Water

for Oregon

By K. N. PHILLIPS, R. C. NEWCOMB, 

H. A. SWENSON, and L. B. LAIRD

Report based mainly on work 

accomplished cooperatively with 

the State Engineer of Oregon and 

other State, municipal, and 

Federal agencies

Geological Survey Water-Supply Paper 1649

PROPERTY OF 

U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

GROUND WATER BlV.iMCH 

TRENTON, NJ.
WATER FOR OREGON
v *,; » 

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fc

FIGUKE 1. West side of Crater Lake from the south rim, about 900 feet 

above the lake. Wizard Island, built by a weak volcanic resurgence 

after the formation of the main crater, in the foreground. National 

Park Service photograph by George A. Grant.
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE ULTERIOR 

STEWART L. UDALL, Secretary

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 

THOMAS B. NOLAN, Director

U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 

WASHINGTON : 1965

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, W.S. Government Printing Office 

Washington, D.C. 20402 Price 60 cents
CONTENTS

Page

Introduction ............... 1

Water for the pioneers ......... 5

Nature's supply of water ........ 8

Nature's disposal of water ....... 11

What is water? ............ 13

River basins of Oregon ........... 15

Columbia River ............ 15

Snake River. ............. 20

Willamette River ........... 21

Rogue River ............. 28

Umpqua River ............ 33

Smaller coastal streams ......... 35

Crater Lake and Klamath River basin . . 39

Landlocked lake basins ......... 45

Malheur and Harney Lakes ...... 47

Alvord Lake ........... 50

Warner Valley .......... 50

Goose Lake ............ 51

Abert Lake ............ 53

Summer Lake ........... 53

Silver Lake ............ 55

Fort Rock Basin .......... 56

Streams that flow into the Snake River . . 57

Owyhee River ........... 59

Malheur River .......... 61

Burnt River ........... 61

Powder River ........... 63

Grande Ronde River and the Wallowa

Mountain area ......... 64
River basins of Oregon Continued page

Rivers of the north slope of Oregon ... 68

Walla Walla River ......... 69

Umatilla River .......... 69

Willow Creek ........... 70

John Day River .......... 72

Deschutes River .......... 75

Lower Columbia tributaries ..... 79

Lakes of Oregon .............. 82

Sand-dune lakes ............ 82

Landslide lakes ............ 83

Flood-plain lakes ........... 83

Glacier lakes ............. 86

Spring pools ............. 87

Lava-dammed lakes .......... 88

Crater lakes ............. 90

Fault-basin lakes ........... 90

Playas ................ 90

Manmade lakes ............ 91

Water purity ............... 92

Water problems .............. 100

Low flows of streams in late summer ... 100

Too little water ............ 101

Too much water ............ 102

Conflict of interest among water users . . 104

Pollution ............... 105

Lack of information on water ...... 107

Economy of water ........... 109

Water use ................ 112

Uses that result in some water loss .... 112

Uses that are without water loss ..... 121

Water for urban centers .......... 123

Portland ............... 127

Salem ................ 131

Eugene ................ 132

Medford ............... 133

Klamath Falls ............. 134

VI
Water for urban centers Continued page 

Corvallis ............... 134

Pendleton. .............. 135

Coos Bay and North Bend ....... 136

Springfield .............. 137

Astoria ................ 138

Water for other cities ......... 138

Special features of Oregon's municipal 

water ............... 140

Water in Oregon's future .......... 141

What water needs are to be expected? . . 141 

Possible new sources of water of good

quality ............... 143

What are the resources to meet future

needs? ............... 144

What can be done to assure Oregon's water

supply?. .............. 146

Published information on water in Oregon . . 148 

Where to ask questions about ....... 149

ILLUSTRATIONS

FIGURE 1. Crater Lake from the south

rim .......... Frontispiece

Page

2. Index map of Oregon ...... 2

3. Relief map of Oregon ...... 4

4. Generalized east-west cross section

of Oregon .......... 10

5. Rivers of Oregon ........ 12

6. Tugs moving barges upstream on 

Columbia River and log rafts at 

Willamette Falls ....... 17

Vll
Page

FIGURE 7. Bonneville Dam on the Co^mbia

River ............ 19

8. Grand Canyon of the Snake Fiver . 21

9. Sketch map, major drainage basins

of Oregon .......... 22

10. Sketch map, Willamette, Sandy, 

and northern coastal river 

basins ............ 23

11. Graph of monthly and annual flow 

of McKenzie River and South 

Yamhill River ........ 24

12. Sketch map, Willamette River basin

development ......... 26

13. Salmon at Willamette Falls ... 27

14. Sketch map, Rogue, Umpqua, and

southern coastal river basins . . 29

15. Graph of monthly and annual flow 

of Umpqua River near Elkton 

and Rogue River at Raygold . . 30

16. Hydraulic mining for gold near

Waldo ........... 32

17. Graph of daily discharge of Clearwater River and Lookingglass 

Creek ............ 34

18. Graph of monthly and annual flow 

of Columbia River near The 

Dalles and Siletz River at Siletz . 36

19. Logged-over area north of Nestucca

River ............ 38

20. Sketch map, Klamath River drainage basin .......... 40

21. View northward up Link River . 42

22. Sketch map, landlocked lake

basins ............ 46

23. Swans at Malheur Lake ..... 47

Vlll
Page

FIGURE 24. Graph of monthly and annual flow 

of Silvies River near Burns and 

Donner und Blitzen River near 

Frenchglen ......... 49

25. Artesian flow in Summer Lake

valley ............ 54

26. Sketch map, southern part of the

Snake River drainage basin . . 58

27. Graph of monthly and annual flow 

of Owyhee River near Rome and 

Hurricane Creek near Joseph . . 60

28. Sketch map, northern part of the

Snake River drainage basin . . 62

29. Wallowa Lake and Wallowa Mountains ............ 66

30. Sketch map, north slope drainage

basins ............ 68

31. Erosion of loess soil, Umatilla

River basin ......... 71

32. Graph of monthly and annual flow 

of John Day River at McDonald 

Ferry and Deschutes River at 

Moody ........... 74

33. View northward down Deschutes

River canyon ........ 75

34. Sketch map, Deschutes River and

adjacent drainage basins .... 76

35. Netting smelt on Sandy River . . 81

36. Block diagram illustrating the origin 

of lakes formed by sand dunes 

and by other agents ...... 84

37. Block diagram illustrating the origin 

of lakes formed by volcanic action 

and by faulting ........ 89

IX
Page

FIGURE 38. Graph of surface-water quality . . 94

39. Staggered-plot and selective logging ............ 96

40. Graph of ground-water quality . . 98

41. Flooding on Coquille River . . . 103

42. Instrument shelter at a streamgaging station and hydrographer 

measuring the flow of Lake 

Creek ............ 108

43. Irrigation by row method .... 116

44. Irrigation by sprinkler method . . 117

45. Indians netting salmon at Celilo

Falls ............ 122

46. Block diagram illustrating principal 

features of public water-supply 

sources and systems ...... 124

47. Graph of dissolved solids and hardness of selected public water 

supplies in Oregon ...... 127
INTRODUCTION

But the land, whither ye go to possess it, is a land of 

hills and valleys, that drinketh water of the rain of 

heaven.

Deuteronomy 11:11

The early American immigrants to the Willamette Valley 

may have seen it as another Promised Land, but before the 

Oregon Territory achieved statehood in 1859, its citizens 

knew their land possessed water contrasts almost without 

equal. In some places the average annual precipitation is 

140 inches, but over other large areas it is less than 8 inches. 

Nearly all of this precipitation comes during the rainy winter 

season; the summer season is almost everywhere dry. The 

soils of Oregon are varied, and the altitude ranges from the 

level of the sea to snow-clad peaks above 10,000 feet.

The pioneers recognized that the region and its water 

conditions, in a general sense, are divided by the north-south 

Cascade Range. (See figs. 2, 3.) Western Oregon has adequate or even excessive gross supplies of water, but much of 

eastern Oregon has a gross overall shortage. Alorg the 

State's eastern and northern borders, large rivers flow from 

distant mountains; Oregon and its neighboring States are 

planning to make full use of these border streams.
FIGURE

Tillamook Head 

Cape Falcon

Kincheloe Pt 

Cape MeareS

Cape Lookout-^

j-'^Lr^iiiA^ [

, St. Helens^,

20 20

'U'N-^- -":-'

Hillsboro1 , o^---^-^' 

o \ ^Portland :,

Tillamook

Cascade Head

Cape Foulweather 

Yaquina Head v 

Newport'5

Cape Perpetua/-

Cape AragoCoquille

Coquille PtT

Cape 

Blanco

Gold Beach'

Crook Pt

McMinnville

« City

LV I-- X"«A.

- _ ^3

i Dallas

o

\ i'(" K

'SALEM

AlbanyS 

Corvallis ^

Eugene0

Roseburg

Grants Pass

o Medford

Hood River's

-oKlamath

'/ ,/
Oregon.

42°

120°

118°
WASHINGTON

"OREGON

® Portland

I

WALLOWA 

MOUNTAINS

Q

J

W, I o

c5 i

^MOUNTA.NS_ OREGON

'CALIFORNIA

*-"'

M ;*

ORBGO^

NEVADA

FIGURE 3. Relief map of Oregon. Much of the State is mountainous. 

Near the west boundary of the State, the Coast Range extends from 

the southern boundary northward to the Columbia River. About 

100 miles inland from the Coast Range is the parallel and higher 

Cascade Range. In eastern Oregon, the rugged Blue Mountains and 

Wallowa Mountains dominate the skyline. Steens Mountain in the 

southeast is the greatest of the fault-block mountains.

The pioneer settlers could hardly have virualized the 

rapidity with which the water would be put to use. The 

easily available water would all be used within 150 years of 

the date of the first settlements, and the descendants of the 

pioneers are now preparing plans for the full use of all the 

resources of fresh water.

Thus, within 100 years after achieving statehood, Oregon 

has developed a variety of water problems. Certain local 

areas have abundant water and other areas have an excess 

in some seasons, but most of the State is deficient, either in 

the amount or in the distribution of water. The high standard of living in the whole State and the normal growth of 

its industries and population will soon require much greater 

use of present water resources, more control of water waste 

and damage, and perhaps the development of water sources 

now not fully recognized.
WATER FOR THE PIONEEFS

For millenniums before the coming of the white man, 

Indian life was virtually dependent on the runs of salmon 

in the streams, on the wildlife that followed waterways, and 

on the plants that grew in the marshes and along the 

streams; the waterways were also the Indians' principal 

routes of travel and transportation. The explorers and fur 

traders traveled these same natural avenues, and the earlier 

white settlers built their homes near them.

The early settlers, like the fur traders, depended upon the 

waterways for transportation of their heavier lords. As 

roads were constructed, wheeled vehicles took over some of 

this traffic, but waterways were still the principal routes 

for heavy transport during the first half of the 19th 

century. At that time the usual requirements for domestic 

water were small; it was enough to have a clean stream, a 

nearby spring, or a dug well with bucket and windlass.

Placer mining of gold started in the Rogue River valley 

in the 1850's and in the Powder and Malheur River valleys 

of eastern Oregon in the 1860's. Sawmills were located on 

the streams, down which logs could be floated from the 

abundant upstream stands of timber. Commercial fisheries 

flourished on the strong runs of salmon. Flour mills, sawmills, and woolen mills were operated by waterpower, and 

industrial use of water was started. By 1850 there were 

about 13,000 permanent settlers, most of them living in the 

lower Willamette Valley, and the stage was set for a rapid 

exploitation of the rich land, timber, and water resources.

There was an influx of settlers in the 1850's and 1860's. 

Warfare with the larger Indian tribes was over by 1860, 

and gold mining started in the Rocky Mountain areas in the 

1860's. These two factors helped to bring about the settlement of the valleys of eastern Oregon, and the settlement in 

turn brought about diversions of streams to irrigate parts 

of many of the valley plains. Irrigation increased until most 

of the summer flow of many creeks and rivers had been applied to the land. Squabbles between claimants of water 

had developed in some valleys by 1880.
Water traffic on the Columbia and Willamette Rivers 

was the dominant means of heavy transport in the period 

1850-87. Astoria, The Dalles, Umatilla, Oregon City, 

Champoeg, Salem, Albany, and Dayton were port cities. 

Inland commercial shipping also operated on other lakes 

and rivers, among them the Yamhill, Tualatin, Snake, and 

Umpqua Rivers. Portland was the main transfer point 

where the lumber, grain, and livestock were shipped out and 

manufactured goods carne in. Milwaukie ws.s considered 

the head of practical navigation on the lower Willamette, and 

Oregon City the lower terminus of the upper Willamette. 

To bypass the 40-foot Willamette Falls at Oregon City, shipping locks were constructed, but they came into use only a 

short time before the construction of the railroads. The rail 

lines took over much of the pioneer traffic from the rivers. 

Thereafter, river navigation decreased and wa* confined to 

the tidal reaches of the Columbia and Willamette Rivers, 

until the development of locks and dams in recent years.

The latter part of the 19th century saw the pioneer phase 

of settlement giving way to the stabilized situations of growing communities. The pattern of water use was already in 

operation. In the eastern part of the State, conflicts had 

developed for the right to divert the summer flow of streams 

for irrigation. In many valleys, more land had been prepared for irrigation than the streams could possibly water 

in most years. The courts were swamped by legal contests 

for water rights, and there arose a demand for legal as well 

as engineering and technical direction of water supplies. 

The measurement of the flow of water in streams was started, 

in some places on order from a court.

Periodic measurement of the Owyhee and Malheur Rivers 

was begun in 1890, of the Umatilla River in 1891, and of the 

Deschutes and Hood Rivers in 1897. Similar measurements 

were started on several other streams of eastern Oregon in 

the years 1903-5, and on some in western Oregon in 1905-6.

In response to the demand for technical direction in the 

allotment of rights to water, the office of the State Engineer 

was created in 1905. Continuously since that date, the U.S. 

Geological Survey has cooperated with the State Engineer 

in the collection of data on the water resources of the State.
A State water code was enacted in 1909, to provide an 

orderly and legal basis for the appropriation of rights to 

the public water of Oregon. The water of all nonnavigable 

streams was declared to be public water, and rules wr*e laid 

down for the granting of rights according to the doctrine of 

priority of appropriation and beneficial use. The original 

water code of 1909 has been amended from time to time. 

In 1955, ground water was declared a part of the public water 

of the State and was brought under the regulatory supervision of the State Engineer.

The original diversions for irrigation were made by settlers 

at points where the water could be applied most readily to 

land. Large projects were constructed and operated by 

groups of settlers; successful irrigation districts were formed 

and a permanent water supply obtained for them. Some 

ill-advised projects failed, with great hardships to the settlers 

and the investors, because there was not enough information 

on the sustained yield of the proposed water source.

After the passage of the National Reclamation Act cf 1902, 

the U.S. Reclamation Service (administered at that time by 

the Geological Survey, but in 1907 made a separate bureau 

of the Department of the Interior) constructed many of the 

larger irrigation projects, including the Klamath, CH7 yhee, 

and Deschutes projects.

Experiments at Corvallis in the years 1907-8 demonstrated 

that irrigation would more than double the per-acre yield of 

field crops in the Willamette Valley, where the rainfall is 

deficient during the growing season. Adoption of irr nation 

as a standard farming method in that valley was slow but 

continuous. In recent years the custom of late-summer 

irrigation of pastures has been extended to the coastal areas, 

where the annual rainfall in places exceeds 90 inches.

The streams that descend from the mountains contain 

many cascades and steeply plunging reaches where water 

wheels were installed to drive the pioneers' flour and saw 

mills. Waterpower was thus an important factor in the 

early industry of the region. The first "long-distance'' transmission of electrical energy in the United States was over the 

line constructed in 1889 to carry electricity 13 miles to Portland from the new hydroelectric plant at Willamette Falls.
During the first 60 years of settlement, most of the domestic and public water supplies were obtained from dug 

wells, springs, or streams. Much of that water was carried 

by hand to kitchens, and the total use was smrll. Progressive settlement called for sources that were safer from contamination and of greater capacity. New supplies were 

obtained by piping water from streams or by using springs or 

steel-cased wells. Purifying treatment was started. Some 

cities abandoned their pioneer nearby sources and secured 

rights to the water of mountain streams with protected watersheds. Portland's Bull Run River supply was first used 

in 1895. Salem's original Willamette River supply replaced 

pioneer wells, and the Santiam River supply was developed 

in 1938. Pendleton's Umatilla River infiltration system was 

first used in 1914, Eugene's McKenzie River supply in 1925, 

and Medford's Big Butte Springs source in 1926.

The framework of water utilization in Oregon was largely 

established by 1910, but waste disposal became a serious 

problem that later required restraining measures. Water 

supply became the all-important vital force to economic, 

industrial, and agricultural development in western Oregon 

and to its limitation in eastern Oregon.

NATURE'S SUPPLY OF WATER

A few rivers bring to Oregon's borders a supply of water 

that originated in other States; however, most of the supply 

available for use within the State is brought in as part of 

the atmospheric circulation and falls as rain or snow.

This atmospheric circulation arises largely from one path 

of storms. A hemispheric pattern of circulation is set up 

by interaction of the warm air that rises in the tropics and 

flows northward with the cold air that sinks in the polar 

regions and flows southward. At the latitudes where the 

warm and colder airmasses meet, a series of skrm centers is 

formed. These storms migrate eastward across the Pacific 

Ocean with the prevailing winds. In the colde^ months the 

eastward-moving storms, laden with moisture picked up in 

their ocean passage, strike the Pacific coast ir the general 

latitude of Oregon. In the warmer months the tropical air
flows farther north, and the latitude of storm formation, between the cold and warm airmasses, shifts northward. The 

belt of potential storms is thus deflected, and Oregon is 

therefore largely free of the strong eastward-moving storms 

during the warmer months.

The atmospheric circulation provides the basic west-toeast movement of the moisture, but the topography of the 

land to a large extent determines where precipitatior falls. 

The air over the ocean is generally warmer in the winter 

months than the Oregon landmass; hence, the air becomes 

chilled as it begins to pass over the land. The lifting of the 

air and its natural expansion as it passes up the west slopes 

of the mountains is even more effective as a cooling agent. 

