Decommissioning the Leaburg Hydroelectric Project FAQ

A: The Leaburg trout hatchery and McKenzie salmon hatchery have historically received water via the Leaburg Project. EWEB, the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) have maintained long-term discussions about the vulnerability of the hatcheries to rely solely on the Leaburg Project for water supply. EWEB is not legally obligated to provide the hatcheries with water. While the Project was in operation, there was a good opportunity to provide our partners with their water supply. Moving forward, ODFW and USACE are aware that they will need to transition to new solutions for their water supplies. EWEB will continue to work together to support these facilities during their transition.

With the Project dewatered, EWEB has closed the right bank fish ladder. Fish and lamprey are forced to use the left bank ladder, and ODFW operates a sorting facility to separate hatchery-bred Chinook salmon during spawning season. ODFW and volunteers ran the sorting facility for 7 days a week during the 2022 spawning season and they reported that the modifications allowed them to improve their results in preventing hatchery fish from accessing upriver spawning grounds and mixing their genetics with wild populations.

A: The Leaburg Dam is a low height, small reservoir, run-of-the-river facility that is low-impact to our native salmonids and Pacific lamprey. The dam is equipped with modern fish ladders that facilitate upstream passage for migrating local and anadromous species. Even though it is low-impact, the Leaburg Project is an additional stressor on the watershed. Improvements to water quality and wildlife that are expected as a result of decommissioning include: 

• Restoring Leaburg Lake to river form will reduce warming and help keep the McKenzie cooler in the summer months; 
• Removing Leaburg Dam eliminates some migration delay for salmon, trout and lamprey traveling upstream and reduces the potential for injury to juvenile fish migrating downstream; 
• Not diverting up to 2,500 cubic-feet-per-second of water from the McKenzie River will provide more water for aquatic life in the former bypass reach of the river. 

A: You can sign up to receive the Leaburg Updates Newsletter at: eweb.org/LeaburgNewsletter, or email LeaburgInfo@eweb.org.

A: These facilities will continue to remain open and accessible to the public until further notice. The Leaburg Decommissioning Action Plan will include the evaluation of future recreational uses as part of the decommissioning process.

A: We are looking into options including federal, state and county funding. EWEB has recently hired a grant writer to help identify and apply for funding for infrastructure projects.