The Bull Run Hydroelectric Project was a Portland General Electric (PGE) development in the Sandy River basin in the U.S. state of Oregon . Originally built between 1908 and 1912 near the town of Bull Run , it supplied hydroelectric power for the Portland area for nearly a century, until it was removed in 2007 and 2008. The project used a system of canals, tunnels, wood box flumes and diversion dams to feed a remote storage reservoir and powerhouse. The entire project was removed because of rising environmental costs. Marmot Dam on the Sandy River was demolished in 2007, and the Little Sandy Dam on the Little Sandy River was taken down in 2008.
42-631: The Mount Hood Railway and Power Company (MHR&P), also known as the Mount Hood Company, began the project in 1906, building the Little Sandy Dam to divert water through a wooden flume , about 3.2 miles (5.1 km) long, to Roslyn Lake. The dam reduced streamflows on the lower 1.7 miles (2.7 km) of the Little Sandy River and blocked all salmon and steelhead access to the upper 6.5 miles (10.5 km) of
84-667: A dam on the Sandy River to supplement the Little Sandy Dam. The Marmot Dam, 45 feet (14 m) high, diverted water from the Sandy to the Little Sandy by canal and tunnel, the longest of which ran 4,690 feet (1,430 m) under the ridge between the two rivers. The new dam supplied up to 600 cubic feet per second (17 m/s) to the Little Sandy above its diversion dam, and the Little Sandy provided up to 200 cubic feet per second (5.7 m/s), all of which could be diverted through
126-434: A temporary coffer dam had to be built upstream. When this phase of the project was complete, the removal of the permanent concrete dam could proceed. The destruction of the permanent dam began on 26 July 2007, when a public controlled demolition weakened the structure. The rest of the dam was destroyed using pneumatic hammers over approximately 4 months. The last concrete from Marmot Dam was removed on September 30, 2007, and
168-764: Is 84,400 cubic feet per second (2,390 m /s), and the minimum is 45 cubic feet per second (1.3 m /s). Archeological evidence suggests that Native Americans lived along the lower Columbia River as early as 10,000 years ago. The area near what later became The Dalles , on the Columbia east of the mouth of the Sandy River, eventually became an important trading center. The Indians established villages on floodplains and traveled seasonally to gather huckleberries and other food on upland meadows, to fish for salmon, and to hunt elk and deer. Although no direct evidence exists that these lower-Columbia Indians traveled up
210-513: Is necessary to preserve them, and that local jurisdictions can and should strategically rezone to allow limited uses not otherwise allowed in resource zones. The decision not only supported viable approaches to preserve these specific sites, but also provided a bright line preservation path for all historic resources in Oregon Timber and Agriculture zones. In 2016 changes in ownership occurred. The historic schoolhouse and park components of
252-469: Is on the right and Troutdale on the left at about 3 miles (5 km) from the mouth, where Beaver Creek enters from the left. Shortly thereafter, the river passes under Interstate 84 and flows by Portland-Troutdale Airport , which is on the left about 2 miles (3.2 km) from the mouth. The Sandy River then joins the Columbia River about 120 miles (190 km) from where the larger river enters
294-679: The Barlow Road , met the Lolo Pass trail roughly where the Zigzag and Salmon rivers enter the Sandy. Indians from villages along the Columbia, Clackamas , and other rivers also traveled by water to the lower Sandy River area to fish for salmon and to gather berries, nuts and roots. In 1792 William Robert Broughton of the Vancouver Expedition explored the lower Columbia River. He named the Sandy River "Baring River", but noted
336-492: The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in 1999. PGE later employed RESOLVE , a non-profit dispute resolution organization, to help develop a detailed consensus plan among the interested parties. An agreement was reached in 2002 on the decommissioning. The primary issues addressed by the reviews were the impact on fish species (particularly salmonids ), their habitat, and the effect of
378-610: The Mount Hood Wilderness of the Mount Hood National Forest . In this initial stretch near the headwaters, it receives Rushing Water Creek from the left, Muddy Fork from the right, then Lost Creek and Horseshoe Creek from the left, and crosses under Lolo Pass Road just before receiving Clear Creek from the right. At about 41 miles (66 km) from the mouth, the Zigzag River enters from