As a result, the water can no longer be carried as an invisible 

vapor; tiny droplets condense to form clouds or fog and, 

as they cool, these droplets join together and rain or snow 

begins to fall. The greatest precipitation predictably occurs 

on the west slopes of the Coast Range and the Cascade 

Range, where the cooling is most rapid as the airnasses 

rise. (See fig. 4.) The Coast Range is first in line and 

accomplishes the greatest extraction of the incoming moisture as it forces the clouds up over its general 3,000-foot 

crest. The west slope of the Coast Range is part of one of 

the areas of greatest precipitation in the United States. The 

Cascade Range, next in line, extracts a great deal of the remaining moisture from the clouds by deflecting them upward 

to an altitude of 4,000 to 7,000 feet.

East of the Cascade Range are local mountainous sections the Blue and the Wallowa Mountains of northeastern 

Oregon, the Fremont Mountains, Steens Mountain, and the 

mountains of central Oregon that also obtain precipitation 

from the eastward-moving storms. The storms thai commonly bring the heaviest precipitation to southern and 

southeastern Oregon are those that strike the coast in northern California and move northeastward across the Sirkiyou 

Mountains and the southern part of the Cascade Pange. 

Much of the moisture is removed in crossing these barriers, 

and as a result the broad plateaus of southern and southeastern Oregon have rather meager precipitation.

9
Coastal-marine climate

High precipitation, high surface runoff, ample groundwater infiltration in valleys and low evaporation 

rates.

CO!«Is§*

Q

Yearly precipitation, in inches 

50-100 20-50 10-20 Less than 10

i- J- J- JHigh desert climate

Low precipitation, low surface runoff, low ground-water 

infiltration and high evaporation rates.

General easterly movement of air misses

Longitude 124° West Longitude 117'

FIGURE 4. Generalized east-west cross section of Oregon showing the 

general pattern of air circulation of the water of the State. The 

winds bring water vapor from the Pacific Ocean and move generally 

eastward across the land. The heaviest precipitation occurs on the 

west slopes of the Coast Range and the Cascade Ranre. East of the 

Cascade Range, the drier air has greater ability to rick up moisture 

evaporated from the open water surfaces; however, the amount of 

moisture available for evaporation is not great because large areas are 

arid.

The eastward-moving storms move down the east or lee 

side of the north-south ranges, and in descending they become warmer by compression, owing to the weight of the 

mass of air above them. Warming of the air and the water 

vapor stops the condensation of water rather abruptly. 

Hence, these lee areas receive much less precipitation than 

the west slopes and crest areas of the mountain ranges, and 

for that reason are said to be in "rain shadows." Some 

writers have suggested that a better phrase would be "dry 

shadows." The average annual rainfall for the Willamette 

Valley is about 40 inches; in the Coast Range it is 80 to 140 

inches, and in the lower parts of the Deschutes-Klamath 

plain about 10 inches.

The average annual precipitation for the entire State has 

been estimated as about 27 inches. This would be enough 

to cover 139 million acres 1 foot deep. The total volume

10
is somewhat uncertain because of the scarcity of rail gages 

in the more remote mountain localities. In some localities, 

records of streamflow indicate that precipitation may be 

greater than can be determined from the available records 

of rain and snowfall.

NATURE'S DISPOSAL OF WATER

The water which falls on Oregon's land surface is disposed 

of by one or a combination of the natural processes of surface 

runoff, infiltration, evaporation, and transpiration. The 

amount of water taking each disposal course is determined 

by the topography, temperature, vegetation, and precipitation of each drainage basin.

In order to accept much infiltration, the soil must be underlain by permeable rock materials. Where the soil and bedrock are not permeable, more of the precipitation must 

stay on the surface; where the slope is steep, more of the 

water will run off regardless of the other factors. Ixm temperatures increase the temporary storage of precipitation as 

snow and ice and decrease the evaporation and transpiration 

losses.

Vegetation affects the water yield of an area in three ways: 

It decreases the runoff by transpiring water; it increases the 

runoff by decreasing the evaporation from the surface; and 

it benefits the timing of the runoff and the clarity of the 

water by increasing the storage as snow, by retarding erosion, and by delaying the sedimentation of surface storage 

basins.

The character of the precipitation its intensity and duration, the state of its arrival (as rain or snow), its amount 

and distribution through the year influences the wate^ yield 

of any drainage basin.

Some of the precipitation that falls on Oregon is evaporated from streams, ponds, lakes, and storage reservoirs. 

The amount evaporated from the surface-water bodies in 

an average year has been computed as 2 million acr>feet, 

or only a little more than 1 percent of the total precipitation. 

Of this amount, about 750,000 acre-feet is evaporatec1 from 

the brackish lakes and marshes of basins that have no outlet

11
to the sea. The rivers carry to the ocean some 88 million 

acre-feet per year. (See fig. 5.) The remainder of the total 

annual supply falling as precipitation, about 49 million acrefeet, evaporates from the land surface or is transpired by 

trees and natural or cultivated plants, or is used consumptively by man.

Oregon

City

' IT® Salen 

AV^y^

® Corvallis

Eugene i^U*"-^

. Una 0 Coos Bay

°Grants Pass 

°Medford

°Klamath Falls Lakeview

°Pendleton

10 0 10 20 30 40 MILES

EXPLANATION 

Average flow, in cubic feet per second

Small flow 

500

j, 2000 

50 -"M 5000

Columbia River only All other streams

FIGURE 5. Rivers of Oregon. The Columbia and Snrke Rivers bring 

water to Oregon from other States and from Canada. Other rivers 

originate within Oregon. This map illustrates the distribution of 

water in Oregon's streams. Rivers on the west slopes of the Coast and 

Cascade Ranges carry much more water in proportion to the area 

drained than the streams draining the rain-shadow areas east of the 

mountains.

12
WHAT IS WATER?

To a great many people, the term "water" means just plain 

water. The chemist tells us that water is a colorless and 

odorless liquid consisting of two atoms of hydrogen ard one 

of oxygen for each molecule of water. The geologist reminds us that water is also a mineral having a definite crystal structure and melting point. It can change the physical 

form of other minerals by dissolving them or by combining 

with them to form new minerals. Everyone knows that distilled water tastes as if something is lacking, and ever rainwater does not taste normal to us. We all know that the 

oceans are salty and that stagnant waters are unsavory but 

few of us stop to think what is in the clear water we draw at 

the tap or drink at the fountain.

Because water is such a good solvent, it picks up both gases 

and solids as it falls from the sky or flows over or und°,r the 

earth's surface. Even rainwater contains dissolved gases, 

mineral solids, and organic material and, in some arear dust 

and smoke particles. Rain falling near the sea-coast dissolves common salt swept in as a spray from the ocean.

As soon as water arrives on the surface of the earth, things 

begin to happen to it. It ordinarily dissolves and'unites 

with some carbon dioxide from the air, the soil, and the animal or vegetal materials in or on the soil. From the time it 

receives its first carbon dioxide and forms carbonic acid, it 

is no longer a benign and inert liquid. It is then an petive, 

though weak, chemical reagent ready to dissolve any soluble 

rock material. It immediately begins its attack on the 

rocks and soils.

Through this process all natural waters contain dissolved 

mineral matter; the nature of the rock and soil materials in 

the drainage basin determines the character of the water. 

The amount and composition of the dissolved solids in the 

water depend upon the water's environment, because opportunities for water to dissolve minerals will not necessarily 

be the same in all drainage basins.

Time is also a factor determining the character of water. 

The quantity of mineral matter dissolved by natural water 

depends not only on the types of rocks and soils that it

13
touches but also on the length of contact. Ground water 

commonly contains more dissolved matter than surface runoff because it remains in contact with rocks and soils for 

longer periods of time. Streams that are fed by both surface runoff and ground water from springs and seeps reflect 

during dry periods the chemical character of the ground 

water, which has a greater concentration of dissolved solids; 

during periods of heavy surface runoff, the river water becomes more dilute, because of the addition of rain or snow 

water. The amount of dissolved solids in a river's water 

may be increased by waste water from mines, irrigated fields, 

cities, and industries.

Besides the dissolved materials, water movirg on the land 

surface may pick up and carry along some fine materials in 

suspension. The finer grained solids are carried along by 

the turbulent motion of the water. This suspended material 

is commonly referred to as sediment. It range? from microscopic-particle to sand-size grains. The suspended load, as 

it is called, may be extremely variable throughout the year 

or among streams. It is influenced by river stages, soils, 

terrain, bank conditions, and land use. Some soils erode 

easily, others do not. In some basins, as much as 90 percent 

of the total sediment load for the year may be carried by 

the stream in a few days.

All streams carry some natural sediment. The greatest 

manmade loads of sediment and solid debris in streams and 

drainageways result from poor soil-management practices. 

These unnatural loads result primarily from improper types 

of farming on slopes, overgrazing, placer mining, and poorly 

planned timber operations.

Within the framework briefly described above, Nature allots and disposes of Oregon's water refreshment. Let us 

examine what that allotment is in each of the State's main 

physical subdivisions.

14
RIVER 

BASINS 

OF 

OREGON

COLUMBIA RIVER

* * * the continuous woods

Where rolls the Oregon, and hears no sound

Save his own dashings * * *

William Cullen Bryant

When the young poet composed the sonorous lines of 

"Thanatopsis" in 1817, the little-known river to which he 

referred already had borne another name for a quarter of a 

century. On the early morning of May 11, 1792, Captain 

Robert Gray had sailed the American vessel Columbia 

through the breakers and dropped anchor 10 miles upstream 

in the legendary "Great River of the West." A few days 

later he gave his ship's name to the river.

The Columbia River brings to Oregon an immense supply 

of excellent water. For 309 miles it serves as Oregon's 

northern boundary; in that distance it descends the 3^0 feet 

from McNary Reservoir to sea level. Tidewater ertends 

from the mouth 145 miles upstream to Bonneville Dam.

The river is 1,214 miles long. It drains an area of 259,000 

square miles, including areas in Oregon that have mean annual precipitation ranging from 8 inches near Umatilla to 

more than 100 inches on the western slopes of the Coast and 

Cascade Ranges.

In an average year the river carries to the sea enough 

water to cover an area of a million acres 197 feet deep. But 

of course the "normal" year seldom occurs; some yef.rs are

745-668 O 65 2 15
wet, others dry, and in any year there is a wide seasonal variation in flow. The Dalles is the farthest downstream place 

at which the river is regularly gaged. Above that point the 

drainage area is 237,000 square miles, and measurements of 

the flow have ranged from a low of 35,000 cfs (cubic feet per 

second) on January 12,1937 (during a freezing period), to the 

memorable flood of 1,240,000 cfs on June 6,1894.

Upstream reservoirs already constructed are capable of 

storing sufficient water to reduce floodflows materially, and 

the daily discharge at The Dalles during the low-flow season 

now seldom drops below 80,000 cfs. According to the U.S. 

Army Corps of Engineers, construction of additional planned 

reservoirs will make possible reduction of the p^ak discharge 

of a flood like that of 1894 to 600,000 cfs and to increase the 

average low flow to 149,500 cfs (Report of CMef of Engineers, Mar. 31, 1961, p. 5, 15, in House Doc. 403, U.S. 87th 

Cong., 2d sess.). As the dependable flow of the river is increased, more and more water is being put to work to develop 

electric power for industry, to float waterborne commerce, 

and to serve a host of other uses (fig. 6).

The rate of flow in the main stem of the Columbia River 

follows an annual pattern that is fairly predictable. Because 

most of the water in flood periods is derived from melting 

snow, the flow is greatest in late spring and early summer, 

least in the period October to February. Thus, the greatest 

flows come at a time of comparatively dry weather, and the 

low flows occur in the wetter part of the annual rainfall cycle. 

The flows complement those of rivers in the western part of 

the State that are normally highest in the period November 

through March. The difference in the timing of the floodflows in the two river systems helps to make possible the 

fuller development of the water resources of both.

During the first half of the 19th century, a few of the 

settlers ran their flatboats and rafts laden with household 

goods and farm equipment downstream through the Cascade 

Gorge as a perilous but faster alternative to the Oregon 

Trail. But the same cascades that delayed the Lewis and 

Clark party in 1805 were an even more formidable barrier 

to the settlers' clumsy rafts, and river traffic above the 

mouth of the Willamette remained small even though por16
FIGURE 6. Above, Tugs moving barges upstream on the Columbia River. 

River freight consists principally of petroleum products going upstream 

and wheat and forest products downstream. View from the Bridge of 

the Gods at Cascade Locks. Photograph by Bonneville Power Administration. Below, Log rafts being lowered through the locks (right 

center) around Willamette Falls, West Linn papermills in center, Oregon City and Willamette Falls in the left background. Photograph by 

U.S. Bureau of Land Management.

17
tage roads were built around the rapids. Some impetus was 

given to upriver navigation by completion of Cascade Locks 

at the lower rapids in November 1896. The town of Cascade 

Locks grew up around the locks and took its name from them. 

Celilo Canal and locks, bypassing Celilo Falls, were opened 

to river traffic in April 1915.

Later, navigation was stimulated by the building of the 

great dams and shipping locks. Bonneville Dam and locks 

(fig. 7), completed in 1938, at the head of tide, created a 

slackwater reservoir 47 miles long and submerged the falls 

at Cascade Locks. The Dalles Dam, completed in March 

1957, drowned Celilo Falls and created a reservoir extending another 24 miles upstream to the mouth of John Day 

River; thus there is now deep navigable water for 217 miles 

upstream from the mouth of the river. Some 75 miles still 

farther upstream, McNary Dam was completed in April 

1953 and created a pool at 340 feet altitude that extends 

well upstream from the Oregon-Washington line.

John Day Dam is under construction (1964) at a site just 

downstream from the mouth of John Day River. When it 

is completed, river steamers, barges, and log rafts will have 

deep navigable water upstream for 325 miles from the 

mouth of the great river, and on up the Snake River. As 

a result of these river improvements, traffic on the Columbia 

River above Portland has grown sensationally since 1938.

The excellence of the chemical and physical quality of the 

water of the Columbia River adds to the importance of this 

great stream. At Rufus the water has a mean dissolvedsolids concentration of slightly more than 100 ppm (parts 

per million) and is relatively soft; it averages about 70 ppm 

in hardness. The sediment load is very low for a stream of 

its size. Because of its great flow, the Columbia River serves 

many industries and municipalities as a means of waste disposal. The increasing use of the water for this purpose lowers 

its quality and, if continued, will in time make it undesirable 

or even unusable for an increasing number of purposes.

Water bounds the State of Oregon for nearly a thousand 

miles. When the Oregon Territory was admitted to the 

Union by Act of Congress on February 14, 1859, the act 

described the western boundary as being

18
FIGURE 7. Bonneville Dam on the Columbia River near the head of 

tidewater, 145 miles from mouth of the river. Powerhouse, shipping 

lock, southern fish ladder, and diversion for the Bonneville Hatchery 

are on the south side of Bradford Island. Spillway section and northern fish ladder are to the north of the island. Photograph by Bonneville Power Administration.

19
league" at sea, from the 42d parallel of latitude northward 

to a point opposite the mouth of the Columbia River; this 

boundary has since been measured as 429 miles of salt-water 

shoreline, plus 60 miles of island shoreline. The northern 

boundary was taken as the middle of the Columbia River 

to the point where the 46th parallel of latitude crosses the 

river, thence east along the 46th parallel to the middle of the 

Snake River.

SNAKE RIVER

The eastern boundary of the State extends southward 

from the 46th parallel of latitude for 216 miles up the middle 

of the Snake River to the mouth of the Owyhee River, thence 

south to the 42d parallel.

The Snake River is one of the larger streams of the 

United States in point of drainage area, and is the largest 

tributary of the Columbia. It drains a total of 109,000 

square miles, of which 19,950 square miles lies in eastern 

Oregon. The past, present, and future prosperity of the 

Snake River basin is inseparably linked with its supply of 

water. The runoff from winter rains and melting snow is 

stored in more than 80 reservoirs in Wyoming, Idaho, 

Nevada, and Oregon, to supplement the flow available for 

irrigating about 3 million acres of land. Storage in reservoirs has materially reduced flood hazard in the section 

where the river is the boundary between Oregon and Idaho.

The use of water for irrigation has had little effect in reducing the low-water flows, for much of that low flow comes 

from a multitude of large springs that are nourished in part 

by deep percolation from irrigation water. Additional irrigable land in Oregon exists only in rather small tracts near 

the tributaries, not adjacent to the Snake River itself; the 

future irrigation of these lands will reduce only slightly 

the low-water flow of the Snake River.

To Oregon, much of the economic value of the Snake 

River lies in its potential for hydroelectric power (fig. 8), 

for spawning areas for salmon, for reservoir space, and for 

the recreational value of its water.

20
wr" '- ^ %* *-faT* 

V **+fi ^;/'*2f«*.

»> *4 '-ifj^..'- -it ** »&*

FIGURE 8. View downstream (north) in the Grand Canyon of the Snake 

River 80 miles below Huntington. Part of the canyon is cut more than 

5,000 feet below the mountainous upland between the Wallowa Mountains in Oregon and the Seven Devils Mountains in Idaho. Hells 

Canyon Dam is now (1964) under construction in this gorge. Photograph by Bonneville Power Administration.

WILLAMETTE RIVER

Onward ever, lovely river,

Softly calling to the sea

Samuel L. Simpson, "Beautiful Wittamette"

The Willamette is the largest river wholly in Oregon. Its 

drainage basin totals 11,150 square miles, or 11.5 percent 

of the State. (See fig. 9.) However, that basin is much 

more significant in population than in area; it contains twothirds of the people in the State.

The concentration of people in the Willamette Valley is 

easily explained. The river itself provides a fresh-water 

harbor at Portland that, combined with other harbors on the 

Columbia between Portland and the sea, handles about 23 

million tons of ocean and river traffic annually (1961). The

21
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FIGURE 9. Major drainage basins of Oregon.

wide expanse of fertile valley supports Oregon's largest agricultural community. The adjacent slopes of the forested 

foothills and mountains of the Cascade and Coast Ranges 

provide lumber products which nourish a growing industry, 

and on these slopes the bountiful winter precipitation gives 

rise to the multitude of rills, brooks, springs, lakes, and 

creeks whose runoff swells the flow of the main river. Relatively warm, wet winters follow cool, dry summers to form 

a dependably mild climate, well suited to agricultural and 

industrial development. The north-south trend of the valley permits water-grade transportation from Portland to 

points throughout the floor of the valley and toward the 

markets of California.

