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33-473: Water enters the canal from the Corra Linn headpond and for much of the year is diverted 4.5 km past Corra Linn Dam , City of Nelson Powerhouse, Upper Bonnington , Lower Bonnington and South Slocan . By diverting water past the older and smaller dams Kootenay Canal can generate more power due to greater head and more modern generators. After passing through the canal and dropping 84 meters through

66-480: A race riot . HAP never had any explicit policy advocating segregation; nonetheless, for various reasons de facto segregation was the norm. Whites complained when placed near "Black" areas, and segregation of Vanport by neighborhood might as well have been enforced legally. Only in 1944 were complaints raised about the segregation situation in the city. Reacting to the criticism—and pressure from Eleanor Roosevelt —by April 1944, HAP began placing incoming Blacks into

99-465: A " 'northern' city with a 'southern' exposure", arguing that the city shared with southern cities "traditions, attitudes, and things interracial in character." Berry argued that prior to the war the city exhibited remarkably unprogressive racial attitudes. The hastily constructed wartime development's social and cultural mores had little in common with Portland as a whole. Vanport's immigrants imported their particular brands of racism from throughout

132-486: A day. A questionnaire mailed to 1,000 former Vanport families, selected randomly from the approximately 3,000 families who had left by then, asked, among other things, why they had moved to Vanport in the first place. About 230 people answered this question. The top reason given for choosing the Portland–;Vancouver shipyards was that "they thought it their duty to go into defense work". The second-ranked reason

165-404: A historical marker, the break happened at an old railroad cut that had been filled in. Because of the numerous sloughs and backwaters in the area, the progress of the flood was delayed about 30 minutes, giving residents more time to escape. An emergency siren began to sound shortly after the initial breach, and residents began to head up North Denver Avenue to higher ground. At the time of

198-679: A key part of the strategy to keep Vanport a thriving Oregon community. The establishment of Vanport coincided with an unprecedented influx of African-Americans into Oregon, attracted to work in newly federally-desegregated wartime defence industries. Due to exclusionary racial laws , the state had a population of fewer than 1,800 Black people in 1940; by 1946 more than 15,000 lived in the Portland area, mostly in Vanport and other segregated housing districts. One prewar observer, Portland Urban League secretary Edwin C. Berry, described Portland as

231-485: A part of Vanport life as well as a problem in relating to Portland. A 1943–44 study published in the American Sociological Review indicates that the top five complaints from Vanport residents included "negroes and whites in same neighborhood", "negroes and whites in same school", and "discrimination against Vanport people by Portlanders". Although some of Portland's Black people lived in 53 of

264-709: Is allowed to divert water from five older hydroelectric plants owned by FortisBC and the City of Nelson . Fortis receives the amount of power their generating stations would have produced. Downstream the Brilliant Dam is in the agreement. On the Pend d'Oreille River the Seven Mile Dam and the Waneta Dam are also in the agreement. Corra Linn Dam Corra Linn Dam is a concrete hydroelectric dam on

297-704: The Columbia River . It was destroyed in the 1948 Columbia River flood and not rebuilt. It sat on what is currently the site of Delta Park and the Portland International Raceway . Vanport construction began in August 1942 to house the workers at the wartime Kaiser Shipyards in Portland and Vancouver, Washington . Vanport—a portmanteau of "Vancouver" and "Portland"—was home to 40,000 people, about 40 percent of them African-American , making it Oregon's second-largest city at

330-673: The Flood Control Act of 1950 which spawned projects such as the Priest Rapids Dam . The flood also resulted in the 1961 Columbia River Treaty and later the construction of Libby Dam in Montana. The loss of Vanport is considered a factor in the eventual closing of the Jantzen Beach Amusement Park on Hayden Island in 1970. Several acres of the former city became "West Delta Park" which

363-582: The Kootenay River between the cities of Castlegar and Nelson , in the West Kootenay region of southern British Columbia . The Corra Linn Rapids, named after the Falls of Clyde upper falls of Cora Linn, preceded the dam at this location. The adjacent former train station and neighbourhood were named after the rapids, but the locality has been frequently misspelled as Corra Lynn. For

