Environmental Lawsuit Muddies Oregon Waters, Kills Thousands of Fish

Compliance with a court order intended to save endangered salmon has choked state rivers with silt and degraded municipal water supplies.

The biggest drawdown of water levels in the history of Lookout Point and Green Peter reservoirs washed 60 years of sediment into the South Santiam, which mixes with the clean, clear North Santiam at its confluence. Photo taken Nov 12, 2023.Courtesy of Brian Stone Photography

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.