The main stem of the Willamette River (Middle Fork) 

rises in a group of tiny lakes (see fig. 10) in the Cascade 

Range, from whence the water flows 260 miles to join the 

Columbia River below Portland. The tributaries which join 

the main stem along its course differ one from another in the 

characteristics of their annual discharge.

22
FIGURE 10. Sketch map, Willamette, Sandy, and northern coastal river

basins.

745-668 O 6E

23
5000

4000

3000

2000

1000

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FIGUBE 11. Maximum, minimum, and average monthly and annual discharge of McKenzie River at McKenzie Bridge (above) and South Yamhill River near Whiteson (below). The McKenzie River has the steady 

flow typical of many spring-fed streams rising in the volcanic rocks of 

the Cascade Range. The South Yamhill responds quickly to rain, as 

do all the streams rising in the less permeable sedimentary rocks 

of the Coast Range, but its summer flow is very small.

24
Most of the streams that come from the Coast Range, the 

west side of the valley, have high runoff from November to 

March and very low flows from July to October. (See fig. 

11). The Coast Fork, Long Tom, Marys, Luckiamute, 

Yamhill, and Tualatin Rivers are streams of this type; in 

periods of low flow, they discharge about 0.1 to 0.3 cfs for 

each square mile of drainage area.

On the right, or east bank, steady summer flows are fed 

chiefly by snowmelt and ground-water outflow from large 

mountain springs. This characteristic is common to North 

Fork of Willamette River, McKenzie River, North Santiam 

River. Clackamas River, and other streams. These streams, 

where they emerge from the mountains, have a summer flow 

of about 0.7 to 2.0 cfs per square mile of drainage area.

The difference between the Coast Range and the Cascade 

Range tributaries is due in part to the higher altitude and 

greater snowpack in the Cascade Range. To a greater extent it is due to the presence in the high Cascade Range of 

porous soils and volcanic rocks that store rainfall and snowmelt for gradual release in springs, some of which are remarkable for their size and constancy.

There has been a growing awareness of the need for controlling floods and for using the water resources to produce 

electric energy, improve navigation, abate pollution, increase 

recreation, and augment the production of game and commercial fishes. This need led to the adoption by the Corps 

of Engineers of plans for the Willamette River Basin Project. (See fig. 12.) Already, dams have been built and are 

in operation at Hills Creek, Lookout Point, Dexter, Cottage 

Grove, Dorena, Fern Ridge, Cougar, Detroit, and Big Cliff; 

dams at Fall Creek, Blue River, Green Peter, and Foster are 

under construction (1964). Completion of other recommended projects will result in control of floods on the main 

stem of Willamette River and on most of its tributaries, but 

many other possibilities exist for profitable use and control 

of the formerly wasted water of the basin. These watercontrol projects improve conditions for fish (fig. 13).

The Willamette River basin contains two principal areas 

of ground-water storage. One is formed by the fragmental

25
EXPLANATION

Composite flood plain, 

1861 and 1890 floods

Existing reservoirs 

Reservoirs under construction 

Authorized reservoirs 

 Hydroelectric power plant

DEXTER 

fjREREGULA "-7 TING)

CalaiPoqy;

FIGURE 12. Willamette River basin development, 1964. Already completed are six powerplants, seven flood-control reservoirs, and two 

reservoirs to "reregulate" or iron out fluctuations in streamflow caused 

by powerplant operation. Under construction are four more multiplepurpose dams. Authorized projects include four more multipurpose 

dams.

26
volcanic rocks of the higher parts of the Cascade Range. 

The ground water issuing from these rocks feeds the headwater streams and larger tributaries of Willamette River. 

The other area consists of the terrace and river-bottom lands 

in the eastern half of the valley floor, which are underlain by 

permeable deposits of sand and gravel. The ground water 

in the latter area yields water to many wells, and the groundwater reservoir serves to regulate the flow of the valley 

streams to some extent.

FIGURE 13. View southeast toward the eastern part of Willamette Falls 

and Oregon City, showing spring Chinook salmon jumping a ledge. 

Photograph by Oregon Fish Commission.

The Willamette tributaries draining the Cascade Range 

and the Coast Range contain very low amounts of dissolved 

material. Water of these rivers contains about 30 to 50 ppm 

dissolved solids, the main constituents being calcium and 

sodium bicarbonates, sulfate, and 5 to 20 ppm of silica. The 

water of the Willamette itself reflects the sizable contribution of water from these mountain sources. The analysis of 

samples collected daily at Salem from 1951 through 1960 

gave an average dissolved-solids content of 50 ppm and a

27
maximum of only 69 ppm. Thus, the Willamette River contains water that not only is low in hardness and dissolved 

solids but also is comparatively uniform in chemical quality.

The ground water that occurs in the fragmental volcanic 

formations of the high parts of the Cascade Range is low in 

dissolved-mineral content. It issues as large springs from 

the lower ends of these youthful volcanic deposits and has 

excellent quality.

The ground water in the extensive alluvial deposits of the 

Willamette Valley is moderately hard. Its content of dissolved solids ranges from 100 to 200 ppm and consists principally of calcium and sodium bicarbonates.

The plain of the Willamette Valley is underlain at various 

depths by bedrock that was laid down in the ocean and still 

contains much saline water. The continued compaction of 

these sedimentary rocks forces out small quantities of the 

depositional water, which seeps out in "soda springs" around 

the bedrock edges of the valleys. In places the compaction 

also causes the saline water to enter other formations. This 

intruded water of inferior quality has been found in the 

lava rocks by deep wells in Portland along the foot of the 

West Portland ridge, in the basalt in the central parts of the 

Tualatin Valley, and at Gladstone. Saline ground water 

is commonly found in marine deposits by deep wells around 

the margins of the Willamette Valley.

ROGUE RIVER

The Rogue River is not the largest of Oregon rivers, nor 

is it the smallest, but it is perhaps the most widely known. 

From the time of the arrival of the early pioneers, the river 

and its tributaries have had a profound effect on the lives of 

the people who live in its basin.

The river rises (see fig. 14) on the slopes of Mount Mazama, the volcanic mountain that contains Crater Lake, and 

flows westward 210 miles to the Pacific Ocean at Gold Beach. 

The drainage basin covers 5,080 square miles, nearly all of 

which lies in southwestern Oregon. The basin may be 

divided into three parts, widely different in climate, soil, 

runoff, and works of man.

28
20 MILES

Brookings

__QgEGON't ^ 

CALIFORNIA ~"

FIGUBE 14. Rogue and Umpqua River basins and the southern coastal 

river basins of Oregon.

The upper section, from the headwaters to the vicinity 

of Trail, is mountainous and heavily timbered; it has an 

average annual precipitation of 40 to 70 inches. The pumice 

soils and lava formations of the higher mountains are very 

permeable, and much of the precipitation and snowmelt sinks 

into the ground, to reappear in large, clear springs of very 

uniform flow. As a result, many of the upper tributaries 

have a summer flow of 1 to 3 cfs per square mile of drainage

29
area. The clarity of the water, the uniformity of flow (see 

fig. 15), the steepness of river gradient, and the comparative 

scarcity of population in the area make these streams ideally 

suited for electric power and recreation uses that frequently 

appear to conflict. Modern powerplants near Prospect now 

produce power from the falling waters of Middle Fork, Red 

Blanket Creek, and the main river.

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Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May June July Aug Sept ANNUAL

FIGURE 15. Maximum, minimum, and average monthly and annual discharge of Umpqua River near Elkton (above), and Rogue River at 

Raygold near Central Point (below). These two basins have very 

similar climate, geology, and runoff patterns.

30
The middle section of the river basin has a semiarid climate 

from near Trail to the vicinity of Merlin and including the 

Illinois River basin above Selma. There are large and populous areas of rich irrigated land, notably near Medford and 

Grants Pass. The soils and underlying rocks are relatively 

impermeable, hence runoff is rapid and the streams rising 

here are not as clear as those of the upper basin. The summer flow of streams rising in this area generally ranges from 

0.1 to 0.3 cfs per square mile of drainage area. On many 

streams the entire summer flow is diverted for irrigation. 

Additional consumption will require (a) diversion from the 

main stem of the Rogue River, (b) use of reservoirs to store 

winter flow, or (c) use of some return flows. Ground-water 

sources are generally lacking. The alluvial gravels underlying Agate Desert north of Medford and the Illinois Valley 

south of Cave Junction contain small or moderate quantities 

of ground water.

The chemical quality of the Rogue River has been measured in this section by the analysis of daily samples collected 

at Grants Pass from 1953 to 1958. The dissolved-solids content has averaged 77 ppm, and the hardness 35 ppm. This 

water is of excellent quality.

The ground water in and below the alluvial gravel is of 

variable quality. That underlying Agate Desert, for instance, contains considerable calcium and (or) sodium bicarbonate; its dissolved solids range from less than 300 to 

more than 1,000 ppm. The ground water containing the 

higher concentrations comes from the sedimentary bedrock 

below the alluvial deposits. The ground water of the Illinois 

River valley is largely of a magnesium-bicarbonate type, and 

is much more dilute; most sampled sources in the valley contain less than 150 ppm dissolved solids.

In Bear Creek valley, saline ground water is commonly 

found in the marine bedrock. In places this water contains 

enough excess fluoride and boron that its use for mixing 

orchard sprays has caused damage to trees. The mineral 

springs locally called "Lithia Springs" lie along a fault zone 

cutting the Umpqua formation east of Ashland. Now the 

spring water is pumped from deep wells, and carbon dioxide 

gas is separated, compressed, and sold as "dry ice."

31
The third or downstream section of the basin lies below 

Merlin and in the Illinois River basin below Selma. Here 

the topography is extremely rugged; the rivers flow in deep 

canyons as they wind through the Coast Range. Most of the 

area is timbered. Precipitation is generally heavy, especially 

on the west slopes of the higher mountains. Shallow soils, 

impermeable bedrock formations, and steep topography all 

contribute to rapid runoff during and after periods of rain. 

Most of this area lies within national or State forests and

FIGURE 16. Hydraulic mining for gold in the Rogue River basin near 

Waldo. The jets of water scour gold-bearing gravel off the bedrock 

surface and wash it to the hydraulic lift from which it is piped to the 

trommel screens and concentrating process. This historic type of mining in places introduced unnatural debris loads into streams. It is 

now required that the waste be retained on the property. Photograph 

by Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries.

32
is very sparsely populated. A few logging roads enter the 

area, but access to some sections still is dependent upon 

widely separated trails. Streamflow drops to low rates in 

dry periods. However, little is known as to total water yield 

of this part of the Rogue River basin, partly because of poor 

accessibility. Some very small tracts of land are irrigated 

and a little gold mining is carried on (see fig. 16), but on the 

whole the streams are little used except for recreation. The 

wildness of the region, its forests and mountains, and its 

abundance of fish and game have a strong appeal for campers 

and for owners of the summer homesites along this section of 

the Rogue River.

Sport fishing for trout and salmon constitutes not only a 

source of recreation for fishermen but an income for suppliers of their needs. State laws prohibit the building of 

high dams that would interfere with fish passage within the 

middle and downstream sections of the main river, a fact 

which must be considered in any plans for use of these waters.

UMPQUA RIVER

The Umpqua River is formed by the junction of its north 

and south forks, 6 miles northwest of Roseburg. The river 

drains 4,700 square miles, nearly all in Douglas County and 

about 80 percent forested. The river usually has a summer 

flow in excess of 1,000 cfs and is navigable from Scottsburg 

to its mouth.

The North Umpqua drains 1,350 square miles and supplies about 90 percent of the low-water flow at the confluence; the South Umpqua drains 1,800 square miles and 

supplies only 10 percent of the low flow. The reasons for 

the contrast in flow lies in the geologic character of the two 

headwater areas: The North Umpqua reaches into the 

ground-water storage area of the permeable volcanic rocks, 

the South Umpqua does not. Both basins are mountainous 

and densely forested and both receive moderately heavy 

precipitation, from 30 to 75 inches. However, a large part 

of the North Umpqua basin has soil and geologic formations 

that readily absorb and store water and release it gradually 

through large clear, steady-flowing springs, but in the South

33
Umpqua basin such formations are scarce, and runoff follows 

quickly after rain. Some of the water in the South Umpqua 

is diverted for irrigation in summer.

The wide contrast in the flow of the streams may be seen 

by comparing Clearwater River, a spring-fed tributary of 

North Umpqua, with Lookingglass Creek in the South 

Umpqua basin. (See fig. 17.) Clearwater River at its

Clearwater River 

above Trap Creek" 

near Toketee Falls

Feb Mar Apr May June

FIGURE 17. Daily discharge, in cubic feet per second, of two streams in 

the Umpqua River basin, widely differing in areal geology. Lookingglass basin (drainage area 158 sq mi) has impervious soils and rock 

formations; the stream floods in winter and its very small summer 

flow is all diverted for irrigation. Clearwater River basin (drainage 

area 41.6 sq mi) has porous soils and rock formations and a large 

volume of ground-water storage; the stream has a steady flow at all 

seasons and no diversions for irrigation.

mouth drains 76.6 square miles; the low-water flow is 

about 3 cfs for each square mile of drainage area and the 

greatest known flood is only six times as great. Lookingglass 

Creek drains 158 square miles; it is dry in summer, but had 

floodflow in December 1955 at the rate of 222 cfs per square 

mile of drainage area. The difference in streamflow is due 

almost entirely to differences in soil and rocks of the two 

basins.

34
Not all the tributaries in the North Umpqua basin have 

a flow as uniform as that of the Clearwater River. Steamboat Creek, Rock Creek, and Little River all have high floodflows and relatively low summer flows, and Sutherlin Creek 

has no flow at times. Control or use of these streams may 

require storage reservoirs.

The principal tributaries below the confluence of the 

North Umpqua and the South Umpqua are Calapooya 

Creek, Elk Creek, Mill Creek, and Smith River. These 

streams all have high floodflows and low but continuous 

summer flows.

The water of the Umpqua River and most of its tributaries 

is soft and contains small amounts of minerals. The large 

springs issuing from the volcanic deposits in the North Umpqua basin provides much water of excellent quality. However, a large part of the area is underlain by impermeable 

marine formations containing small amounts of saline water, as in the Willamette basin. Deep wells in many parts 

of the Umpqua valley penetrate this salty water.

SMALLER COASTAL STREAMS

The west slope of the Coast Range is the most uniformly 

humid zone in Oregon. From the sea to the 3,000-foot 

crest of the range the annual precipitation varies considerably, but everywhere it is in the range of wet to very wet. 

The narrow canyons and sharp ridges are covered with a 

dense growth of forest and undergrowth, the timber being 

in all stages of growth, maturity, and removal. Narrow 

terraces of fertile land along the larger streams have been 

cleared for farming, and level plains beside the tidal reaches 

of the rivers provide year-round green pastures for a substantial dairy industry.

The soil and underlying rocks have a rather small capacity 

for storing water, and snow does not generally remain long 

in this area; hence the low-water flow is relatively small in 

the coastal rivers. On most of the coastal streams, from 

Chetco River on the south to Nehalem River on the north, 

the summer flow ranges from 0.1 to 0.5 cfs per square mile

35
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of no rainfall, which in some years may last 60 days or more.

Because of the uneven distribution of rainfall, irrigation 

is profitably practiced on farmland and dairy pasture, even 

where the average annual rainfall ranges from 80 to 100 

inches. Some streams are not always able to supply water 

to meet the current and potential peak irrigation demands, 

even in an area that has a copious overall supply.

From November to March the runoff is heavy, and floodflows in excess of 200 cfs per square mile of drainage area 

have been recorded.

Development of the short coastal streams for generation 

of electric power has not appeared to be profitable because 

their flow is small in summer. However, because the coastal 

streams have their greatest flow in the period November to 

March each year, just at the time when the natural flow of 

Columbia River is normally low (see fig. 18), the use of these 

rivers will become more feasible after the powersites on the 

Columbia River are developed. Electric power produced by 

these small streams would in effect be equivalent to power 

that otherwise would be expensively produced by fuel or by 

stored water.

A growing recreational use of all these small rivers, based 

largely on fishing for trout and salmon, requires that conservation and improvement of the fishery resource be included in plans for water use in these basins.

Between the headlands at the western edge of the narrow 

coastal plain, the prevailing westerly winds have thrown up 

several chains of large sand dunes. Some of the dunes have 

dammed stream channels and thus created small fresh-water 

lakes. (See fig. 19). Little is known of the lakes' wateryielding capacity. Some are used extensively for public 

recreation and for propagation of fish and waterfowl, some 

are used for municipal water supply, others for floating logs. 

The sand dunes soak up large amounts of rainfall, and the 

dune areas, therefore, are a possible source of conveniently 

located water.

The water in the coastal streams is generally very soft and 

low in dissolved minerals. The ground water of the coastal

37
sand deposits is soft and contains only 20 to 80 ppm of dissolved solids. Sodium chloride, or common salt, makes up a 

large part of these solids. Presumably it is derived from the 

rainfall along the coast, where sea water may at times be 

lifted from wind-whipped wave tops and mixed in the rainfall near the coast.

FIGURE 19. View north along the coast in a logged-over area just north 

of the Nestucca River. Cape Lookout in the left background. The 

small streams are impounded by sand from the beach. Photograph by 

U.S. Forest Service.

38
CRATER LAKE AND KLAMATH 

RIVER BASIN

Crater Lake, commonly and justly rated as one of the 

natural wonders of the world, lies astride the summit of the 

Cascade Range in the caldera of Mount Mazama, an extinct 

volcano. (See frontispiece.) Beyond question, the lake is 

the best known of its type in the United States, if not in the 

world. Its dramatic geologic history, its scenic beauty and 

picturesque surroundings, the mystery of its great depth 

(1,932 ft), and the brilliance of its blue water serve to 

cast a spell over its annual multitude of visitors.

The water is very clear. It contains only 80 ppm dissolved solids (which is about the same as the streams of that 

area), and it differs from the other surface waters only in 

that it has slightly higher chloride, sulfate, and sodium contents. The water is mostly snowmelt and rainwater; a 

slight addition of minerals has been dissolved from the lake 

walls and possibly from the residual gases or fumes of volcanic origin.

