Environmental Lawsuit Muddies Oregon Waters, Kills Thousands of Fish

When the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) enforced a court-ordered drawdown of the water levels at two Willamette Valley reservoirs in October, it got more than it expected. As water was released from Green Peter and Lookout Point Reservoir, it returned to its lowest levels since the dams were built nearly 70 years ago. When the water returned to its river channels, it flushed more than 60 years of built-up sediment downstream into the South Santiam, Middle Fork Willamette, and main stem Willamette rivers. In a matter of days, the rivers were choked with mud. Many rural residential wells dried up. The sediment quickly degraded the water quality in the small downstream towns of Lebanon, Sweet Home, and Lowell....