MEDFORD, Ore. (AP) — A design flaw discovered this summer in spillway gates used only once in 33 years at Lost Creek Dam in southern Oregon may affect flood control next year.
The Mail Tribune reports the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has altered plans for managing reservoir levels until the flaws can be fixed.
Corps engineers told the Medford newspaper Friday that support mechanisms used when operating the gates pose a slight risk of failure during the worst flooding, possibly triggering unrestricted flows through the spillway.
Plans now are to keep the lake’s surface level 12 feet lower than full so the flawed gates don’t come into play. But officials say that will reduce the lake’s flood-control capacity and likely mean longer and higher-volume releases into the Rogue River during winter storms.