The lake has no surface outlet, and there is no progressive 

increase in the altitude of the lake surface, although the annual evaporation is only about one-third the 69-inch precipitation. The excess water from its 26.2-square-mile 

drainage area must seep through the walls of the caldera and 

become spring flow. Over a period of years, this excess flow 

would average about 90 cfs. Where the flow reappears is 

not known: It may be in the basin of the Rogue, the 

Umpqua, or the Klamath River, or perhaps in all three. 

(See fig. 20.) In these three basins, and within a radius of 

25 miles of Crater Lake, there are cold clear springs having 

an aggregate steady flow of about 1,200 cfs. Nearly all of 

this spring flow must be derived from ground water in the 

extensive pumice and lava that surrounds Mount Mazama, 

and not from Crater Lake itself. Most maps arbitrarily 

place Crater Lake in the drainage basin of the Klamath 

River, but the actual direction of its leakage is unknown; 

the lake could be considered as contributing to the Rogue 

River or to the Umpqua River.

745-668 O ^65 1 39
5 0 5 10 MILES

Tule Lake Basin' CALIFORNIA

FIGURE 20. Klamath River basin in Oregon.

Because Crater Lake has no outlet, any excess water that 

it receives in a wet season causes the lake level to rise slowly 

until the excess inflow is balanced by more seepage; in dry 

seasons the water level falls slowly. The lake level thus 

acts as an indicator of climatic trends. The highest level 

ever observed, 6,179.06 feet (from watermark) in 1958, was 

the result of a succession of wet years. Somewhat uncertain 

high-water marks suggest that the lake may have been as 

high as 6,180.5 feet at some time in recent centuries. After 

a rise about 1904, there was an almost continuous decline to 

the low level of 6,163.2 feet in 1942. By July 13, 1956, the 

lake had risen to a level of 6,177.2 feet.

The Klamath River drains the southern part of the east 

slope of the Cascade Range and plateau and the valley land

40
east of that range. Most of the land lies between 4,000 and 

5,000 feet in altitude. The basin in Oregon is mostly forested, 

but there are large areas of farmland, open grazing land, 

marsh, and lake. The water is soft and is low in dissolved 

solids. The drainage area of the basin to the Oregon-California State line and including the basin of Crater Lake is 

about 4,100 square miles. Not included in that figure is the 

basin of Lost River which is commonly treated as a part of 

the Klamath River basin.

The Lost River has its headwaters in the plateau lands of 

northeastern California; it flows into Clear Lake, where 

much of the flow is dissipated by evaporation, and from there 

north across the State line into Oregon where many diversions take most of its water. The Lost River receives additions from its East Fork, from Miller Creek, from return 

flow from irrigation water, and from strong spring inflows 

near Bonanza. From Bonanza the river loops west and 

south through the Poe and Klamath River valleys and back 

into California. The residual flow is dissipated as evaporation in Tule Lake or is pumped through a tunnel into Lower 

Klamath Lake basin, from which it flows into Klamath 

River near Keno. Just south of Klamath Falls the divide 

between the Klamath and Lost Rivers is so low that excess 

water in either basin may be diverted into the other by means 

of the Lost River diversion canal, which was built by the 

U.S. Bureau of Reclamation about 1911.

Before the completion of the large land-reclamation projects in Langell Valley and Tule Lake valley, the flow was 

naturally dissipated by evaporation and seepage from Tule 

Lake in California which was then a large shallow lake. 

Most of the Lost River being now diverted, little water 

reaches Tule Lake, and much of the former lakebed is farmed 

intensively.

The topographic basin of Lost River includes 1,070 square 

miles in Oregon and 1,370 square miles in California. Except in wet years, almost all the water of the Lost River 

basin is used for irrigation and wildlife refuges.

The principal headwater stream in the Klamath River 

basin is Williamson River. It is joined by the Sprague 

River a few miles above its mouth in Upper Klamath Lake.

41
FIGUKE 21. Oblique aerial view northward up the 2-mile-long Link 

River; part of Upper Klamath Lake in background and Lake Ewauna 

in foreground. Fields at edges of the upper lake are protected by 

dikes and pumps; "A" Canal (not visible) diverts water eastward 

from Link River above the control dam near the head of the river. 

Canal to powerhouse is visible along the west bank, as is the penstock 

and surge tank on the east side. The well field that provides Klamath 

Falls' public supply is on the east side of the river upstream from the 

bridge. Photograph by Oregon Klamath River Commission.

That lake, covering about 84,000 acres, is the largest lake 

wholly in Oregon. Some of the lakebed has been reclaimed 

by diking. The lake serves as a reservoir for irrigation and 

for power; the altitude of the lake surface is controlled between 4,136 and 4,143 feet. The controlled outflow passes 

steeply down the Link River, less than 2 miles in length, into 

Lake Ewauna, at Klamath Falls. (See fig. 21.) The Klamath River proper begins at the outlet of Lake Ewauna, and 

34 miles downstream it crosses into California. Below Keno 

the river flows in a steep rocky canyon where the 1,300-foot 

fall to the State boundary is being developed for hydroelectric energy.

The ground-water body beneath the Klamath River basin 

is nourished by infiltration through the pumice mantle, a

42
large part of which was scattered over the northern part of 

the basin by explosive outbursts from ancestral Mount 

Mazama. It percolates through extensive lava rocks that 

afford large yields of water to wells. Land in several of the 

valleys is irrigated by water from wells.

At least half of the discharge of Klamath River comes 

from springs, some of which are large and have a steady flow. 

Probably many seeps and some large springs enter the channel unnoticed. Some of the larger spring-fed creeks and 

springs, and their approximate flow, are listed below:

Cubic feet 

per second

Spring Creek near Chiloquin............ 250 to 340

Wood River springs near Fort Klamath... 200 to 300

Fort Creek near Fort Klamath........... 70 to 90

Crooked Creek at Klamath Agency....... 80 to 100

Sevenmile Creek near Fort Klamath...... 40 to 100

Lenz Spring (Big Spring Creek) .......... 0 to 90

Kamkaun Spring (Sprague River) ..... 36 to 74

Source Spring (origin of Williamson

River)............................... 10

The variation of flow shown by the occasional gagings of 

Lenz Spring tells a story of fluctuation in the water level of 

the aquifer from which the spring derives its flow. The first 

four gagings, made in 1913 and 1914, show a steady flow 

ranging from 62 to 71 cfs. There was a marked decrease in 

the next few years. From 1920 to 1923, the flow ranged 

from 31 to 21 cfs, as shown by eight gagings. By 1927, the 

flow had decreased to about 6.5 cfs. From 1930 to 1950 the 

spring did not flow, and pipe wells were driven in the dryspring channel for windmills to pump water for livestock. 

The wet years of the 1940's served to recharge the ground 

water, and in 1951 the spring began to flow again. By 

September 1952 the flow was 58 cfs, and by September 1954 

it had reached 89 cfs, the greatest flow so far observed. No 

other spring in Oregon is known to have had such a wide 

range in flow; in fact, most springs in Oregon are remarkably steady. The outlet of this spring may be near the top 

of the ground-water body and may act as a spillway rather 

than as an orifice under pressure.

43
By contrast, the flow of Spring Creek at Collier State 

Park, near Chiloquin, just a few miles away from Lenz 

Spring but several hundred feet lower, ranged in the same 

period from 267 to 342 cfs. Only rarely was the flow less 

than 280 or more than 320 cfs. The two springs have the 

same variations in climate, and similar soil and geology, but 

Spring Creek near Chiloquin has a much larger underground 

reservoir above its spring openings.

The chemical quality of the ground water in the Klamath 

basin differs from place to place. In most places the water 

is of good quality, having a moderate to low hardness and 

dissolved-solids content ranging from less than 100 to several hundred parts per million. The ground water is poor 

along the linear belts of hot rocks which characterize some 

geologic faults in the Klamath basin. This hot ground 

water contains principally sodium sulfate. The content of 

dissolved materials is more or less proportional to the heat 

present. The warm water, of less than 100°F temperature, 

has only moderate concentrations of minerals and is suitable 

for some industrial and irrigation use; but the hot water of 

150° to 226°F contains too much sodium for most uses other 

than heat extraction.

In some respects the water resources of the basin are not 

so great as foreseeable demands for water. Above the city 

of Klamath Falls, much water is diverted for irrigation, and 

increased use is expected.

A large amount of water is lost by evaporation and plant 

transpiration in the marshes, lakes, and reservoirs of the 

Klamath River basin. The outflow from Upper Klamath 

Lake in midsummer may be visualized as three large streams: 

(a) "A" Canal of the Klamath reclamation project, about 

1,000 cfs, (b) Link River, whose flow varies from 500 cfs 

in dry years to 1,800 cfs in years of more plentiful runoff, 

and (c) an upward "river" of evaporation, 700 to 1,000 cfs 

in July and August. Reduction of the evaporation loss, 

which might be done by confining swamps and shallow lakes 

to smaller areas with dikes or by suppression of evaporation 

by chemical treatment, would increase the total usable water 

resources of the area.

44
In recognition of the vital part that the water of this basin 

plays in the welfare of Oregon and California, those States 

in 1957 ratified the Klamath River Basin Compact. The 

purposes of the compact are in part: "To facilitate and 

promote the orderly, integrated, and comprehensive development, use, conservation, and control" of the water resources, and to provide for "equitable distribution and use 

of water among the two States and the Federal Government." The compact has been ratified by the U.S. Congress 

and was placed in operation August 30, 1957.

LANDLOCKED LAKE BASINS

A large part of south-central Oregon adjacent to California and Nevada lacks drainage to the sea. (See fig. 22.) 

The thick lava flows that form the crust of the earth in this 

semiarid region have been sheared and tilted up or down, 

and there are many plateaus and basins where the runoff 

is dissipated by evaporation from shallow lakes. Each basin 

and lake has a character of its own that results from local 

variations in climate, topography, geology, and works of 

man. The climate determines the total water supply, the 

topography and geology affect its geographic and seasonal 

distribution, and man determines its use and to some extent 

the amount and quality of the water at downstream points.

The lakes in these landlocked basins generally contain 

saline water of variable mineral content. The minerals 

have accumulated during a long period of concentration 

through evaporation, alleviated for some lakes by occasional 

overflow and by deposition and burial of salts during periods 

when the lakes were dry.

Many of these lakes have filled within historic time and 

spilled over into creeks or other lake basins. Such lakes 

include Goose Lake in Pit River basin, Lower Klamath Lake 

in the Klamath River basin, Malheur Lake, and the upper 

10 of a series of 11 lakes in Warner Valley (named, successively northward, Pelican, Crump, Hart, Anderson, Jones, 

Mugwump, Flagstaff, Upper Campbell, Lower Campbell, 

Stone Corral, and Blue joint Lakes). These lakes are not 

as salty as Summer, Abert, Alkali, Christmas, and Harney 

Lakes, none of which overflow.

45
10 20 MILE

^Tc,

***

WARNER VALLEY w 

LAKES

1 Blue joint Luke ^~

2 Stove Corral L. ^

3 Campbell La ken Q

4 Flagstaff Lake £

5 Mugwump Lake ,

6 Jones Lake 2

7 Andersrw Lake O

8 Hart Lake Z

9 Crump Lake ^

10 Pelicar Lake L. )RNIA 

FIGURE 22. Landlocked lake basins.

The variations in level of all the lakes of the closed basins 

are due chiefly to variations in rainfall and runoff. Irrigation of lands around the lakes has some effect on the lake 

levels, but a succession of wet years may still result in lake 

levels almost as high as any in historic times.

The lakes that overflow contained a dissolved-solids content in 1912 of 135 ppm for Crump, 267 for Hart, 300 to 400 

for Lower Klamath, 423 for Flagstaff, 484 for Malheur, 1,010 

for Goose, and 2,830 for Silver Lake in Harney Basin. Recent data (1963) for most of these lakes indicate concentrations about 50 ppm greater than those observed in 1912, 

except Malheur Lake, which has a lower dissolved-solids 

content than in 1912 258 ppm on November 29, 1961. In 

comparison, the nonoverflowing lakes range from 10,000 to 

23,000 for Harney, 5,000 to 36,000 for Summer, and 30,000

46
to 80,000 for Abert Lake. The water of the undrained lakes 

is too saline for most uses.

The lakes provide valuable resting places for migratory 

waterfowl. (See fig. 23.) In the less saline lakes and in 

the even less saline inflow areas of the nonoverflowing lakes, 

the water is sufficiently dilute that pondweed, tules, and other 

plants grow profusely and provide good feeding and nesting 

areas for wildfowl.

All the basins are similar in altitude, their floors lying 

within a few hundred feet of the 4,200-foot mark. Let us 

look at some of these landlocked lake basins.

FIGURE 23. Trumpeter swans on open water at the south side of Malheur 

Lake. The Malheur Migratory Waterfowl Refuge is one of the principal breeding and resting areas for thousands of birds. A determined attempt is being made to save the swans from extinction. 

Photograph by U.S. Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife.

Malheur and Harney Lakes

The largest closed basin in Oregon, some 5,300 square miles 

in extent, drains into Malheur and Harney Lakes. The 

Silvies River, the largest stream entering the basin, rises in 

the mountains of central Oregon and enters Malheur Lake

47
from the north. Its summer flow is mostly used for irrigation near the lumbering and cattle-raising centers of Seneca 

and Burns. The Silvies basin is almost completely forested, 

but the average yearly flow at the gaging station (drainage 

area 934 sq mi) is extremely variable, ranging from 415 cfs 

in 1903-4 to 15.0 cfs in 1933-34. (See fig. 24.)

The second largest stream, the Donner und Blitzen 

(Thunder and Lightning) River, drains the unforested west 

slope of Steens Mountain and enters Malheur Lake from 

the south. Its abundant summer flow is derived from large 

springs in the permeable basalt into which the river canyons 

have been carved. Much of the flow of the Donner und 

Blitzen from Frenchglen northward 40 miles to Malheur 

Lake is used for irrigation and for operation of a large migratory waterfowl refuge. As a result, little water reaches 

Malheur Lake in a dry year, and in many years the surface 

of the lake is continuously below its natural outlet.

Malheur Lake has ranged from complete dry ness (1934) 

to an area of about 100 square miles. When the lake level 

is above altitude 4,091.5 feet, the lake overflows westward 

into Mud Lake at "The Narrows," and when it is above 

4,093.5 feet, there is overflow from Mud Lake westward 

through the "Sand Gap" into Harney Lake. Because of 

this occasional overflow, the water of Malheur Lake is comparatively fresh.

Harney Lake has no outflow streams. Its inflow originates as spill from Malheur and Mud Lakes, from the runoff of Silver Creek (very slight in dry seasons), and from 

springs around the lake. In dry years, the water surface in 

Harney Lake may be as much as 10 feet lower than Malheur 

Lake. Because evaporation serves to concentrate the salts 

naturally dissolved in the inflow streams, the waters of Harney Lake are not usable for stock watering, for game fish, or

FIGURE 24. Opposite page. Maximum, minimum, and average monthly 

and annual discharge of Silvies River near Burns (above) and Donner 

und Blitzen River near Frenchglen (below). These nearby streams 

have similar climate but widely different geology and forest cover. The 

Silvies River basin has a pine-forest cover, but the underlying rocks do 

not readily store and transmit water; the summer flow is very small. 

From a much smaller drainage area covered only with desert vegetation, the spring-fed Donner und Blitzen derives a steadier flow because 

of the presence of thick layers of jointed volcanic rocks.

48
for irrigation. At times (1930-34, 1962), Harney Lake has 

been dry except for a few pools around springs, but in wet 

seasons it covers about 50 square miles.

The Silvies and Donner und Blitzen Rivers and Silver 

Creek are perennial streams that provide excellent habitat

3000

2500

2000

1000

500

0

Dr<linage area

Ma

340s

Kimurr

quare

i ,

Avera

miles

- 

ge \

/^

m- n

inimum

Maximum 

Average 

Minimum

Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May June July Aug Sept ANNUAL

1000

800

600

- 400

^ 200

Drainagje are a 180

Ma

/

squar

ximur

\verag

e mile

\

e \

s

\M

i

inimu 71

|^|t< Maximum 

Average 

Minimum

Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May June July Aug Sept ANNUAL

49
for game fish and for waterfowl. The lumbering industry 

makes use of some water in the Silvies River basin, but most 

such water is returned to the streams. Irrigation of hay 

and pasture fields uses practically all streamflow in dry seasons. A dependable surface-water supply for additional 

land can be obtained only by storing the excess runoff in wet 

seasons or by pumping from wells in the young lava rocks 

south of the lakes.

Some of the smaller streams in the basin have no flow except during periods of precipitation or snowmelt. Despite 

the aridity of the region, the Malheur Lake basin and much 

of the rest of those areas of the landlocked lake basins are 

fairly well watered for grazing purposes. The many lava 

caps beneath the plateau lands afford seepage springs at 

their margins, and in most of the lower areas the water table 

can be reached by wells 200 to 400 feet deep.

Alvord Lake

Alvord Valley is a long north-south fault trough east of 

Steens Mountain in one of the driest parts of Oregon. Alvord Lake itself is a playa, or intermittent lake, usually dry 

every summer except for a small pool known as Borax Lake, 

which is kept filled by a warm spring. Each year a very 

shallow pool or lake is created by rain and snowmelt, chiefly 

runoff from Trout Creek, a spring-fed stream flowing 01 it of 

the mountainous area to the southeast. The alkaline waters 

of the lake are not usable for irrigation, and the wide flats 

that are periodically flooded are barren and do not support 

even the alkali-resistant plants.

Warner Valley

Warner Valley is a long narrow, nearly level depression 

lying between fault-block ridges in eastern Lake County 

and extending about 40 miles northward from the California 

line. The drainage basin, of about 1,250 square miles, is 

arid or semiarid, and some parts produce little or no runoff. 