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396-523: The "white" areas of the settlement. However, word quickly spread and 63 white residents quickly signed a petition demanding a reversal of the policy. Entire buildings were free in the "Black" areas of town, they argued, and after opponents of the integration plan appeared at a HAP meeting the authority decided to resume its previous policies. The unprecedented level of integration and lack of any major racial incidents or severe tensions did not mean there were no problems. Black/white tensions were still

429-571: The 15,500,000 acre-feet (19.1 km ) stored in Columbia River Treaty reservoirs. 49°28′N 117°28′W  /  49.467°N 117.467°W  / 49.467; -117.467 Vanport City, Oregon Vanport , sometimes referred to as Vanport City or Kaiserville , was a city of wartime public housing in Multnomah County, Oregon , United States, between the contemporary Portland city boundary and

462-605: The Columbia River. The Columbia Basin is a massive area encompassing seven U.S. states and British Columbia, Canada. The previous winter snowpack was 75 to 135% of normal. Above normal temperatures accompanied two major rainstorms May 19 to 23, 1948, and again May 26 to 29. Rainfall combined with melt water swelled the many tributaries feeding the Columbia in the days prior to the flood, creating high water levels not seen since

495-542: The city's 60 census tracts before the war, about half were concentrated in two tracts east of the Willamette River and north of the east–west centerline of the city. After the war, much of Portland's Black community remained centered in northeastern parts of the city. The 1948 Vanport Flood parallels the more recent Hurricane Katrina disaster in New Orleans . In both cases, public officials led

528-520: The country. White migrants from the South were the most vocal in opposing the degree of integration that HAP dictated for schools, buses and work sites. The Authority was largely unsympathetic to these complaints and at no time was de jure segregation imposed on any of Vanport's facilities. When police were called because Black men were dancing with white women at a local event, only the white women were detained and warned that their conduct might lead to

561-601: The dam formerly owned by West Kootenay Power. After the 1948 Vanport Oregon flood , the 1961 Columbia River Treaty led to the construction of the flood control Duncan Dam in 1967, and Libby Dam in 1975, which regulated water flowing into Kootenay Lake. Most outflow is diverted 4.5 kilometres (2.8 mi) past Corra Linn along the Kootenay Canal to the more efficient generating station opened in 1976. Kootenay basin reservoirs provide nearly 7,000,000 acre-feet (8.6 km ) of storage which constitutes almost half of

594-433: The flood was ultimately beneficial for the city's Black community. Vanport, argued National Urban League director Lester Granger, was a "nasty, segregated ghetto " where "negroes lived in the same patterns as they did in the South." The flood that wiped out the district, he continued, was a benefit in that it allowed Black people to further integrate into Portland's society. To prevent future incidents, Congress enacted

627-400: The flood, the population of Vanport was down to about 18,500 people. Because of the holiday, many residents were away from their homes for the day. These factors contributed to the low loss of life: officially, there were only 15 deaths. Nonetheless, the city was a complete loss. On June 11, 1948, President Harry S. Truman flew to Portland to examine the damage. The recovery effort

660-449: The lake would have been almost 2 metres (7 ft) higher without the excavation. Between 2005 and 2010 BC Hydro considered more excavation at the narrows as a potential "Resource Smart" project. The second approval permitted the dam to be used to raise the level of Kootenay Lake by 2 metres, thus forming a reservoir for flood control and hydro power. The dam's powerplant has a generating capacity of 51 MW. In 2003, FortisBC bought

693-529: The morning of Memorial Day , May 30, 1948, the Housing Authority of Portland issued the following statement: "Remember: Dikes are safe at present. You will be warned if necessary. You will have time to leave. Don't get excited." At about 4:17 p.m. the Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway berm burst, sending a 10-foot (3 m) wall of water into the area of Vanport College. According to

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726-408: The new city contributed to an overall sense of insecurity and anxiety among residents. The lack of businesses and recreation opportunities contributed to a sense of distrust, and the relative isolation of the largely male workforce meant there was little demand for community institutions such as a newspaper or high school. By 1943–44, families living in Vanport were moving out at the rate of 100

