these events. John Day Dam is also authorized for hydropower production, irrigation, recreation and fish and wildlife conservation.
“We expect water levels in Lake Umatilla to decrease over the next couple days, which will create space to capture some of this runoff and reduce the peak in the Portland-Vancouver metro area,” said Marshall. “Typically, we keep Lake Umatilla between 262 to 266.5 feet during the winter. Our goal is to keep the river level below flood stage to the extent possible, which is 16 feet above sea level, measured at the Columbia River near Vancouver, Washington.”
For more information about water levels in the Columbia River Basin, visit https://www.nwd.usace.army.mil/crwm/water-control-data/.
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