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  • April

    computer-generated imagery of the river bottom. first image shows riverbed before dredging. Second image shows riverbed after dredging.

    First Bipartisan Infrastructure Law project is a story of success for the Walla Walla District

    The Walla Walla District recently completed dredging work at the confluence of the Snake and Clearwater rivers near Lewiston, Idaho and downstream of Ice Harbor Dam. This is the first project the district has completed using Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funds.
  • photo of ice harbor spillway and photo of ice harbor powerhouse

    From water to watts: A history of Ice Harbor Lock and Dam

    Ice Harbor Lock and Dam boasts some of the most cutting-edge hydropower technology in the world. Two advanced technology turbines currently sit in the powerhouse, with a third one on the way. These new turbines were designed to improve fish passage and generate electricity more efficiently.

  • March

    Today, McNary is an essential part of the river highway that was envisioned before the formation of the Walla Walla District. It sits as the midpoint, the last lock on the Columbia before the mouth of the Snake River. With its 14 generator units, McNary is also an incredible source of hydropower, capable of producing 980-megawatts or enough electricity to power about 686,000 homes.

    A step towards navigable waters: A history of McNary Lock and Dam

    As people moved into the Pacific Northwest, communities grew around the rivers, especially the Columbia and Snake. Back then, the rivers were temperamental and hard to navigate. However, there was a vision to create a river highway, one that would allow barges to carry cargo from the Pacific Ocean to the confluence of the Snake and Clearwater rivers, 465 miles inland.

  • February

    Lucky Peak Dam became the first dam to be designed and constructed by the new Walla Walla District. Since its construction, Lucky Peak is estimated to have prevented over a billion dollars of flood damage.

    Guarding the Treasure Valley: A history of Lucky Peak Dam

    Every year, snowmelt from the surrounding mountains flows into creeks and streams that join the Boise River. When flows reach 7,000 cubic feet per second or higher, the river is considered at flood stage.

  • January

    The Mill Creek Project is over 80 years old, older than the Walla Walla District, which will be celebrating its 75th Anniversary on Nov. 1, 2023. Since construction was completed in 1942, at least $300 million in potential flood damages have been prevented by the Mill Creek Project’s combined storage and channel operations.

    Through fair or foul weather: A history of the Mill Creek Project

    In 1931, a torrent of brown water roared down Mill Creek, with water levels rising at a rate of one foot per hour. The water escaped the confines of the riverbanks and rushed through the City of Walla Walla, destroying homes, roads and bridges. Born in the wake of this disastrous event, the Mill Creek Project now stands to protect the city from floods like this.

  • November

    NWW PRT members at the Generator Staging Base (GSB) in Ponce.

    Keeping the lights on: Walla Walla Temporary Power Team installs generators in the wake of Hurricane Fiona

    On September 19, the day after Hurricane Fiona made landfall near Punta Tocón, members of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Walla Walla District Planning and Response Team (PRT) boarded a plane in Atlanta and flew to Puerto Rico. The team landed in San Juan at 8 p.m., on a mission to install generators and provide temporary emergency power to the island.

  • September

    CDT Marsh measures a Salmon in the Adult Fish Facility at Lower Granite Lock and Dam.

    Exploring the USACE Walla Walla District: An Engineering Student’s Journey

    “I’ve always thought that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was all about hydropower. I didn’t think there was too much to it.”
  • The Mill Creek Diversion Dam and fish ladder (fish ladder is under the grate) in August. Water flows are low.

    New fish ladder planned for the Mill Creek Diversion Dam

    The Mill Creek Channel is getting an update.

  • August

    A 5- to 8-million-year-old young adult mastodon jawbone discovered on April 14.

    Uncovering the past: Mastodon jaw found on Corps land

    It was windy, and the little boat bounced on whitecaps as it crossed the Columbia River. On May 9, Walla Walla District archeologists and natural resource management staff were heading out to meet with tribal and community members to discuss an important discovery on Corps land.

  • April

    For those who live along the river, the idea of having a boat dock can be attractive. However, specific laws, rules and procedures go into installing a boat dock, and it’s important to be aware of the process, especially for those living adjacent to federally managed shorelines.

