Levees blasted

Explosions to restore wetlands on river delta     

ABOVE: Debris shoots into the air during the demolition of the Williamson River delta levees at Agency Lake near Chiloquin Tuesday. TOP: Debris shoots up into the air at the beginning of the fourth phase of the demolition. A helicopter circles the blast site afterward.

Goal of project is to help fish and improve water quality

By STEVE KADEL

H&N Staff Writer

October 31, 2007

   Explosions rocked the ground near Modoc Point on Tuesday morning as The Nature Conservancy breached two miles of levees to restore wetlands on the Williamson River delta. 

   The series of four blasts used 100 tons of explosives buried in almost 3,000 holes spaced 10 feet apart. 

   The goal was to restore five square miles of marshland to help endangered suckers and improve water quality in Upper Klamath Lake , which is fed by the Williamson. 

   The unprecedented wetlands restoration technique also increases the lake’s water storage capacity by 17,000 acre-feet — or about 6 million gallons. That translates to more water for Klamath Project irrigators, said Mark Stern of The Nature Conservancy. 

   About 125 people gathered to watch the four explosions, which were detonated one after another. 

   Spectators were kept at least a half-mile away from the blast zones, where earthen dikes blew hundreds of feet into the air after a resounding boom. 

   It was almost a party atmosphere, with catered breakfast and lunch provided for those on hand to watch. Chairs were set out under a colorful awning. 

   The breaching completed Tuesday involved exterior portions of the delta adjoining Upper Klamath Lake on the south and west, and Agency Lake on the north. With the levees taken out, water will flood the inner area. 

   It’s intended to create nursery-like conditions for larval suckers. Instead of being

flushed out of the Williamson River into Upper Klamath Lake , where they are subject to predation, the wetlands will create recessed areas for endangered suckers to thrive, according to Nature Conservancy spokesmen. 

   Stern said test breaches done during the past few years have proved successful.

“Within a couple of years we’ve seen thousands of larval fish using the area in the spring,” he said.

   By mid-afternoon Tuesday, he and other blast organizers were starting to see fruits of their efforts.

   “We do have water flowing in and beginning to flood up the fields,” Stern said. “All the material out there is loosely consolidated. With wave action and wind, we expect water to be coming in through all (four) sites in the very near future.” 

   Previous levee breaching was done by heav y equipment. However, the soil abutting the lakes was too unstable for the machinery, prompting the use of explosives. 

   Computer models 

   The breaching spots were designed to replicate the flow of the Williamson before the delta was reclaimed for agriculture more than 50 years ago. Matt Barry of The Nature Conservancy, the project manager, said the Bureau of Reclamation built computer models replicating the Williamson’s flow as though the levees were not there. Each of the four breaching sites was about a half-mile long and 40 feet wide. 

   Cindy Williams, fisheries division chief for Reclamation, said tannins in the wetlands soil are expected to improve Upper Klamath Lake ’s water quality by retarding the growth of algae. 

   Pablo Arroyave, area manager for Reclamation, noted that several wildlife species would benefit right along with irrigators. 

   “I can’t think of any downside to this project,” he said. “It’s basically just putting this piece of land back as it was.”

Work started a decade ago

   Before 1950, the Williamson River delta was wetlands. By the 1950s, 22 miles of levees were built around the delta and along the river, and the wetlands were drained to plant crops. 

   Tuesday’s removal of levees is the result of work that began more than a decade ago. 

   Community leaders known as the Upper Klamath Basin Working Group recommended in 1995 that the Williamson River delta be restored to wetlands to help endangered suckers. U.S. Sen. Mark Hatfield secured federal appropriations that supported the restoration. 

   Other sources contributed to the project, too, including Pacific Power, which gave almost $2 million to The Nature Conservancy so that group could purchase the property. 

   The overall restoration project has a $10-million price tag, with several partnering organizations involved. Those include the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board, Bureau of Reclamation, Klamath Tribes, Natural Resources Conservation Service, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, and Pacific Power. 

   “This really has been a partnership,” Pacific Power’s Toby Freeman said as he waited to watch the explosions. “It’s a great example of what can be done when we work together.”     

A cloud yellow of debris floats over a group of engineers and technicians during the demolition of the levees. The Nature Conservancy and its partners used 100 tons of explosives to restore wetlands at the preserve.

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