420-617: The United States Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with Portland General Electric at river mile (RM) 29.8 (river kilometer (RK) 48.0). The unincorporated community of Marmot lies to the right of the river on a ridge—the Devil's Backbone—separating the Sandy River from the Little Sandy River to the north. About 4 miles (6.4 km) below the Marmot gauge, the river receives Badger Creek from
462-616: The Army Corps of Engineers since the devastating 1964 floods have taken place. In 1988, Congress added about 25 miles (40 km) of the Sandy to the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System . The designation applies to two separate segments. One, administered by the U.S. Forest Service, covers 12.4 miles (20.0 km) from the headwaters to the Mount Hood National Forest boundary. The other, administered by
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#1732790889097504-564: The Bull Run River. In 2007, engineers demolished Marmot Dam with 650 pounds (290 kg) of explosives. When in 2008 they demolished Little Sandy Dam, Roslyn Lake ceased to exist. After Marmot Dam was gone, the Sandy flowed freely for the first time since 1912, and the subsequent alterations restored the Little Sandy River to steelhead and salmon runs for the first time in a hundred years. Portland General Electric,
546-453: The Bureau of Land Management, covers 12.5 miles (20.1 km) between Dodge Park and Dabney Park. Of the total, 4.5 miles (7.2 km) were designated "wild", 3.8 miles (6.1 km) "scenic", and 16.6 miles (26.7 km) "recreational". A wide variety of recreational activities occur along the Sandy. Hiking, fishing, backpacking, and camping are popular along the upper river. Hikes include
588-521: The Clackamas County Board of Commissioners designated as the first Historic District within unincorporated Clackamas County the ensemble consisting of: the powerhouse site, the historic former Bull Run elementary school, and portions of the former Roslyn Lake Recreational Area. Following a decision by the Clackamas County Board of Commissioners to approve uses for the site other than those uses no longer allowed following decommissioning,
630-562: The Columbia about 14 miles (23 km) upstream of Portland . Issuing from Reid Glacier on the southwest flanks of Mount Hood in the Cascade Range , the Sandy River flows generally west and then north for 57 miles (92 km) through Clackamas County and Multnomah County to the Columbia River at Troutdale . In its first 12 miles (19 km), the Sandy River flows across Old Maid Flat, north of Zigzag Mountain in
672-462: The Devil's Backbone between the Sandy and the Little Sandy watersheds. Until October 2007, the river was dammed and the flow rate regulated. The Bull Run Hydroelectric Project diverted water from the Sandy River at Marmot Dam to Little Sandy Dam on the Little Sandy River. From there the water flowed to Roslyn Lake, an artificial creation, through a wood box flume . The lake supplied the 22-megawatt Bull Run hydroelectric powerhouse and emptied into
714-852: The Indian trail over Lolo Pass to drive cattle from a Methodist mission in the Willamette Valley to a mission in Wascopam. Other pioneers later used the trail to drive livestock over the mountains. The first wagons came over the Cascades in 1840, and in 1843 the great east-west migration of settlers to the Oregon Territory began. The Barlow Road, along the Indian trail leading west from the Lolo Trail, opened in 1846 and became popular with new settlers. A branch of this road followed
756-613: The Pacific Ocean. The confluence is about 14 miles (23 km) east of Portland , near the lower end of the Columbia River Gorge . Measured by a United States Geological Survey (USGS) gauge downstream of the Sandy's confluence with the Bull Run River , 18.4 miles (29.6 km) from the mouth, the river's average discharge is 2,300 cubic feet per second (65 m /s). The maximum daily recorded flow
798-644: The Sandy, it is likely that they did. Traces of these people include petroglyphs carved into the rocks of the Columbia River Gorge. More recently, within the past few thousand years, Indians created trails across the Cascade Range around Mount Hood. The trail network linked the trading center at Wascopam, near The Dalles, to settlements in the Willamette Valley . One popular trail crossed over Lolo Pass and another, which later became
840-562: The Wikimedia System Administrators, please include the details below. Request from 172.68.168.226 via cp1108 cp1108, Varnish XID 249518877 Upstream caches: cp1108 int Error: 429, Too Many Requests at Thu, 28 Nov 2024 10:48:09 GMT Sandy River (Oregon) The Sandy River is a 56-mile (90 km) tributary of the Columbia River in northwestern Oregon in the United States. The Sandy joins
882-579: The dams' owner, donated 1,500 acres (6.1 km ) of land in the vicinity to a nature reserve. With the Marmot Dam removal and other habitat restoration in the Sandy River Basin Salmon, Steelhead, and Pacific lamprey are making a comeback. The Lower Salmon River upstream of the former Marmot Dam in recent years has undergone extensive riparian and river restoration. Engineered log jams and the opening of former side channels blocked by