The two largest streams, Twentymile Creek and Deep Creek, 

enter the marshes at the south end of the valley and join

50
near Adel. From that point northward there is a succession 

of irrigated valley land, marshes, and shallow lakes, the area 

of the water bodies varying greatly from one year to another. At Plush, Honey Creek enters the valley from the 

plateau to the west and flows into Hart Lake. Some of the 

marshes and lakes are diked, and the water levels are controlled. Below Hart Lake the water is increasingly alkaline. In dry years, the entire runoff is used for irrigation 

of hay and grain crops or stored in some of the upper lakes, 

and the beds of some of the lower lakes are farmed or used 

to pasture cattle. The creeks, lakes, marshes, and fields 

provide excellent habitat for waterfowl.

Large yields of water are obtained from a few wells which 

tap aquifers in the lava bedrock, but little of the available 

ground water is used. Wells near the west escarpment at 

Crump Lake yield hot water, and some have had either continuous or intermittent geyser discharges.

Warner Valley was first described in December 1843, when 

a party of United States topographical engineers under Capt. 

John C. Fremont visited the region. Although this visit was 

during the early part of a dry period, there seems to have 

been some water in all the lakes. In 1868 the lakes were 

very high, and several may even have been united into one 

long, narrow lake. The middle 1880's were dry; by 1889 

teams were being driven across the shallow parts of Hart 

Lake, and the lower lakes presumably were dry. Later, wet 

and dry periods alternated, and the lake levels responded 

to changes in water supply. Bluejoint Lake was dry in 

1913, again in 1914, and in many later years, owing in part 

to storage of water in Hart Lake since 1914 and to a gradual 

increase in diking and in upstream diversions. Now water 

is in Bluejoint Lake only in wet years.

Goose Lake

In a sense, the Goose Lake basin is not closed; on at least 

two occasions, prior to the diversion of Drew and Cottonwood Creeks, the lake overflowed southward into the North 

Fork Pit River. It is reported that for a short period in 1868 

the lake was full and overflowed the southern rim; in 1881,

51
a severe windstorm from the north caused the lake to overflow again. These and prehistoric overflows have served 

to prevent the water from becoming as strongly alkaline 

as it would otherwise be. The lake when full covers about 

194 square miles, being 28 miles long in a north-south direction and 4 to 10 miles wide. More than half of the area of 

the lake is in California. The valley-floor area, from 4,700 to 

5,000 feet altitude, receives about 14 to 16 inches of precipitation annually; the forested slopes and mountain areas of 

the basin receive somewhat more.

In 1912, when the lake level was high, about 3 feet below 

the outlet, an analyzed sample of water contained 1,010 ppm 

of dissolved mineral matter.

In 1926 the lake dried completely and exposed old wagonroad ruts in the lakebed some 10 miles south of the State line. 

These tracks were believed to represent the route of pioneers 

who also found the lakebed dry at that point in the 1840's. 

The outlet is at 4,716 feet altitude and the lowest part of 

the lakebed is about 4,692 feet. In recent years the lake level 

at New Pine Creek has been observed to range from below 

4,697 feet on November 13, 1950, to 4,707.8 feet in 1953 

(from watermark); the water contained 1,340 ppm dissolved solids in September 1953 and 1,270 ppm in April 1962.

The largest streams tributary to Goose Lake are Drew 

Creek, Cottonwood Creek, and Thomas Creek, all in Oregon. 

Water is stored in reservoirs on Drew and Cottonwood 

Creeks, and about 32,000 acres of land is irrigated in the 

basin in Oregon. This use of water reduces the inflow to 

the lake and it seems unlikely that the lake will again 

overflow.

Some springs flowing warm or hot water occur along the 

faultlines at the east edge of Goose Lake Valley, but their 

total contribution is small compared to that received by 

stream runoff and precipitation directly on the lake surface. 

The valley alluvium contains large amounts of ground water, 

the water table being near the level of Goose Lake. Wells 

constructed to extract water from sand or fine gravel obtain 

large water yields. The ground water is little used except by the city of Lakeview and by a few farmers.

52
Abert Lake

Abert Lake is a shallow evaporating sump for Chewaucan River, lying in a fault-block valley bounded by prominent scarps. At its greatest extent, the lake covers 68 square 

miles, being about 14 miles long and 7 miles wide near the 

north end. The water contains a high concentration of dissolved salts and is unfit for irrigation. The lake was reported to be entirely dry in 1924 and in some later years. 

In more recent years the water surface has varied in altitude 

from 4,246.60 feet on November 11, 1950, to 4,260.5 feet on 

June 22, 1958. At the 4,269.7-foot level there is a welldefined beach line that marks what is probably the highest 

stand of the lake for several centuries.

The Chewaucan River drains 490 square miles and flows 

into Abert Lake. About 40 percent of the basin is rather 

barren and arid, having about 10 inches of precipitation annually; the forested upland on the other 60 percent is somewhat better watered. Practically all the runoff comes from 

the mountain areas. About 41,000 acres of wild-grass 

meadow and pasture is irrigated, chiefly in Chewaucan 

Marsh and along Crooked Creek. At the gaging station on 

Chewaucan River 2 miles southwest of Paisley, the natural 

water yield over the periods 1912-21 and 1924-63 has been 

136 cfs from a drainage area of 275 square miles. Few if any 

streams in the basin have a higher unit runoff.

The town of Paisley is built on the alluvial fan where 

Chewaucan River emerges from its mountain canyon. Occasional flooding there is aggravated by ice jams.

Summer Lake

Summer Lake occupies the center of the floor of a basin 

bounded on the west by the bold scarp of forested Winter 

Ridge and on the east by gentler slopes covered only with 

desert vegetation. The lake water is shallow and saline. 

White crusts of crystalline minerals coat the dry part of 

the lakebed. In May and June 1941, the water surface was 

at 4,147.2 feet altitude and the greatest depth was found to

53
FIGURE 25. Measuring artesian flow in Summer Lake valley (view

northeastward).

be "less than 2.5 feet" by a survey party of the U.S. Bureau 

of Land Management. The lake is practically dry at times. 

The lowest recorded water level was measured by leveling as 

4,144.86 feet on September 30, 1961. The highest recorded 

lake level occurred from February to April 1905 at 4,151.4 

feet.

Most of the inflow comes from spring-fed Ana River. 

The springs appear at the head of Ana River about 4 miles 

north of the lake, beneath the water surface of a reservoir 

behind a diversion dam completed in 1923. The total flow 

of the springs has decreased from about 140 cfs, 1905-14, 

to about 90 cfs, 1951-63. The decrease is due in part to 

back pressure caused by submerging the springs and to 

diversions by wells from the same underground source of 

water.

54
The water of Ana River is used to irrigate meadowlands 

and to maintain a large refuge for migratory waterfowl. 

The decrease in spring flow coupled with increased use of 

water for irrigation and wildfowl propagation has caused less 

water to reach the lake; in recent years, therefore, the lake 

level has been consistently about 4 feet lower than it was 

from 1905 to 1912, and the concentration of dissolved mineral 

matter is correspondingly greater. The water of streams 

and springs entering the lake is relatively soft and is good 

for irrigation and domestic use.

A bed of silt and clay on the valley floor extends onto the 

foot of the adjoining rock slopes for about 100 feet above 

the present level of Summer Lake. The high level of this 

alluvial deposit testifies to the previously much greater 

extent of Summer Lake. The clayey alluvium confines the 

extensive ground-water body in the volcanic bedrock. This 

ground water has a water table (pressure level) sufficiently 

high that the water will flow out over the clay confining layer 

at 50 to 100 feet above the level of the lake. Consequently, 

drilled wells and natural breaks in the confining blanket of 

clay allow the artesian ground water to flow from the lava 

bedrock. (See fig. 25.) Numerous springs spill over the 

edge of the clay around the west and north sides of the basin, 

and a few rise in artesian fashion through the clay near the 

north end of the basin; Ana Springs is the largest of these.

Silver Lake

Silver Lake lies about 6 miles east of the post office of 

Silver Lake, in a basin bounded by high hills to the east, 

south, and west. The principal inflow stream is Silver 

Creek, which drains 520 square miles of arid desert and semiarid forest land. Runoff varies greatly from year to year. 

At the gaging station 2 miles southwest of Silver Lake post 

office, the drainage area is about 180 square miles. The flow 

is affected somewhat by upstream storage and diversion. 

The average rate over a long period is 27.9 cfs, and there is 

a range of average annual flow from 2.4 in the driest year 

(1931) to 86.4 in the wettest (1956). Bridge and Buck 

Creeks to the northwest and Silver Creek flow into Paulina 

Marsh, which drains southward to Silver Lake.

745-668 O 65 5 55
The lake reached its highest known level of 4,311.8 feet 

in the spring of 1904, when Silver and Thorn Lakes, to the 

north, were connected by a channel 50 to 200 feet wide. In 

the autumn of 1918, Silver Lake became dry, or nearly so. 

After a rise of several feet in 1921, the lake became dry again 

in 1922 and remained dry until 1950; crops of hay and grain 

were raised annually on the lakebed. During the period 

while the lake was dry, its overflow channel northward into 

Thorn Lake was blocked by drifting sand and also by a levee 

built along the north shore for State Highway 31. In March 

1951, several hundred acres of temporary cropland in the 

bed of the lake was flooded, and by 1956 the water covered 

about 10,000 acres. The highest level reached since about 

1907 was 4,309.05 feet on June 26, 1958.

Thorn Lake itself is merely a shallow playa that is dry 

most of each year, except when it was filled by overflow from 

Silver Lake. It is reported that Thorn Lake overflowed into 

Christmas Lake basin farther northeast in 1890.

Silver Lake was high in 1882, and was then joined to Thorn 

Lake. It was reported dry in 1889, and it seems likely that 

it has been dry at other times. The water of the lake is soft, 

and even the lakebed when dry is not too alkaline for successful growing of grain and hay.

Fort Rock Basin

Northeast of Silver Lake basin, and separated from it by 

low passes, is the broad, flat-floored Fort Rock Basin. It 

includes Thorn Lake, a historic overflow sump for Silver 

Lake, and farther east the playas known as Christmas Lake 

and Fossil Lake. The basin takes its name from a bold 

amphitheaterlike rock eminence, a remnant of the hardened 

rock around a former volcanic vent now etched out by 

erosion. The flat floor of the basin extends generally eastwest for 45 miles and varies in north-south width from 5 to 

15 miles. There are no year-round streams reaching this 

valley floor from the extensive slopes. The snowmelt and 

winter runoff spread out in playas; much of it percolates 

down to the water table, and the rest evaporates. The 

ground water is the sole source of domestic and irrigation 

water in the basin.

56
The water table lies 25 to 60 feet below the basin floor, 

and slopes slightly toward the northwest to a steeper subterranean descent almost directly below a depression called 

"Hole-in-the-Ground," 7 miles northwest of Fort Rock post 

office. The ground water may drain from this point through 

the Newberry lavas westward to the Deschutes River, though 

the direction of that ground-water movement is not known.

Pumping for irrigation has increased steadily since electric power was distributed in 1955. In 1960 about 6,000 

acres of land was under irrigation. The growing season is 

short. Wells obtain large yields of water from porous lava 

flows, fragmental volcanic tuff beds, or alluvial sand and 

gravel. In spite of increased pumping, the water table has 

been rising slowly in recent years.

STREAMS THAT FLOW INTO THE 

SNAKE RIVER

Many small and medium-sized streams drain the eastern 

fringe of Oregon and flow into the Snake River. (See fig. 

26.) In size and shape this part of the State is somewhat 

like the western strip whose waters flow directly into the 

Pacific, but the two areas differ greatly in climate, vegetation, geology, and stream behavior. The coastal climate is 

relatively cool at all seasons and wet except in summer,, but 

the valleys, plateaus, and mountains in the eastern fringe 

are warmer in summer, colder in winter, and dryer at all seasons. In the Blue Mountain and Wallowa Mountain areas, 

the moderate annual "catch" of rain and snow is enough 

to support pine forests, which are somewhat less dense than 

the rain forests of the coastal areas; in the lower plateaus 

and valleys near the Snake River, the annual rainfall is 

about 7 to 12 inches, and here desert vegetation prevails. 

The flashy runoff in the coastal strip is caused by the rains 

of winter; the much smaller floods of the rivers that swell 

the Snake are due chiefly to the melting of snow in spring 

and early summer.

The Snake River tributaries differ in runoff characteristics 

among themselves; toward the northern part of this strip 

there is a marked increase in runoff for a given size of basin.

57
Ontario

Nyssa

10 0 10 20 MILES

\\

pWrC'T^ V

K ") J v-< / \

NEVADA 

FIGURE 26. Southern part of the Snake River basin in Oregon.

58
Owyhee River

In respect to the size of its drainage basin, the Owyhee 

River is a large stream. The total drainage area of 11,400 

square miles is equally divided, half in Oregon and half in 

the adjacent States of Nevada and Idaho. Except for the 

few miles of the Snake River above Nyssa, the Owyhee is 

the only large river that flows into Oregon from another 

State. The South, Middle, and North Forks, carrying most 

of the water, flow out of Idaho and unite in Oregon near the 

southeast corner of the State. The combined flow courses 

for about 80 miles through deep canyons carved in a vast, 

inhospitable lava plateau, to reach the quiet water of Owyhee 

Reseroir. This 50-mile-long lake was created by the high 

dam built by the Bureau of Reclamation in 1932. The stored 

waters are used to irrigate hay, fruit, sugar beets, and other 

crops in the fertile delta area near Nyssa. In dry seasons, 

the entire yearly runoff is used in this area, and more water 

would be welcome.

Smaller reservoirs store the surplus winter and spring 

runoff of tributaries which enter below the village of Rome. 

A spring a few miles southwest of Rome is remarkable for 

the constancy of its flow, about 24 cfs. Many of the tributaries in Oregon are dry gulches except in periods when the 

skimpy snowfall is melting fast enough to produce runoff.

The average annual runoff that reaches Owyhee Reservoir 

amounts to only 1^ inches of water spread over the whole 

area of the drainage basin (fig. 27). By contrast, the corresponding figure for either Wilson River near Tillamook or 

Siletz River near Siletz, near the opposite corner of the State, 

is more than 100 inches. The observed flow is, of course, a 

residual what is left over after evaporation, transpiration 

by natural vegetation, and irrigation but the total supply 

from rainfall in the Owyhee drainage basin is not enough to 

support the needs of a pine or oak forest, even if all the rain 

could be controlled as to timing and rate. The Owyhee 

basin is one answer to those who have the impression that it 

rains all the time in Oregon!

59
20.000

g 16,000

12,000

O 8000

4000

0

Drainage area 8000 square miles

Maximum

^Average 

Minimum,

& E (D 3

 II

Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May June July Aug Sept ANNUAL

500

400

300

200

100

Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May June July Aug Sept ANNUAL

FIGURE 27. Maximum, minimum, and average monthly and annual discharge of Owyhee River near Rome (above) and of Hurricane Creek 

near Joseph (below). The Owyhee River drains a desert area in which 

melting snow and spring rains provide a flashy runoff, typical of a large 

part of southeastern Oregon. Hurricane Creek rises in the higher 

and more humid Wallowa Mountains, from which the melting snows 

provide a strong summer flow; the lowest flow comes in the wettest 

season, December to March.

60
Malheur River

The loss of a cache of furs on a then-unnamed stream 

caused some early French trappers to call it "Riviere au 

Malheur," or River of Misfortune, but for thousands of 

modern farmers and cattlemen the river brings each year a 

liquid fortune to water their fields of hay, grain, fruit, vegetables, hops, and sugar beets. The trappers and fur traders 

could hardly have foreseen the reservoirs, diversion dams, 

and far-flung canals that would be built by a later 

generation.

Some of the excess water of winter and spring is stored in 

Warmsprings Reservoir near Riverside, in Agency Valley 

Reservoir north of Juntura, and in Willow Creek Reservoir 

above Brogan. These reservoirs, built since 1910 for irrigation use, control the flow from 1,830 square miles of the total 

basin area of 4,690 square miles, but they are sometimes 

filled before the period of greatest runoff, and consequently 

the flood at Vale on February 24, 1957, nearly equaled the 

record flood of March 2, 1910. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation is now (1964) building a reservoir to store the floodwaters of Bully Creek.

There are many hot springs in the basin, the best known 

being the one that supplies water at the bathing resort at 

Vale. A few drilled wells near the springs also yield hot or 

mineralized water, but most ground-water supplies are cool 

and fresh. Wells in Cow Valley near Brogan tap a source of 

ground water in an upland basin and provide water for irrigating fields and watering cattle. This small basin is one of 

the very few areas in Oregon where the withdrawal of ground 

water from wells is now controlled by the Oregon State 

Engineer to prevent pumpage in excess of the rate of natural 

recharge.

Burnt River

The small stream called Burnt River and its tributaries 

lie just north of the Malheur River (see fig. 28), and the two 

river basins are much alike in climate, altitude of drainage 

basin, and the rate and timing of runoff. Burnt River drains

61
FIGURE 28. Northern part of the Snake River basin in Oregon.

an area of 1,100 square miles that is forested in the upper 

reaches and has only desert vegetation in the lower reaches. 

Water is stored in the fairly large Unity Reservoir and in a 

small private reservoir on the South Fork; both reservoirs 

are near the post office of Unity. The stored water and 

the natural flow of other streams in the basin are used for 

irrigation, mostly on the narrow fertile terraces that line 

the banks of the river.

The average flow of the river at Unity Reservoir is 81 cfs, 

from a drainage area of 309 square miles. Downstream

62
tributaries have lower yields, and many of them are dry 

in summer. The greatest known flood occurred in 1894, 

when water entered the roundhouse at Huntington.

Powder River

Like the Malheur and Burnt Rivers to the south, the 

Powder River rises in the Blue Mountains. The peaks beside the headwater reaches of the river are the highest in 

the range, many of them rising to altitudes of 8,000 to 9,000 

feet. From these mountains a multitude of little streams 

tumble swiftly down the steep canyons. They flow past 

the boulder dumps of the dredges that formerly used the 

water to wash gold from the gravel bars and past the narrow 

terraces where water supports the growth of hay and grain 

for livestock. The growing river flows more gently through 

the round, open valleys near Baker, then more rapidly again 

through alternating canyons and small irrigated valleys, to 

join the Snake River at Robinette. The lower 10 miles of 

the river became a part of the reservoir behind Brownlee Dam 

on the Snake River in 1958. At Richland the river is joined 

by Eagle Creek, the largest stream that flows out of the 

southern slope of the high and rugged Wallowa Mountains.

