Posted: Friday, August 8, 2008 12:00 am
Democrat-Herald
FOSTER - It is now safe to go back into the water, that is if you scout the area before water skiing or inner-tubing at Foster Lake, Linn County parks officials say.
The lake level behind Foster Dam has again been raised to 622 feet above sea level after being lowered to assess damage to spillway gates on the dam.
The usual full summertime pool is near 636 feet.
"What that's done for us is gotten Gedney Creek boat ramp as well as all three lanes at the Sunnyside boat ramp back in the water," parks director Brian Carroll said this week.
Some but not all of the boarding floats are back in the water at Sunnyside.
More temporary moorage is also being installed there today.
Carroll said Foster Lake itself is a good body of water right now for recreation. Those water skiing and inner-tubing should stay at least 100 feet from the shoreline and scout the area first.
"They should take a look at it themselves and make sure they are comfortable with it," he said.
The Corps will not raise the lake to its normal summertime level because the problem with three of the four gates remains.
The mechanisms used to raise and lower the gates showed signs of stress, and engineers now are working to design a solution, either replacing or repairing the damaged parts, said Amy Echols, a spokeswoman for the Corps in Portland. They are leaning toward replacement, she added.
Lowering the water has enabled the engineers to grease and "exercise" the gates to check them out, Echols said.
She expects that the repair work can be done this fall, and that the dam will be in shape to operate normally through the winter.
The lake normally is lowered during the winter in order to be ready for winter and spring runoff.
Foster is part of the Corps' system of 13 federal dams in the Willamette River drainage. The dams were built for flood control, power production and recreation, among other things.