759-401: The population to believe that the damage would be slight, and in both cases the government response to the disaster was harshly criticized. Critics attributed the poor response, in both cases, to racist attitudes on the part of officials, who pointedly neglected to respond appropriately to the destruction of a community that had a relatively large number of black residents. However, many dispute

792-585: The powerhouse containing four water turbine - electrical generator units, water then returns to the river. Power generated at Kootenay Canal plant is fed into BC Hydro's provincial grid via two lines running south to Selkirk Switching Station, near the Seven Mile Generating Station. In 1999 the four turbines were upgraded and increased the output to a total of 583 MW . Kootenay Canal and Seven Mile generating stations together supplied 10% of BC Hydro's electricity requirements. Under

825-464: The record flood of 1894. The lowest point in Vanport was about 15 feet (4.6 m) below the water level in the river. A radio alert was issued the night before the flood, and some residents moved their belongings into attics and upper floors. Few imagined the possible extent to which the water levels would rise. Another contributing factor to the lack of voluntary evacuation was the fact that many residents relied solely on public transportation. On

858-433: The role of racism, pointing to the transformation of Vanport by the influx of World War II veterans and their families and official commitment to the area shown by the establishment at Vanport of the only state college in the greater Portland metropolitan area. At the time of the flood, one-third of Vanport residents were black. Vanport was especially vulnerable to flooding, since it was built on reclaimed lowlands along

891-659: The six-year period after the 1932 opening, the dam was not permitted to raise the level of Kootenay Lake . It operated as a run-of-the-river hydroelectricity plant allowing the spring freshet to pass downstream. After devastating floods to Idaho farmlands in 1938, the International Joint Commission granted two approvals. The first allowed excavation to the outlet of the lake at Grohman Narrows. In 1939, 255,809 cubic metres (334,585 cu yd) of gravel and 13,706 cubic metres (17,927 cu yd) of rock were removed, which included rock bluffs on

924-405: The south side of the river. The narrows was made deeper and wider, allowing for a greater drawdown of the lake during the winter and a greater flow during spring freshet. Even after excavation, Grohman Narrows continued to limit outflow. During the 1961 flood, the level of the lake was 3 metres (10 ft) above the maximum level of the dam, owing to water held back at the narrows. Models indicate

957-654: The terms of the Columbia River Treaty , the Province of British Columbia is entitled to downstream benefits resulting from dam construction. Both the Duncan Dam above Kootenay lake and Lake Koocanusa created by the Libby Dam 200 kilometers upstream in Montana, are covered by the treaty and result in a constant supply of water into Kootenay Lake, and to the many Columbia River dams downstream. BC Hydro

990-618: The time, and the largest public housing project in the nation. After the war, Vanport lost more than half of its population, dropping to 18,500, as many wartime workers left the area. However, there was also an influx of returning World War II veterans. In order to attract veterans and their families, the Housing Authority of Portland opened a college named the Vanport Extension Center; the school would eventually be renamed Portland State University . Vanport

1023-457: Was a desire for a better job, and the third, higher wages. However, the situation changed when the war ended in 1945. The Housing Authority of Portland (HAP) then sought to attract World War II veterans who needed housing, a community to raise their families, and higher education through the Servicemen's Readjustment Act (G.I. Bill). The establishment of a college at Vanport in 1946 was

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1056-552: Was assisted by Vanport College and the Red Cross . Vanport led Portland and Oregon in integrating Black people. "The first black teachers and policemen in the state were hired in Vanport during the war years". One of those Black teachers, Martha Jordan, later became the first Black teacher hired by Portland Public Schools . Vanport's destruction eased the integration of a large African-American population into North and Northeast Portland. Indeed, some Black leaders argued that

1089-502: Was dramatically destroyed at 4:05 p.m. on May 30, 1948, when a 200-foot (60 m) section of a railroad berm holding back the Columbia River collapsed during a flood , killing 15 people. The city was underwater by nightfall, leaving around 18,000 of its inhabitants homeless. The city was a hub of transient laborers from all corners of the country; few residents had any long-term connections with each other and little opportunity or interest to build them. The temporary nature of

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