Thief Valley Reservoir, east of the town of North Powder, stores water for irrigating lands in the lower part of the 

river basin. The low-water flow of many of the streams, 

including Eagle Creek, is completely used for irrigation. 

The water of Rock Creek is used to develop electric power, 

and Goodrich Creek furnishes the municipal water supply 

for Baker. At the higher mountain lakes, summer fishing 

and winter skiing alternate as recreational attractions. 

There is as yet no upstream storage to control the floods 

that occur at rare intervals. Flooding is sometimes due, at 

least in part, to ice jams as the late winter rains swell the 

streams. That sort of flooding occurred at Baker as recently as February 1957.

Where the river emerges into open valleys, it has deposited 

its bedload of gravel and sand to construct alluvial fans, such 

as the one on which Baker is located. These gravelly deposits yield moderate supplies of water to wells.

63
Grande Ronde River and the Wallowa 

Mountain area

The large fault-block valley that lies between Union and 

Elgin became known to early French trappers as Grande 

Ronde, a name that soon was transferred to the river. The 

local pronunciation of "Grand Round" is applied both to the 

valley and to the river.

Rising in the snowbanks and springs of the Blue Mountains, the river meanders lazily through the large, flat valley, 

much of the flow confined in a straightened cutoff channel 

known as the State ditch. In this valley reach, the principal 

tributary is Catherine Creek, which drains the southwest side 

of the Wallowa Mountains; it reaches the valley floor at 

Union, and from there it winds north through the valley 

to join the old channel of the Grande Ronde near Cove. The 

river has built a gravelly fan extending from its mountain 

canyon several miles eastward from La Grande. Catherine 

Creek also flows across a gravel fan before reaching the 

Grande Ronde. From their confluence, the river meanders 

widely over a very flat part of the valley floor as far as the 

bedrock canyon carved through Pumpkin Ridge, below which 

the river enters the smaller Elgin Valley.

Economical supplies of water can be obtained from wells 

in the lava bedrock, in the gravelly alluvial-fan deposits, and 

in the sand and fine gravel beds within the valley alluvium. 

The water table stands close to the level of the valley floor, 

and springs flow from the bedrock and gravel aquifers around 

the edges of the valley. Springs rising along faultlines at 

Hot Lake contain water that is near boiling temperature.

Below Elgin the Grande Ronde River flows in a canyon 

for 99 miles; it drops more than 1,800 feet to the Snake River, 

the lower 38 miles being in the State of Washington.

The river drains 3,950 square miles, mostly mountainous 

and forested. Precipitation over the area is moderate. At 

Troy, where the drainage area is 3,275 square miles and the 

lowest streamflow measuring station is operated, the average 

flow is 3,200 cfs after the upstream needs have been taken 

out. This flow is about twice the total net inflow contributed to the Snake River by all other Oregon streams,

64
although the drainage area at Troy is less than a fifth of the 

total of the combined Snake River tributaries in Oregon 

(19,150 sq mi).

The annual runoff, about 10 times as great as the yield of 

the Owyhee, would cover the basin more than 13 inches deep 

if it could be spread uniformly over it. Two factors apparently govern the difference in the runoff from the two 

basins: First, there is more annual precipitation in the 

Grande Ronde basin than in the Owyhee, perhaps 30 inches 

as compared to about 12 inches. Second, runoff is the residual, what is left over after the demands of nature and 

man have been met; the forests, meadows, and irrigated fields 

of the Grande Ronde basin consume or evaporate about 18 

inches of water, in contrast to the 10 to 11 inches consumed 

by the desert terrain of the Owyhee; in each instance the 

remainder of what falls as rain or snow appears as runoff in 

the river.

The Wallowa River, largest of the Grande Ronde tributaries, rises in the myriad snowfields and lakes of the Wallowa Mountains. The principal headwater stream flows 

through Wallowa Lake (see fig. 29), a beautiful 4-mile-long 

body of water in a classic alpine setting, lying in a trough of 

a valley that was deepened and then dammed by a mountain 

glacier. In 1927 a party of students from the University of 

Oregon measured the depth of the lake in many places, the 

greatest depth found being 283 feet. Below the lake, the 

river and its tributaries are used for irrigation in the open 

valley that begins at Joseph and extends some 20 miles to 

the northwest. This beautiful valley was the home of the 

Wallowa branch of the Nez Perce tribe. For possession of 

this valley, Chief Joseph led the Nez Perce into a rebellion, 

which ended with his retreat, against U.S. Army troops in 

1877.

The gravelly soils of the gently sloping valley lands seem 

to require a copious supply of water in the summer, a demand 

that fortunately can be met by the snow-fed rivers. These 

streams commonly have their greatest flow in the warm, clear 

weather of June and July, when plant growth demands an 

ample supply of moisture.

65
FIGURE 29. View southward of Wallowa Lake and the skyline of the 

Wallowa Mountains. The terminal and lateral moraines deposited 

by the former mountain-valley glacier are clearly evident around the 

near end of the lake. Photograph by U.S. Forest Service.

The second largest tributary is the Wenaha River, which 

rises in the timbered mountains in Oregon and Washington 

and joins the Grande Ronde at Troy. Except for recreation and wildlife propagation, the water of the Wenaha is 

little used. The stream is an important spawning ground 

for salmon, and at one time it was called Little Salmon 

River.

A few very small streams are used to develop a small 

amount of electric power. Wallowa Lake is the only large 

reservoir in the basin.

The Imnaha River is a small stream that flows off the eastern end of the Wallowa Mountains, turns abruptly northward, and then boils steeply down a very deep canyon parallel to the Snake River, to join that river 20 miles north of the

66
village of Imnaha. At one point in its upper reaches, the Imnaha is almost 2,500 feet higher than the Snake, only 5.5 

miles to the east through the sharp ridge that separates 

them. The flow of the little river is sustained by rather 

large springs and by melting snow, and is more than adequate for irrigating the thin strips of river-terrace land that 

line its banks.

The Snake River and its Oregon tributaries contain greater 

amounts of dissolved minerals than the rivers of western 

Oregon. The Wallowa, Grande Ronde, and Burnt Rivers 

contain soft water of relatively low mineral content. The 

Powder and the Malheur River waters have a somewhat 

greater concentration of dissolved materials. The Powder 

River has the higher content: 190 to 200 ppm dissolved solids, of which about 30 ppm is silica. The Snake and the 

Owyhee Rivers contain even more dissolved solids. The 

Snake River has a maximum average dissolved-solids content of about 400 ppm near Nyssa, and progressively declines 

to about 190 ppm at the Washington boundary. The Owyhee River has an average dissolved-solids content of 193 ppm 

at Owyhee Dam. However, at the mouth of the river, irrigation return flow has increased this value to about 800 ppm.

The ground water in the alluvial deposits of the valleys in 

the eastern and drier part of the State is generally harder, 

that is, it contains more calcium bicarbonate than the ground 

water in the valleys farther west.

The ground water found under water-table conditions 

beneath the Snake-Malheur plain near Ontario, Vale, and 

Nyssa has about 200 to 300 ppm hardness and a dissolvedsolids content of about 500 ppm; most of the dissolved material is bicarbonate of calcium and sodium. Ground water 

in the alluvium of the Grande Ronde Valley ranges from 

soft to only moderately hard; it varies in chemical content 

from place to place and from time to time in accordance with 

the interplay of this ground water with the adjacent surface 

runoff.

Warm to hot ground water occurs along geologic faults 

in the Malheur, Powder, and Grande Ronde River basins. 

This water, which carries large amounts of silica, sodium 

bicarbonate, chloride, and sulfate, is of poor quality.

67
RIVERS OF THE NORTH SLOPE OF

OREGON

The Snake River enters the Columbia River in Washington. In flowing from there to the sea, the Columbia passes 

through climatic zones that have a wide range in annual precipitation: 8 inches at Umatilla, 15 inches at The Dalles, 31 

inches at Hood River, 76 inches at Cascade Locks, down to 

40 inches at Portland, and un aeain to 76 inches at Astoria.

Walla Wnlla River 

Milton - Freewarer

\ Strawberry Mtn' > - :>OUTH SNAKE 

^ 9O52 Feet ' RIVER BASIN

FIGURE 30. North slope of Oregon from Walla AValla River to John

Day River.

68
The northward-flowing streams (see fig. 30) which bring 

their tribute to this reach of the Columbia reflect these variations, although all the streams have their sources in the 

higher and somewhat wetter mountain regions. These 

tributaries drain almost 25,000 square miles in Oregon, exclusive of the Willamette River basin, and include some rivers that significantly affect Oregon's present and future 

prosperity.

Walla Walla River

The Walla Walla River is just what its Indian name implies, a small, rapid river. It rises in the Blue Mountains 

in Oregon and flows northwest out of the mountains and 

across its own fertile alluvial fan near Milton-Freewater. 

The headwater areas in the Blue Mountains receive about 

40 inches of precipitation per year, and deep snows melt 

each spring to run off the sloping land into South Fork, 

North Fork, and Mill Creek, the main headwater tributaries. 

The South Fork is fed by large springs that keep the summer 

flow up to about 110 cfs, and hydroelectric power has been 

developed near Milton. In the valley above and below 

Milton, the entire low-water flow is used for irrigation.

During flood seasons the river loses water in crossing the 

permeable alluvial fan, and ground-water bodies for several 

miles on either side are replenished by the seepage out of 

the river channel. The river water of April may be the 

ground water of June and river water again a month or a 

year later. This interdependence of surface- and groundwater supplies exists in many places. Here in the Walla 

Walla valley it helps to stabilize the summer water supply 

and the economy of the area. The ground water in the bedrock lavas is less closely associated with the surface water, 

but it supplies many productive wells.

Umatilla River

The Umatilla River rises in the forested slopes of the Blue 

Mountains and flows northwest to join the Columbia at 

Umatilla, 4 miles below McNary Dam. Much of the headwater area lies on the Blue Mountain upland and slope; the

69
lower parts of the drainage basin consist of rolling land, 

much of which is planted to wheat or other grains in alternate years. Erosion of loess soils is a problem. (See fig. 

31.) There is a storage reservoir on McKay Creek south 

of Pendleton, and an off-channel reservoir near Cold 

Springs, which is fed by a diversion from Umatilla River. 

The natural summer flow of the river and the water stored 

in these reservoirs are almost entirely used for irrigation in 

dry seasons.

At Pendleton, where the river drains 637 square miles and 

where there are many small diversions above the gaging 

station, the average flow in a 29-year period was 495 cfs, 

but the summer flow may be less than one-tenth of that rate. 

Floods occur occasionally, caused either by general winter 

rains on top of the snow and frozen ground or by torrential 

local cloudbursts in the spring and summer.

The volcanic bedrock is warped into broad folds. The 

Blue Mountain and Horse Heaven ridges are the principal 

upward-folded structural features, and the Umatilla and 

the Agency synclines, the latter running northeastward from 

Pilot Rock to Athena, are the principal downwarped features. In the downfolds, the bedrock lavas, yield large 

quantities of water to wells. This region and the neighboring Walla Walla River basin offer opportunity for much 

greater development and use of the ground water of the 

volcanic bedrock.

Willow Creek

Willow Creek drains 850 square miles, but its contribution to the flow of the Columbia is very small. For a large 

part of the year the stream is almost dry near the mouth, the 

small flow being used entirely for irrigating the narrow terraces along its banks. The creek carries a heavy load of sediment whenever a warm rain falls on the frozen ground of the 

wheatfields and the fallow land which make up a large part 

of the total area.

The region is also subject to torrential storms of cloudburst type in spring and summer. The most notable flood 

of that sort occurred on June 14, 1903. On that date a flash

70
FIGTJKE 31. Above, Close view of sheet-wash, rill, and gully erosion of 

loess soil in a field of young winter wheat in the Umatilla basin. Photograph by U.S. Soil Conservation Service. Below, Distant view of erosion of loess soil in young winter wheat in the Umatilla basin. The 

prevalence of rills and gullies on the steeper slopes, gullying in the 

drainageways, and the concentration of rills by the rows of the grain 

drill are evident. Much of the sediment carried from fields like these 

reaches the rivers of the region.

745-668 O W 71
flood of 36,000 cfs swept down Balm Fork and engulfed the 

town of Heppner. More than 200 lives were lost, and a 

large part of the business and residential sections of the town 

was completely destroyed. That flood lasted less than 2 

hours. The total volume of the flood surge has been computed as only about 1,100 acre-feet of water. Natural storage in the creek channel so reduced the flow downstream 

that there was no serious flooding below Lexington. Design 

of a flood-control dam at a site downstream from Balm Fork 

has been authorized.

The stream rises on the partly forested plateaus and western ridges of the Blue Mountains. It flows northwestward 

to Heppner and then turns northward to descend 1,700 feet 

in 35 miles down the regional ramp-slope to the Columbia 

River. For most of its course, the creek flows in a shallow 

canyon whose bed is a hundred feet or so above the regional 

water table. A small cross fold in the bedrock causes the 

water table to stand near the surface at the town of lone. 

Because of the depth to the water table, most of the farms on 

the plateaus above the canyon have only small-diameter 

wells for domestic use and stock watering. Irrigation from 

ground water is limited to small tracts.

John Day River

The John Day River drains a 7,830-square-mile area that 

ranges in altitude from 9,038 feet on Strawberry Mountain to 

160 feet at its mouth. Above 3,500 feet altitude, most of the 

basin is covered with moderate to dense stands of pine, fir, 

hemlock, larch (locally called "tamarack"), and other forest 

trees. The higher areas receive moderate precipitation, 

much of it in the form of snow.

The deep canyons carved by the mountain streams expose 

many types of old crystalline rocks of low permeability in 

the central part of the headwater uplands; cappings of lava 

flows occur extensively. Because some of the lava flows are 

permeable enough to store and transmit ground water, they 

give rise to many small and medium-sized hillside springs. 

These springs have value as a water supply for thousands of 

cattle, deer, and elk that range the mountains.

72
The opportunities for developing moderate quantities of 

water from wells is limited to the few places where the lava 

rocks extend down into the valleys. The city of John Day 

has taken advantage of such a situation with two publicsupply wells.

About 95 percent of the total runoff is derived from the 

higher half of the basin, the runoff from areas below 3,000 

feet in altitude being generally negligible except during excessive rain or snowmelt. Ground water is only a small 

contributor to the stream discharge.

In dry seasons, practically all the water in the upper part 

of the river is used for irrigation. The larger irrigated tracts 

are near Prairie City, Dayville, and Monument. The river 

water, particularly in the upper valley areas, is quite satisfactory in quality for irrigation and stock water.

Extensive areas of lakebed deposits of volcanic ash are 

exposed in the river canyons near the towns of Dayville and 

Mitchell and the small settlement of Service Creek. The 

ash beds are a source of much scientific interest because of 

the fossil remains of plants and animals of earlier geologic 

ages that are preserved in them. Many of the beds are brilliantly colored brown, yellow, cream, or red. These formations support little vegetation, and their rapid erosion is 

responsible for a large part of the load of fine sediment carried by the John Day during the late winter and spring. In 

1962-63 at McDonald Ferry, 16 miles above the mouth, the 

river carried 1,150,000 tons of suspended sediment and a 

total load of about 1,250,000 tons of sediment in a 12-month 

period. This total load is equivalent to 4,750 pounds per 

minute, on the average. The daily load varied with the seasons, and for many periods the stream was practically clear.

At McDonald Ferry, the average flow is 2,000 cfs and has 

a recorded range from 4 to 39,100 cfs from a drainage area 

of 7,580 square miles. (See fig. 32.) Many of the streams 

in the basin of John Day River rise suddenly with rain and 

quickly recede to a low flow. This tendency to flash floods 

is especially noticeable because in size, shape, altitude, and 

forest cover the river basin is similar to the adjacent basin 

of the Deschutes River; however, the regimen and turbidity 

of the two rivers are markedly different.

73
16,000

12,000

8000

4000

0

Drairiage< rea 7! 580 sc

Maxir

uare

num 

\

Aver

Minii

niles

age^

num

\-

Average 

Minimum

Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May June July Aug Sept ANNUAL

o: 12,000

8000

4000

0

M< ximur

' Ave

n x

 

rage

Minir

i

num 

\

f "^

** Drainag

SQL

eare; 

are m

a 10,5 

iles

)0

III Maximum 

Average 

Minimum

Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May June July Aug Sept ANNUAL

FIGURE 32. Maximum, minimum, and average monthly and annual discharge of John Day River at McDonald Ferry (above) and Deschutes 

River at Moody (below). The low-water flow of the Deschutes River is 

about 20 times that of its next-door neighbor, the John Day River. 

The difference is due chiefly to the porous soil and thick deposits of 

open-jointed lava rocks in the basin of the Deschutes. Both streams 

have many diversions for irrigation.

The extreme cases of flash floodflow occur in cloudburst 

type of rainfall. Such a cloudburst near Mitchell on July 13, 

1956, created a flash flow of 14,400 cfs in Bridge Creek, normally only a trickle, and 54,000 cfs in Meyers Canyon a few 

miles farther north.

74
Deschutes River

The Deschutes River has a more nearly uniform flow than 

any other river of its size in the United States. It rises in 

lakes and springs in the Cascade Range and flows generally 

northward to join the Columbia River 16 miles east of The 

Dalles and 13 miles upstream from The Dalles Dam. In 

its middle and lower courses the river has carved a spectacular canyon (see fig. 33) through a series of nearly horizontal 

lava flows, interspersed with lakebed deposits formed mostly 

of volcanic ash and associated sedimentary materials.

FIGURE 33. View northward down the Deschutes River canyon from a 

point 15 miles above the mouth of the river. The layered lava rocks 

of the canyon walls slope northward about at the water grade; north 

of the Columbia River they are warped up to form the distant upland 

in the center background. Photograph by Oregon Game Commission.

The Deschutes basin covers 10,500 square miles. (See 

fig. 34.) The annual precipitation ranges from about 9 

inches along the lower course of the river to 90 inches in

75
BONNEVILLE / 

DAM

10 20 MILES

f(L 1MA TH RIVER BASIN

FIGURE 34. The Deschutes River and adjacent drainage basins.

