Marmot Dam Removal, Sandy River, Oregon: Time-Lapse

Listen to the podcast on this at: www.usgs.gov/corecast (episode 24)

The USGS put together time-lapse video of the breach of the Marmot Dam, on the Sandy River in Oregon. Hydrology experts from the USGS Oregon Water Science Center and the USGS Cascades Volcano Observatory are studying this removal, the largest planned removal in the Pacific Northwest thus far.

Real-time USGS streamgages and other high-tech instruments are monitoring erosion, sediment transport, water quality, temperature changes, and turbidity of the water. This work is done in partnership with Portland General Electric (PGE), the owner of the dam, and other State and Federal agencies and university colleagues.

Removal of the Marmot Dam began in July 2007, and the final breach that unshackled the river occurred on October 19, 2007. As part of its decommissioning of the 100-year-old Bull Run Hydroelectric Project, PGE also plans to remove a smaller dam on the Little Sandy River in 2008.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• dam
• oregon
• environment
• usgs

[eKriZZLe]

@shad515 i don't know if it hurt the salmon and steelhead...but it sure did hurt my favorite river spots. a nice little jumping rock where it was ALWAYS at least 15 feet deep...filled up with sediment and is now about 3 feet deep. thank god i gave it a test jump before diving in like i usually do.

[telemetry9]

we need to get rid of more of these awful relics from the past.

[shad515]

@critterfreek82

I'm sure you're saying that cause it will somehow help the salmon and steelhead out, but the fact is that it attchly hurt the salmon and steelhead runs cause all of the sediment.

[smearnoff5100]

Yeah what about all that sediment? I'm pretty sure there's some dead fish now haha

[critterfreek82]

Free the rivers!

[BobbieandSteveDooley]

I saw that on Nat Geo last night, very cool!

[kayakcraig]

That was great to see the time lapse of a dam removal. Thanks for sharing. More more!