    Docks along the shoreline: The intersection of public and private property

    For those who live along the river, the idea of having a boat dock can be attractive. However, specific laws, rules and procedures go into installing a boat dock, and it’s important to be aware of the process, especially for those living adjacent to federally managed shorelines.
  • In the wild, fertilized eggs would lay in rocky streambeds until they hatched. At the hatchery, eggs and milt are collected from returning adult salmonids and the fertilized eggs are placed in incubation trays and kept in water from the Dworshak reservoir. The hatchery regulates the temperature and flow of water in the trays to keep the eggs healthy and growing at an appropriate rate.

    4 million mouths to feed

    Just below Dworshak Dam, on the shore of the Clearwater River, lies the Dworshak National Fish Hatchery (DNFH). The DNFH raises millions of salmon and steelhead smolts every year to be released into the river and make their way down to the ocean.
  • Burbank, WA. Ice Harbor Dam personnel installed an advanced technology turbine, the first of its kind, on June 8, 2018. This fixed blade turbine runner was designed by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers personnel and Voith for power efficiency and to optimize the safety of fish navigating through Snake River dams.

    Modernizing hydropower on the Snake River

    Hydropower, a clean, renewable and reliable energy source, just became safer for fish and more efficient at generating electricity, thanks to the new turbines at Ice Harbor Lock and Dam on the Snake River in southeast Washington.

  • February

    NOAA employees at the adult fish facility at Lower Granite, processing adult salmon who are on their way up river.

    There and Back Again: A Salmon’s Tale in the Pacific Northwest

    Some fish live in freshwater streams and lakes. Other fish live in the ocean, in saltwater. Then there are salmon who do both. Salmon are anadromous, meaning they live part of their lives in freshwater and part in saltwater.

  • January

    Levee repair work after the February 2020 flood event.

    Walla Walla County and Corps partner to increase Mill Creek Channel’s safety

    In October 2018, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Walla Walla District, in partnership with the non-federal sponsor, Walla Walla County, began a General Investigation (GI) study on the Mill Creek Flood Control Project.

  • June

    Shirley and John Houser, former camp host volunteers at Swallows Park in Clarkston, sitting in a utility vehicle.

    Essential to the Mission

    Volunteers are an invaluable part of the Corps of Engineers team. The Walla Walla District Corps of Engineers is responsible for thousands of acres of land in Washington, Idaho and Oregon. Proper management of those lands would not be possible without the volunteers who lend their time and abilities to the mission.
  • Two men, one with clipboard, one with rope tied around a pole.

    Keeping water safety a high priority

    Boating season is upon us, and more people are taking the opportunity for fun and leisure out on the water. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Walla Walla District knows that the need for vigilance and safety on the water is imperative.

  • May

    For Jake Cordtz, it was never a question. The best place to work was the outside, and it was only a matter of time before he became a park ranger for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

    From Park Aide to Park Ranger

    For Jake Cordtz, it was never a question. The best place to work was the outside, and it was only a matter of time before he became a park ranger for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
  • As part of an U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC)-University project, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Walla Walla District Biologist Damian Walter is netting flowering rush plants for a feeding study at the ERDC Environmental Laboratory’s greenhouse on the Vicksburg, Mississippi, installation. (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers photo by Dr. Nathan Harms)

    Aquatic Botany journal features biologist Damian Walter’s ERDC-U project

    U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) Environmental Laboratory Research Biologist Dr. Nathan Harms co-authored a journal article as one of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Walla Walla District Wildlife Biologist Damien Walter’s 2019 ERDC University mentors.

  • March

    Two US Army Corps of Engineers employees inspect a flowering rush infestation from a boat.

    Corps of Engineers partners with states in fight against invasive aquatic plants

    Butomus umbellatus may conjure up images of a hippopotamus belly, but in reality, it is flowering rush, an aquatic invasive plant species that poses a grave threat to the Columbia River Basin’s aquatic ecosystems.
  • Brig. Gen. D. Peter Helmlinger, commander of the Corps’ Northwestern Division, and Lt. Col. Richard Childers, commander of the Walla Walla District, toured the Lucky Peak Dam Project, in Boise, Idaho, Thursday March 4.The tour was a way for district staff to discuss seasonal operating procedures during the pandemic.

    Brig. Gen. D. Peter Helmlinger speaks to Northwestern Division priorities during trip to Lucky Peak

    Brig. Gen. D. Peter Helmlinger, commander of the Corps’ Northwestern Division, came to Boise recently, to meet with Congressional staff, public officials and stakeholders.