76
places along the crest of the Cascade Range. In general, the 

precipitation decreases eastward from the Cascade Range 

and northward along the river. Vegetal cover varies with 

moisture available: Hemlock, fir, and cedar cover most of 

the higher mountain slopes; yellow pine and juniper carpet 

the progressively lower and more arid tablelands; desert 

vegetation prevails in areas receiving less than about 14 

inches of precipitation annually.

The uniform flow of the river cannot be attributed to the 

presence of forests, for many other streams (and one large 

tributary of the Deschutes River itself) have flash flows 

from forested areas. Indeed, the removal of the entire supply of commercial timber might not materially alter the flow 

of the river. The constancy of flow is due rather to the presence of large areas of spongelike pumice soil and lava rock, 

which receive the precipitation and conduct much of it 

down to vast underground reservoirs. This ground water 

percolates out through the porous lava rocks to emerge as 

large, clear, steady-flowing springs. Taken either individually or as a group, these springs are among the largest in the 

world. One tributary alone (Metolius River) has an average 

flow of 1,479 cfs, almost entirely derived from springs, some 

of which are constantly discharging water that fell years 

earlier.

Lakes in the headwater areas also serve to stabilize the 

flow of the Deschutes River. Some, such as Crescent Lake 

and Odell Lake, were dammed by moraines of former mountain glaciers; others were dammed by lava flows. The entire outflow of Davis Lake is by leakage into and through 

such a lava flow. Still other lakes occupy depressions formed 

in the lava, and much of their outflow sinks into the ground. 

East Lake occupies a large volcanic crater, from which the 

water is lost by evaporation and seepage. Paulina Creek, 

leaving Paulina Lake as a strong-flowing stream, gradually 

sinks into the pumice and most of its flow disappears before 

reaching the Deschutes River. Manmade lakes include 

Crane Prairie, Wickiup, Ochoco and Prineville Reservoirs, 

and the pools formed by Round Butte and Pelton dams near 

Madras.

77
Near Bend, most of the natural flow, and all the water 

released from storage in Crescent Lake, Crane Prairie, and 

Wickiup Reservoirs, is diverted for use in irrigation. The 

irrigated land lies on broad plateaus near Bend, Redmond, 

and Madras; only small tracts on the narrow terraces are 

along the river itself. Large springs in the deep river canyons near Culver and additions from the Crooked and Metolius Rivers swell the summer flow from less than 200 cfs 

below Bend to about 4,000 cfs 40 miles downstream near 

Madras.

Below Madras, the small east-side streams are inadequate 

for irrigation needs, and their contribution to the Deschutes 

River is negligible. Practically all the inflow in this reach 

comes from the west side. Shitike Creek and the Warm 

Springs River have well-sustained flows fed by winter snows 

and by large springs; their waters are used to irrigate some 

cropland in the Warm Springs Indian Reservation. White 

River is fed by springs and snows of Mount Hood. Its 

water is at times milky with the fine sediment known as 

"glacier flour" derived from White River Glacier.

A small hydroelectric powerplant has been constructed to 

utilize the flow of the Deschutes River at Bend. Most of 

the potential waterpower lies in the stretch of river below 

the mouth of the Metolius River, where a dependable flow 

of about 4,000 cfs could be dropped through a total of 1,800 

feet to develop more than 600,000 horsepower continuously. 

The only large powerplants that have been built to date are 

the Pelton and Round Butte plants near Madras, of 355,000 

kilowatts combined installed capacity.

The Deschutes River and its lakes are famous for trout 

fishing, and some salmon come up the river to spawn in the 

gravel beds of its tributaries. At the Pelton powerplant, 

a fish ladder 2y2 miles long was required to permit the migrating fish to pass upstream and downstream.

The rivers of the north slope of Oregon vary in chemical 

quality. The John Day and Umatilla Rivers contain moderate amounts of dissolved solids, usually less than 200 ppm. 

The Crooked River water has an average dissolved-mineral 

content of about 250 ppm; the Deschutes River water has 

a much lower concentration.

78
In the plateau lava rocks and other volcanic deposits of 

north-central Oregon, the ground water is moderately hard 

to hard and commonly carries 200 to 300 ppm dissolved 

solids, largely sodium and calcium bicarbonates. However, 

snowmelt in the Cascade Range does supply some excellent 

water to the fragmental volcanic formations. For example, 

water from the large springs contributing to the Metolius 

River in the Deschutes River basin is unexcelled in quality.

Lower Columbia tributaries

Downstream from the Deschutes River, the principal 

tributaries to the Columbia in Oregon are Fifteenmile Creek 

and the Hood, Sandy, and Willamette Rivers. In addition, 

there are many small, short streams in the humid zones in 

the Columbia River Gorge, 20 to 60 miles east of Portland, 

and below the Willamette River north and west of Portland. 

These small streams are used chiefly for propagation of fish 

and for recreational activities swimming, picknicking, and 

fishing. Dozens of these small streams form picturesque 

waterfalls in parks set aside for public -enjoyment, whose 

recreational value if it could be appraised in dollars and 

cents must far exceed the value for any other single purpose. The best known of these is Multnomah Falls which, 

in two adjacent leaps, tumbles 607 feet to join the Columbia 

at tidewater level, 29 miles east of Portland.

Fifteenmile Creek enters Columbia River 3 miles east 

of The Dalles. Its drainage basin covers 351 square miles, 

mostly in rolling semiarid land devoted to wheatfarming 

by summer-fallow methods. The small summer flow is used 

for irrigation. Flash floods occur at rare intervals. Some 

winter and spring runoff could be stored for later use.

The Hood River enters the Columbia at the town of Hood 

River. Although its basin of 329 square miles is smaller 

than that of Fifteenmile Creek, the runoff is much greater, 

especially in summer. The difference is due to a combination 

of factors. The Hood River basin has more precipitation 

because it is a higher mountain area that includes some of 

the slopes of Mount Hood as far as the 11,235-foot summit. 

In that high area the heavy snowfall of winter serves to store

79
the water and to maintain summer flow by its slow melting. 

Newton Clark, Eliot, Coe, and Ladd Glaciers all add their 

milky-white melt water (called "gletscher milch" in alpine 

Europe) to the upper tributaries of Hood River. The waters of East, West, and Middle Forks are used for irrigation 

in Hood River valley, chiefly for the production of highquality apples and pears. Water is used for a log pond at 

Dee and for hydroelectric power near the mouth of the 

river. After diversion for irrigation, the river at the mouth 

still has an average flow of 1,100 cfs and a low flow of about 

460 cfs.

The Sandy River drains about 500 square miles of mountain and forest, including the south and west slopes of 

Mount Hood, and flows into the Columbia River at tidewater near Troutdale. The snowfields and glaciers of Mount 

Hood sustain the summer flow. The river is discolored at 

times each year by fine sediment, typical of melt water from 

glaciers, but most of the tributaries are relatively clear, even 

during flood. The stream was called Quicksand River by 

Lewis and Clark upon observing the sandy plain over which 

the river enters the Columbia. The average runoff is high: 

At the mouth of the river it is equivalent to a depth of about 

70 inches spread over the entire basin.

The Bull Run River, a tributary of the Sandy, is the 

source of water supply for the city of Portland and the surrounding suburban area. The water of the Bull Run River 

is derived from surface runoff, springs, and lakes so clear 

and soft that unfiltered tapwater is commonly used for many 

of the ordinary uses of distilled water. The runoff of the 

Bull Run River has ranged from 62 to 141 inches in depth 

over the drainage basin (average 97 in). The precipitation 

must be at least 20 inches greater, to support the dense 

forest cover, and some parts of the basin certainly must be 

wetter than the average; hence it appears that the total 

precipitation in some years may be about 180 inches in the 

wetter places, though no rain gage in Oregon has ever actually recorded that amount.

Hydroelectric power is developed at Bull Run, near the 

mouth of the Bull Run River, by using water from the 

Sandy and Bull Run Rivers. Water in the basin provides

80
FIGURE 35. Netting smelt on Sandy River.

recreation, especially in the summer-homesite areas along 

the upper tributaries. Unappropriated water of the basin is 

reserved for domestic use and for recreation. Salmon and 

steelhead trout still provide incentive for the sports fisherman, but the most remarkable phase of recreation on the 

Sandy River has centered around the migrations of the small 

eulachon, or smelt, which once ascended the lower reaches of 

the stream almost every spring in uncountable millions to 

spawn in the sandy bed of the river, and in their brief passage 

provided exciting sport for thousands of dip-netters. (See 

fig. 35.)

81
LAKES

OF

OREGON

Scattered in many parts of the State, but clustered in 

some particular areas, are more than a thousand lakes. (In 

Lane County alone, for instance, there are more than 200 

lakes, but Morrow and Washington Counties have none.) 

More than half the total number lie close to the summit of 

the Cascade Range. Some are so small they have never 

been given names. At least seven counties have a "Fish" 

Lake, a fact which suggests the most common use of lakes 

in Oregon. The lakes vary greatly in size, in depth, in water 

quality, in geologic origin, and in their adaptibility for the 

use and pleasure of man.

For general discussion, the lakes can be grouped according to the natural agencies that formed them. (See fig. 36.) 

This grouping also helps to describe the lakes by subareas of 

the State, because most of the lakes in each particular subarea were formed in the same manner.

SAND-DUNE LAKES

Lying within a few miles of the Pacific Coast in Oregon 

are many lakes that have been formed by sand dunes and 

by barrier beach sand which has drifted across the channels 

of some streams that did not have sufficient flow in summer 

to wash away the windborne sand. Typically these lakes 

are clear shallow bodies of soft water, never frozen over. 

The larger sand-dune lakes (Tenmile Lake, Siltcoos Lake, 

and Tahkenitch Lake) lie in drowned river valleys that were

82
carved when the sea level stood lower than it does now. 

Other lakes, such as Horsfall Lake north of Coos Bay and 

Sunset Lake north of Gearhart, are caused by the rise of 

ground water in fresh-water lagoons behind beach ridges. 

All the lakes provide vacation sites and recreation for thousands of swimmers, fishermen, and hunters. The larger 

ones provide potential storage areas and quantities of water 

adequate for industrial and public supply. Clear Lake furnishes municipal water for Reedsport, and Empire Lakes for 

the town of Empire.

LANDSLIDE LAKES

The low mountains of the Coast Range have been carved 

into a series of deep canyons separated by sharp narrow 

ridges that in part are underlain by weak sedimentary rocks. 

The heavy winter rains usually keep the surface soils and 

any porous underlying rocks saturated from November to 

March each year. These factors all tend to produce slipping 

and minor landsliding. Here and there landslides have 

dammed river valleys and created small mountain lakes. 

Squaw Lakes, Esmond, Loon, and Triangle Lakes were thus 

formed. Most of these lakes lie in remote canyons and are 

little used except by hardy fishermen, but the few that are 

easily accessible are used extensively for recreation.

FLOOD-PLAIN LAKES

On flat alluvial plains, rivers tend to meander, or wander 

from side to side. Occasionally a river will cut across a loop 

and will dam both ends by sedimentation; a section of 

former channel will thus be isolated as a bayou, slough, or 

oxbow lake. Beaver and Colorado Lakes, near Corvallis, and 

Hayden and Humbug Lakes, near Independence, are such 

lakes. Some of these river-made lakes are now protected by 

flood-control dikes or dams (Kellogg Lake at Milwaukie, 

Blue Lake near Portland, Sturgeon Lake on Sauvie Island), 

and some have been drained and are used intensively for

83
COASTAL LAKES

1. Obstructed channel of stream that formerly 

drained to the ocean at a lower level

2. Small stream obstructed by encroaching sand

3. Lagoonal lakes at level of water table in the sand

rock

FLOOD-PLAIN LAKES

1. Oxbow, sloughs, and other flood-plain lakes

FIGURE 36. Above and opposite page. Block diagrams illustrating the 

origin of lakes formed by sand dunes and by other agents.

84
LANDSLIDE LAKE

GLACIER-FORMED LAKES

1. Remnant glaciers

2. Lakes in glacial scour basins

3. Lake impounded behind glacial moraine

85
vegetable gardening (Labish Lake near Salem, Wapato Lake 

at Gaston). The waters of some are used for irrigation as 

well as for fishing, hunting, and other recreational purposes.

GLACIER LAKES

Most of the hundreds of lakes that lie along the crest of 

the Cascade Range and Wallowa Mountains were caused, or 

their shapes were determined, by former mountain glaciers. 

On some of the higher mountains, glaciers that still exist 

have receded from their most advanced positions and have 

left small lakes impounded above the ridges of boulders and 

earth that geologists call "terminal moraines." A far greater 

number of tiny lakes occupy little basins that have been 

scooped out of the rock by former glaciers; such lakes are 

sometimes called "tarns." Ice Lake and Aneroid Lake in 

the Wallowa Mountains and Blue Lake near Santiam Pass 

are examples of tarns. Wallowa Lake is a classic example 

of a lake in a trough that was excavated by an alpine glacier 

and then dammed by the glacier's terminal moraine; Odell 

Lake is another. By coincidence, both lakes have about the 

same depth, slightly less than 300 feet. Fourmile, Diamond, 

Crescent, and Waldo Lakes were formed by the scouring action of large fan-shaped bodies of ice, and in part were 

dammed by glacial moraines. In the Blue Mountains, Strawberry, Magone, and Anthony Lakes are of glacial origin. 

Some of these lakes are used to store water for irrigation, 

and all have a constantly expanding recreational use.

Glaciers themselves are similar to lakes and reservoirs in 

that they store large quantities of water and release it later. 

Living glaciers of modest size occur on the high slopes of 

Mount Hood, Mount Jefferson, and The Three Sisters; 

smaller glaciers are on Broken Top Mountain, Diamond 

Peak, and Three Fingered Jack, all in the central and northern part of the Cascade Range. In general, the glaciers have 

been receding or melting away since about 1740, when the 

greatest recent advance occurred. A few small glaciers have 

disappeared within the present century, and others appear 

to be almost "dead" or stagnant. Some of the larger glaciers

86
are now at least 400 feet thinner in places than they were 

about 200 years ago.

Water-supply engineers are sometimes asked: "What will 

happen to the summer flow in my river if the glaciers should 

disappear completely?" To answer that question, let us 

consider where the summer flow has its source. Most of it 

comes from springs and from melting snow, and that part 

may be considered as a steady income that presumably will 

be continued. A very small amount represents the annual 

reduction in the volume of the ice, and that part may be 

considered as drawing upon a savings account built up in 

past years. Therefore, if the glacier were to disappear because of a warmer climate, the summer flow of streams would 

be very little less than at present. But if the climate became drier, then the reduction in spring flow and snowmelt 

would deplete both the summer and the winter flow much 

more than would the absence of a relatively small body of ice.

For an illustration of the rather minor effect of the small 

Oregon glaciers on riverflow, consider the Hood River and 

its tributary glaciers Newton Clark, Eliot, Coe, and Ladd. 

The four glaciers cover about 830 acres. If they lose 2 feet 

of ice each year, between July 1 and September 30, the total 

volume of water drawn from the savings account is only 

1,600 acre-feet, equivalent to an average flow of 9 cfs for 90 

days. But at the mouth of the river the average flow during 

this period is 550 cfs. The figures are not exact, but it can 

be concluded that the draft on the savings account is only 

a small part of the total seasonal income, for no other Oregon 

stream has more glaciers in its headwater area.

The long period of glacier recession may be about over 

in fact, glaciers on several peaks in Washington are now 

growing thicker or advancing. It may well be that some of 

the icefields on mountains in Oregon soon will be growing 

larger rather than smaller, and may thus be building up a 

savings account for some Oregon rivers.

SPRING POOLS

A few springs form pools large enough to be called lakes. 

Hot Lake near Union is an example. This lake is a large 

steaming mineral spring which rises along a faultline.

745-668 O 65 7 87
Another mineralized pool is Borax Lake, east of Steens 

Mountain in Harney County. Little Crater Lake on the 

headwaters of Oak Grove Fork of Clackamas River is a clear 

spring pool of fresh water about 100 feet in diameter and 40 

feet deep; it is not a true crater lake as the name suggests.

LAVA-DAMMED LAKES

Much of the Cascade Range and parts of southeastern 

Oregon are covered by lava flows that are relatively young, 

as geologists reckon age. These flows coursed down the 

steepest slopes, just as thick molasses would do; some 

reached the channels of large streams, and there they created 

dams that ponded the water into lakes. (See fig. 37.)

One of the most notable of the lava-dammed lakes is Clear 

Lake on the McKenzie River. Here the forest trees that 

were growing in the canyon of the river, before the eruption 

of the lava, were killed by the rising waters of the lake. In 

time the trees rotted down to water level, but below the surface the wood was preserved from decay by the fresh water. 

The stumps or snags of the former forest (about 3,000 years 

old by radio-carbon dating in 1963) may still be seen just 

below the surface of the lake.

Fish Lake in Jackson County and another Fish Lake in 

Linn County are other examples of streams dammed by 

flows of lava.

Large bodies of water occur underground in parts of the 

State, and many continue into open lake areas level with 

the water table. One such underground water body has an 

open "window" that permits inspection by anyone who has 

enough interest to walk half a mile down the smooth floor of 

a lava tunnel. This lava tunnel, called Malheur Cave, is 

in young lava about 50 miles southeast of Burns. The small 

underground "lake" is at the level of the local water table. 

Within the cave the lake is navigable by rowboat or canoe, 

and because it has a setting of unusual geological and 

scenic interest, it creates a recreational value likely to increase as the cave and pool become better known.
LAVA-DAMMED AND CRATER LAKES

1. Lakes created by damming of streams 

by lava

2. Lake in a slumped crater

FAULT-BASIN LAKE

FIGURE 37. Block diagrams illustrating the origin of lakes formed by 

volcanic action and by faulting.

89
CRATER LAKES

The calderas of several extinct volcanoes now contain 

lakes. The best known is Crater Lake, in Klamath County. 

(See frontispiece.) Similar but somewhat smaller lakes, 

known as East Lake and Paulina Lake, exist in the twin 

craters of the extinct Newberry Volcano in Deschutes 

County. East Lake is 40 feet higher in elevation than 

Paulina Lake, and it has no outlet except by seepage through 

the lava and volcanic-ash deposits that enclose it. The 

smallest crater lake in the State is also the highest of all 

the lakes. It is a small unnamed lake in the crater of South 

Sister volcano, at about 10,200 feet in altitude. These lakes 

are valuable recreational and scenic attractions.