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#1732790889097924-532: The decision was appealed to the Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals (LUBA). The decision was upheld in LUBA No 2015-022, allowing a balancing of statewide land use goals for historic preservation and high-value resource lands through the affording of such sites a precedent path for a Statewide Land Use Goal Exception. The decision established that adaptive reuse of historic structures on resource land
966-641: The decommissioning from the National Marine Fisheries Service , because of the project's potential impact on coho salmon . The final review was conducted by the United States Army Corps of Engineers , which granted approval for the decommissioning on May 21, 2007. A spokesman for the Corps stated that the removal project was unusual, because "Large dams usually don't get removed." Before Marmot Dam could be removed,
1008-441: The entrance of a river which appeared to Scatter over a Sand bar, the bottom of which I could See quite across and did not appear to be 4 Inches deep in any part; I attempted to wade this Stream and to my astonishment found the bottom a quick Sand, and impassable ...". One of the first documented visits by European-Americans to the upper Sandy River basin occurred in 1838, when Daniel Lee, the nephew of missionary Jason Lee , used
1050-520: The existence of a large sand bank that nearly blocked the Columbia River at the mouth of the Sandy River. In 1805 and again in 1806, members of the Lewis and Clark Expedition explored the lower stretches of the Sandy River as they traveled down the Columbia to the Pacific Ocean. Mount Hood, at the river's headwaters, had erupted a few years earlier, causing loose sediment to collect at the river's mouth. On November 3, 1805, William Clark wrote: "I arrived at
1092-433: The final phase of removal was completed on 20 October 2007, when the temporary earthen dam washed away and the Sandy River began to flow freely for the first time since 1912. PGE removed Little Sandy Dam in 2008, eliminating Roslyn Lake. This restored Little Sandy River flow and made salmon and steelhead migration once again possible. In May 2009, a fish biologist reported that salmon and steelhead were spawning upstream of
1134-407: The flume to Roslyn Lake. The Marmot Dam included a fish ladder to allow migration of salmon and steelhead ; however it performed poorly at first and required frequent upgrades and maintenance, which continued into the 1990s. To prevent fish from being swept into the diversion canal, PGE installed fish screens in 1951 and later added a bypass system to rescue fish trapped in the canal. In 1989
1176-590: The former dam. PGE donated 1,500 acres (610 ha) of the dam site to the Western Rivers Conservancy . This land is planned to form the core of a 9,000-acre (3,600 ha) natural refuge and public recreation area, which will be managed by the Bureau of Land Management . PGE's water rights on the river were transferred to the state. As of 2009, PGE biologists continue to monitor the streams. As part of its decommissioning, PGE planned to demolish
1218-492: The left near the unincorporated community of Zigzag . From here the river runs roughly parallel to U.S. Route 26 , which is on its left for about the next 20 miles (32 km). Just below Zigzag, the Sandy River passes the unincorporated community of Wemme on the left. At about 39 miles (63 km) from the mouth, the river receives Hackett Creek from the right, passes the unincorporated community of Brightwood shortly thereafter, and receives North Boulder Creek from
1260-475: The left, and the river flows around Indian John Island. Soon Trout Creek, Gordon Creek, and Buck Creek all enter from the right as the river winds through Oxbow Regional Park between 14 miles (23 km) and 11 miles (18 km) from the mouth. Passing Camp Collins about 1 mile (1.6 km) later, the river receives Big Creek from the right. Dabney State Recreation Area is on the right about 4 miles (6.4 km) later. Lewis and Clark State Recreation Site
1302-489: The left. It passes under Ten Eyck Road about 24 miles (39 km) from the mouth, flowing by the city of Sandy on the left, shortly thereafter and receiving Cedar Creek, home of the Sandy Fish Hatchery, from the left. At about 22 miles (35 km) from the mouth, the river turns away from Highway 26 and flows generally north-northwest for the rest of its course. About 3 miles (4.8 km) further downstream,
Bull Run Hydroelectric Project - Misplaced Pages Continue
