Lakes and Rivers

Environmental flows are defined as "streamflow needed to sustain ecosystems while continuing to meet human needs."

From 1986 to 2009, the USGS studied various aspects of watershed health in the Yakima River Basin. The results from these studies have been published and are available online .

Marmot Dam on the Sandy River was removed in 2007 as part of decommissioning of Portland General Electric’s Bull Run Hydroelectric Project. Removal of the 15-meter-tall dam would allow the Sandy River to flow freely for the first time in nearly 100 years and make upstream habitat more accessible to anadromous fish.

The USGS has worked since 1998 to monitor and study sediment and turbidity throughout the North Santiam River watershed. As part of that assessment, a focused effort was undertaken to examine the effect that Detroit Lake has on temperature issues and sediment transport. In particular, developing a model that simulates the transport and fate of suspended sediment and the dynamics of water...