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Willow Creek Dam is a
The dam was constructed by the Army Corps of Engineers between November 1981 and February 1983. (start date conflicts with USACE source)
Construction completed nearly on schedule, despite the workers initially being unfamiliar with the materials, processing, and techniques. It came in less than its budget of $50 million at $35 million.
The dam's construction validated economic and construction speed benefits where of concrete were finished in less than five months at about $17 per cubic meter ($13/yd3), which includes additional efforts to correct defects.
However, as soon as the lake began filling, significant leakage was evident through the seams of the layers of concrete. The lake was drained and a $2 million remedial effort included injecting grout through bores drilled from top to bottom. The initial rate of leakage was . After remediation, the leakage was less than . Concern over the dam's safety has continued, especially with the memory of the 1903 flash flood.
Within a few years of construction, problems were noted with stratification of the water and anoxic decomposition producing
Photo gallery of Heppner flood
US Army Corps of Engineers, 1903 and 1971 {{Authority control Buildings and structures in Morrow County, Oregon Dams in Oregon Heppner, Oregon United States Army Corps of Engineers dams Dams completed in 1983 1983 establishments in Oregon Roller-compacted concrete dams Gravity dams
dam
A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use ...
in Morrow County of the U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...
of Oregon
Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...
, located just east of Heppner's city limits. It was the first major dam in the United States constructed of roller-compacted concrete
Roller-compacted concrete (RCC) or rolled concrete (rollcrete) is a special blend of concrete that has essentially the same ingredients as conventional concrete but in different ratios, and increasingly with partial substitution of fly ash for Po ...
.
The dam's drainage basin is
of arid rolling hills in the lower basin but with headwaters in the northern Umatilla National Forest
The Umatilla National Forest, in the Blue Mountains of northeast Oregon and southeast Washington, covers an area of 1.4 million acres (5,700 km2). In descending order of land area the forest is located in parts of Umatilla, Grant, Columbi ...
.
The dam's original purpose was primarily to store water for flood control, but also to serve recreation, fish and wildlife, and irrigation uses. The dam impounds Willow Creek to create Willow Creek Lake.
The lake level can be a maximum of elevation and a minimum of for a total usable storage capacity of .
History
A major flood killed approximately one quarter of Heppner's population in June 1903—about 250 people. The flooding creek flow was as a result of aflash flood
A flash flood is a rapid flooding of low-lying areas: washes, rivers, dry lakes and depressions. It may be caused by heavy rain associated with a severe thunderstorm, hurricane, or tropical storm, or by meltwater from ice or snow flowing o ...
caused by thunderstorms, known as the Heppner Flood of 1903.
A flood control study was completed in 1962 at a total cost of $219. In 1965, a flood control project was authorized by U.S. Congress.
In 1979, the purpose of a dam project was changed to defer irrigation development for the future and eliminate water supply and water quality control.
Construction feasibility tests in 1972 placed a few layers of roller-compacted concrete.
A 1:36 model (one inch equals three feet) was built and studied to determine downstream flooding and pool siltation characteristics as affected by the dam's spillway.
The dam was constructed by the Army Corps of Engineers between November 1981 and February 1983. (start date conflicts with USACE source)
Construction completed nearly on schedule, despite the workers initially being unfamiliar with the materials, processing, and techniques. It came in less than its budget of $50 million at $35 million.
The dam's construction validated economic and construction speed benefits where of concrete were finished in less than five months at about $17 per cubic meter ($13/yd3), which includes additional efforts to correct defects.
However, as soon as the lake began filling, significant leakage was evident through the seams of the layers of concrete. The lake was drained and a $2 million remedial effort included injecting grout through bores drilled from top to bottom. The initial rate of leakage was . After remediation, the leakage was less than . Concern over the dam's safety has continued, especially with the memory of the 1903 flash flood.
Within a few years of construction, problems were noted with stratification of the water and anoxic decomposition producing hydrogen sulfide
Hydrogen sulfide is a chemical compound with the formula . It is a colorless chalcogen-hydride gas, and is poisonous, corrosive, and flammable, with trace amounts in ambient atmosphere having a characteristic foul odor of rotten eggs. The unde ...
. Concerns were expressed that this could in turn give rise to sulfuric acid leading to concrete damage. Controversy continued for some years and the handling of the problem itself was criticized. In 2004, an aeration plant was installed to address the root cause, as had been called for 18 years earlier. Subsequent controversy surrounded the politics of a small town being used as an experiment for new construction technology.
SolarBee devices to circulate the water were installed in 2009.
The dam won an American Society of Civil Engineers
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
(ASCE) award in 1985.
See also
*List of lakes in Oregon
This is a list of the lakes and reservoirs of Oregon.
Gallery
File:AbertRim-right.jpg, Lake Abert and the Abert Rim
File:Applegate Lake Oregon.jpg, Applegate Lake in Jackson County
File:Lake Billy Chinook, Deschutes National Forest, Oregon (ph ...
References
External links
Photo gallery of Heppner flood
US Army Corps of Engineers, 1903 and 1971 {{Authority control Buildings and structures in Morrow County, Oregon Dams in Oregon Heppner, Oregon United States Army Corps of Engineers dams Dams completed in 1983 1983 establishments in Oregon Roller-compacted concrete dams Gravity dams