1344-400: The original timber crib Marmot Dam was replaced with a concrete structure. The powerhouse had a generating capacity of 22 megawatts (MW), enough to power 12,000 homes in 2007. The decommissioning project required significant oversight, because Marmot Dam was the largest concrete dam ever removed in the United States. PGE sought and received initial approval for the project from
1386-571: The powerhouse until a private company offered to buy it. Powerhouse Re Gen LLC, a group of historic preservationists, agreed to acquire the building which is eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places . According to the Daily Journal of Commerce of February 2, 2010, although PGE and Re Gen had agreed on the purchase, Re Gen was required to seek approval from Clackamas County , complete an environmental study of
1428-407: The preservation effort. The NBC series Grimm episode, Leave It to Beavers , featured the powerhouse and associated structures. The site's transformer building served as a gathering place for giant beaver creatures. The generator hall was the site of a battle between the show's protagonist and German "Grimm Reapers", culminating with the beheading of the would-be assassin reapers. In April 2014,
1470-611: The release of 1 million cubic yards (750,000 cubic meters) of sediment on the river course. In 2004, PGE allowed its operating license to lapse, and filed a notice stating: "[...]the likely cost of providing the necessary level of protection, mitigation, and enhancement for the resources affected by the Project would outweigh the economic benefit of generation at the Project over the life of a new license[...]" The project continued to operate with license extensions while decommissioning awaited approval. In 2006, PGE requested special approval of
1512-480: The right. Barlow Trail County Park and remnants of the Barlow Road lie to the right along this stretch of the river. Between 38 miles (61 km) and 37 miles (60 km) from the mouth, the Salmon River enters from the left. Roughly 4 miles (6.4 km) later, Wildcat Creek enters from the left and then Alder Creek and Whiskey Creek, also from the left. The river passes the Marmot gauging station operated by
1554-455: The river passes Dodge Park on the right, receives the Bull Run River from the right and passes a second USGS gauge at RM 18.4 (RK 29.6). Shortly thereafter, Walker Creek enters from the right. Between 17 miles (27 km) and 16 miles (26 km) from the mouth, the Sandy River enters Multnomah County, curves back into Clackamas County, and re-enters Multnomah County. About 1 mile (1.6 km) further downstream, Bear Creek enters from
1596-499: The river. Roslyn Lake was at 656 feet (200 m) above sea level, about 400 feet (120 m) higher than the mouth of the Bull Run River , at 242 feet (74 m). The 140-acre (57 ha) lake acted as a reservoir for the powerhouse, which was completed and put into operation in 1912, the same year that the MHR&;P merged with Portland Railway, Light and Power Company (PRL&P), the predecessor of PGE. In 1913 PRL&P built
1638-701: The site were conveyed to Trackers Earth, an environmental education organization. The Powerhouse was established as an independent site as a result of the aforementioned land use decision, and was conveyed to the Powerhouse Center On The Bull Run, a non-profit established to maintain and preserve the Powerhouse, and identify future potential uses related to historic preservation and environmental education and stewardship. Download coordinates as: Mount Hood Railway and Power Company Too Many Requests If you report this error to
1680-444: The site, and seek approval from FERC. Re Gen, which had not announced specific plans for the site, plans to preserve it as well as other structures near Roslyn Lake. Powerhouse ReGen (owners: Jeff Joslin, Karen Karlsson, Rick Michaelson) completed the acquisition in 2011, the property by then consisting of the powerhouse site, the historic former Bull Run elementary school, and portions of the former Roslyn Lake Recreational Area. Since
1722-407: The trail to Ramona Falls , a well-known waterfall. Other uses of the upper river and its surrounds include kayaking and cross-country skiing . Fishing, picnicking, non-motorized boating and floating are among popular activities on the lower river. Parks along the river include Dodge Park, Oxbow Regional Park, Dabney State Recreation Area, Lewis and Clark State Recreation Site, Glenn Otto Park and
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1764-456: The transference of ownership, restoration has commenced on various elements of the sites, but no specific repurposing has been determined. An event commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Powerhouse and its contributions to the region was organized by Powerhouse Re Gen in 2012. The event attracted 600 visitors, including a number of long-time employees of the facility whose stories were captured by an ongoing oral history project associated with
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