FAULT-BASIN LAKES

Over thousands of years in time, the crust of the earth 

may be tilted or sheared, or moved up or down; drainage is 

disrupted and lake basins are created (fig. 37). Such movements of the earth's crust have taken place and several large 

lakes Abert, Summer, and Warner Valley Lakes among 

them have been thus formed in the southeastern part of 

Oregon. Some of these lakes lack adequate outflow, and 

their water is salty; in some there is dense brine in dry 

seasons. The fresh-water parts of these lake basins are wildfowl nesting and resting places, and they include shooting 

grounds dear to the hearts of Oregon's duck and goose 

hunters.

PLAYAS

A playa is a shallow lake whose bed is usually dry in dry 

seasons, except perhaps for very small spring-fed pools; some 

are dry for years at a time. The lakebeds may contain minerals left by the evaporation of the water. In Oregon, the 

best known examples are Alvord, Guano, Alkali, Thorn, and 

Christmas Lakes, all in the southeastern part of the State. 

The term "playa" is sometimes applied to lakes that are 

seldom dry, such as Malheur, Mud, and Harney Lakes. 

There are others that are normally or almost always dry,

90
such as Fossil Lake and Dry Lake in the northeastern part 

of Lake County. There is little or no use of the saline water 

of the playas.

MANMADE LAKES

Though the previously described lakes are natural, most 

have been changed to some extent by man's activities. Some 

ephemeral lakes have been made permanent, or deeper, by 

dams; some permanent and semipermanent lakes have been 

diked or drained, or dried up by diversion of their inflow 

streams. But there are also lakes which did not exist before 

the white settlers came. The long, narrow reservoirs above 

Bonneville, The Dalles, McNary, and Brownlee Dams are 

manmade interstate lakes. Owyhee Dam, completed in 

1932 on the Owyhee River, forms a lake 50 miles long and 

over 300 feet deep. Other reservoirs by the hundreds range 

in size down to small millponds and stock-watering ponds.

91
WATER 

PURITY

'Til taught by pain, men really know not what good 

water's worth. Lord Byron

An observant tourist driving along any major highway 

in Oregon will soon see a roadside fountain with a sign 

DRINKING WATER. He may see other springs or streams 

bearing signs IMPURE WATER DO NOT DRINK. The 

quality of the water may be further impressed on his mind 

by signs referring to places such as Stinkingwater Pass, 

Drinkwater Pass, Clear Creek, Medical Springs, Hot Lake, 

Spring Creek, Alkali Lake, and Cold Springs. The tourist 

may wonder, "By what standards should water be judged?"

Water is the most abundant compound on earth and it 

serves many purposes. The use of water for drinking and 

other domestic purposes has always been and universally 

remains the primary, the highest, the most essential use of 

water. The physical, chemical, and bacteriological qualities 

of drinking water in the United States are now commonly 

evaluated by the U.S. Public Health Service drinking-water 

standards of 1962.

The physical standards set the upper limits for turbidity, 

color, taste, and odor of filtered water supplies. Chemical 

standards, on the other hand, have mandatory requirements 

for certain substances and recommended limits for others: 

mandatory limits have been established for lead, barium, 

cadmium, silver, selenium, and hexavalent chromium; recommended limits are given for copper, iron, manganese, carbon chloroform extract ^soluble organic material), zinc,

92
chloride, nitrate, sulfate, phenols, alkyl benzene sulfonate 

(ingredient in household detergents), and total solids. Mandatory as well as recommended limits are set for arsenic, 

cyanide, and fluoride. Standards for bacteriological quality 

limit the number of organisms of the coliform group.

Hardness of water in respect to both domestic and industrial use receives great attention. Hardness is recognized by the difficulty in obtaining a lather without an excessive consumption of soap. Scale forms in containers in 

which hard water is boiled. Industry is concerned with 

hardness because of scale deposit in hot-water pipes, steam 

boilers, and water heaters. This deposit costs money because heat is lost, fuel consumption is increased, and pipe 

capacity is reduced. One arbitrary rule classifies water of 

0-60 ppm hardness as soft, 61-120 ppm as moderately hard, 

121-180 ppm as hard, and more than 180 ppm as very hard. 

On the whole, Oregon is a "soft-water" State; for example, 

15 major public supplies have an average hardness of 33 ppm.

The quality requirements of the many industrial processes 

differ far too much to allow many broad generalizations. 

One desired characteristic of primary importance to all industries is constancy in the quality of the water, because 

variations in concentration in industrial-process water require continued attention and may require costly treatment.

L. B. Laird (U.S. Geol. Survey Prof. Paper 417-D) and 

John F. Santos (U.S. Geol. Survey Water-Supply Paper 

1784) have prepared reports covering the water quality of 

many of the streams of Oregon. Laird and Santos conclude that the water of Oregon's rivers is generally low in 

mineral content and is acceptable for most uses. The water 

of streams in the western part of the State is generally exceptionally soft and low in dissolved-solids content, being 

comparable in these respects with the best surface-water 

bodies of New England, northern New York, and northern 

Wisconsin. The water of rivers of eastern Oregon is not 

uniform in character: The Deschutes, Grande Ronde, and 

Wallowa Rivers have soft water, but the Crooked, John Day, 

Owyhee, Powder, Snake, and Umatilla Rivers have hard 

water that contains much greater quantities of dissolved 

solids than water of streams of western Oregon. (See 

fig. 38.)

93
Irrigation water is classified on the assumption that it will 

be used under average conditions with respect to soil texture, 

infiltration rate, drainage, quantity of water used, climate, 

and salt tolerance of the crops. Quality ratings are based on 

salinity and alkali hazards, boron and bicarbonate concentrations, and such factors as drainage and management practices. Little irrigation water in the State fails to have a 

satisfactory rating.

A, Sprague River near Chiloquin 

B, Williamson River near Chiloquin 

C, Owyhee River below Owyhee

Dam

D, Malheur River at Drewsey 

E, Malheur River near Hope 

F, Grande Ronde River at Troy 

G, Umatilla River at Pendleton 

H, Columbia River near Rufus 

I, Little Deschutes River near

Lapine 

J, Crooked River near Culver

K, Deschutes River at Moody 

L, McKenzie River near Eugene 

M, Willamette River at Salem 

N, Nestucca River near Blaine 

O, Siletz River near Siletz 

P, Alsea River at Tidewater 

Q, South Umpqua River at Tiller 

R, South Fork Coquille River near

Powers

S, Coquille River at Coquille 

T, Rogue River at Grants Pass

FIGURE 38. Surface-water quality. All surface water contains some 

dissolved minerals. Water in streams in the rain-shadow area is more 

mineralized and is generally harder than water in streams on the west 

slopes of the mountains.
Some of the chemical constituents in water are important 

health factors. Among these are fluorides and iodine compounds. Because of the lack of iodine in food and water 

in some parts of western Oregon, goiter was once endemic 

there. (See "Endemic Goiter in Oregon," by Robert Oleson, 

U.S. Public Health Service Repts., v. 42, no. 40, Nov. 18, 

1927.) A deficiency of fluorides can result in an unusual 

prevalence of dental caries in children; too much can cause 

a mottling of the teeth, as has occurred in a few places in 

southwestern Oregon. Water containing more than 2 ppm 

fluorides may be detrimental. The water of northwestern 

Oregon is deficient in fluorides; that of the volcanic plateaus 

of eastern Oregon has a more desirable content of natural 

fluorides.

In a general discussion of water quality, consideration 

must be given to movement of sand, silt, and clay by streams 

as suspended sediment. The sheet erosion from fallow or 

newly seeded grainfields on sloping land is noticeable in 

northeastern Oregon, where the Umatilla, Walla Walla, and 

John Day Rivers and Willow Creek carry heavy loads of 

this unnatural soil loss. The greatest amount of soil 

reaches the streams when a quick thaw in winter or spring 

causes the soil on some slopes to flow as a mass over the 

still-frozen subsoil. Some of these single mass movements 

of soil disrupt the normal channels of small streams and 

virtually bury crops in lower valleys. The U.S. Soil Conservation Service is charged with providing assistance in 

abating these water-contaminating and soil-wasting situations. So far no Federal or State laws directly penalize 

negligent practices that permit rapid erosion; real abatement depends largely on the voluntary action of the landowner.

The accelerated erosion from some newly logged or fireswept timberlands is usually worst during the first few years 

after the land is denuded. In places, accelerated runoff has 

resulted also in disruption of normal stream channels, abnormal overflow, burial of lands downstream, and damage to 

fish and wildlife habitat Forest authorities are revising 

logging procedures to reduce this contamination of streams 

by silt and debris. Heavy timber stands on steep slopes

95
FIGURE 39. Above, Areas logged in the Salem Hills by staggered-plot or 

patch-logging 'arrangement, one method now practiced where clear 

cutting of the timber is necessary. The intervening patches and creekbank strips are left forested until reforestation has in part restored 

natural soil retention and runoff conditions to the logged areas. Below, 

An area In the Rogue River 'basin where selective logging of Douglas 

fir has left the forest growth in condition to prevent undue erosion 

and to moderate the rate of runoff. Photographs by U.S. Bureau of 

Land Management.

96
that must be "clear cut" may be cut at intervals of time, and 

in patches, so as to lessen the danger of erosion and to hasten 

the reestablishment of natural forest conditions (fig. 39).

Silt and fine erosion products are the most common physical contaminants, but certain industrial wastes may be more 

obnoxious locally. Disposal of sawdust, bark, and wood 

scraps in Oregon rivers once caused major debris problems, 

but the practice is now rare. Stream disposal of tannery 

wastes has been restricted by health authorities. Sporadic 

disposal of waste tar and oil to water has had serious effects 

on wildlife, especially birds, and has made some beaches 

temporarily unfit for recreation.

The temperature of river water varies somewhat with air 

temperature, but has a much smaller range both daily and 

seasonally. Running water freezes at 32°F; hence, moving 

streams of fresh water never are colder than that. Water 

of most Oregon streams seldom rises above 70°F, though 

water of small streams in wide, shallow channels may rise 

to about 80°F at times. Only rarely does the temperature 

of moving water in a large creek or river vary as much as 

10°F in any one day. The temperature of any stream is 

affected by its tributaries, and especially by nearby springs. 

Many of the large springs in the Cascade Range have a temperature of about 43°F, summer and winter. Ice rarely 

forms near or downstream from these large springs, and it 

almost never forms across rivers rising in the warmer and 

more humid environment of the Coast Range.

The shallower lakes in the high mountains do become 

frozen over, some to considerable depths and for long periods, but ice does not form at the flowing outlets of these 

lakes, and lake-derived water keeps the rivers free of ice for 

some distance downstream. Water under the ice in a lake 

is always a few degrees above the freezing point because 

under normal conditions water is heavier at 39.2°F than at 

any other temperature, and therefore, when any part of the 

lake water is chilled to a temperature of 39.2°F, it settles 

toward the bottom. When the entire lake has been cooled 

to that temperature, any further cooling causes the water to 

expand slightly and become lighter; hence, when a lake is

97
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DISSOLVED SOLIDS AND HARDNESS, IN PARTS PER MILLION 

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The temperature of the ground water as a whole is approximately the same as the mean annual air temperature at 

its location, plus 1.8°F for each 100 feet of depth of its occurence below the first 100 feet; however, there are many 

minor and some major exceptions to this rule. In places the 

cold snowmelt and winter rain enter the shallow aquifers 

and reappear soon after as spring flow without having become fully warmed to the mean annual ground temperature 

of the locality. Thus, the ground water in springs flowing 

from the shallow gravel aquifer below Milton-Freewater 

may in places be at only 45°F during the summer months.

In other places, particularly in lava rocks, the earth's temperature gradient is higher than that generally taken as 

"normal," and the ground water from these rocks may be 

from 1° to 10°F above the temperature considered "normal" 

for ground water at that depth and location.

The warmest ground water is that along earth fault zones. 

Near some of the faults it is commonly 10° to 170°F above 

ground temperature elsewhere. Springs issuing along these 

faults are termed "warm springs" or "hot springs" according 

to their temperatures. The hottest water, observed in wells 

drilled along these faults, has been measured at 220° to 

226°F at Klamath Falls and Lakeview. Ground water at 

such temperatures erupts in geyser fashion from wells at 

Lakeview and in Warner Valley north of Adel.

Ground water is also mineralized. The degree of mineralization varies greatly from place to place; it is generally 

greater in dry than in wet areas. (See fig. 40.) For any 

specific site and aquifer, the physical and chemical quality 

of the water is generally the same at all seasons.

99
WATER 

PROBLEMS

LOW FLOWS OF STREAMS IN 

LATE SUMMER

One of the severest and most common water problems 

arises from the annual cycle of precipitation and runoff. In 

many basins the streamflows are deficient during the warm 

months of the year. In the eastern part of the State most 

of the smaller streams have little natural flow by July, and 

many are dry by August. The larger streams, such as the 

Umatilla, Grande Ronde, Powder, Malheur, Owyhee, Silvies, John Day, and Chewaucan Rivers, follow a similar 

pattern but do provide some late-summer discharge, much 

of which is commonly diverted for irrigation. The Deschutes and Klamath Rivers and the short Ana River obtain 

much of their flow from large springs and maintain substantial discharge throughout the dry months of the year.

West of the Cascade Range many of the streams have a 

similar weak flow during the late summer. Only those 

streams that drain from snowfields or from the ground water 

in the younger volcanic rocks of the high parts of the Cascade Range maintain a substantial natural discharge during 

the late summer and fall. The boundary rivers, the Columbia and the Snake, obtain much of their water from snowfields in the Rocky Mountains, and their delayed runoff 

fortunately maintains high stages in these rivers through 

much of the summer.

100
The apparent remedy for the short supply of water during 

the annual period of low streamflows is natural or artificial 

storage of excess flows. In some river basins, either surface 

or underground storage is possible, but other basins lack 

both suitable reservoir sites for surface storage and permeable rocks for underground storage. As seasonal water 

shortages become an increasing obstacle to the growth of 

communities, greater use will undoubtedly be made of storage to ease the water shortages of the annual low-flow period ; however, in many of the eastern Oregon basins where 

the total precipitation is small, even the storage of all the 

runoff would not provide enough water for the potential 

needs of the basin.

TOO LITTLE WATER

In those places where full use of all the water does not 

satisfy the normal requirements, the area must either receive diversions of water from water-surplus areas or remain 

on a water-deficient economy. There may always be a 

shortage of water for lands in the high-plateau region in 

Klamath, Lake, Harney, and Malheur Counties. There the 

general altitude of 4,000 to 6,000 feet and the corresponding 

short growing season limit the use of most of the land to 

grazing. Despite the overall water shortage, that region 

is reasonably well supplied with surface- and ground-water 

sources of drinking water for livestock.

In water-short areas the stretching of the supply commonly requires maximum conservation and reuse of the 

available water. For such situations the nonconsumptive 

uses of some industries and recreation can be fitted into the 

multiple-use plan ahead of those that result in consumptive 

use. Limited supplies can be used to the best advantage 

when the water is first devoted to nonconsumptive uses, such 

as hydroelectric generation, cooling, washing, and other manufacturing processes, before such consumptive uses as irrigation or evaporation in wildlife refuges.

Some areas that have more than 100 inches annual rainfall 

are plagued by a shortage of easily accessible water for domestic, irrigation, and other uses during the warmer months.

101
This shortage is caused by the lack of natural water storage 

and cheap artificial storage. The shortage is especially acute 

for lands and slopes well above the water courses. There are 

many places in the foothills of the Coast Range, on the 

slopes of the Rogue and Umpqua River valleys, and on the 

west slopes of the Willamette Valley where it is economically 

difficult to obtain sufficient dependable supplies even for 

domestic use from the usual type of surface or ground 

sources. The pumping of water from distant streams and 

springs, the storing of roof drainage, and other unusual 

methods may be needed to obtain domestic water supplies 

cheaply at some places.

TOO MUCH WATER

The need to reduce the height of flood crests and the 

damage done by unusually high stages of the streams is 

urgent in some river valleys. Particularly vulnerable to 

damage are parts of the populated lowlands along the tributaries of the Umpqua, Rogue, Willamette, and Columbia 

Rivers and the short coastal streams. Many of the rivers 

have some settlements along their banks that are occasionally damaged by unusually high stages. Nearly all the 

streams except the rivers fed by ground water, such as the 

Deschutes and Klamath Rivers, have the potential of occasional flood destruction (fig. 41).

Most of Oregon's cities and towns have been built above 

the channels and flood plains of the streams. The narrow 

flood plains of many of the smaller streams are sparsely inhabited, and here flood damage is minor compared with that 

suffered in other States. Flood plains are partly protected 

by dikes along the Willamette and Columbia Rivers downstream from Portland and along the lower Coquille, Coos, 

Trask, and Wilson Rivers. The flood plain of the Willamette 

River is now partly protected by the storage of floodwaters 

behind dams on the Long Tom River, McKenzie River, 

Coast Fork, Middle Fork, and Row River headwater 

branches of the Willamette River, and by Detroit Dam on 

North Santiam River. Dams under construction (1964) on 

Fall Creek and Middle Santiam River will provide further

102
protection. Annual high stages of the Willamette River at 

Portland are usually caused by backwater from the high 

levels of the Columbia River that occur in May and June 

and that can be adequately controlled only by additional 

upstream storage.

FIGURE 41. Floodwater of the Coquille River spread across its flood 

plain southeast of Coquille, December 23, 1945. Photograph by U.S. 

Corps of Engineers.

In general, the rivers of eastern Oregon are comparatively free of flood damage except where they empty from 

mountain canyons onto local valley plains, as the Walla 

Walla River does at Milton-Freewater, the Umatilla at 

Pendleton, the Grande Ronde at La Grande, the Powder at 

Baker, the Malheur at Vale, and the Chewaucan at Paisley. 

All these streams are subject to flash floods from cloudburst

745-668 O 65 103
type of precipitation or from warm rains on snow. The 

hazard of flash floods is especially great in the central Oregon 

mountains, but it is present to lesser extent in the mountain 

slopes of nearly all of eastern Oregon. The logical protection against flash flooding lies in the proper location of towns, 

habitations, and improvements, rather than in expensive 

remedial works after man's installations have been placed in 

hazardous areas.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST AMONG 

WATER USERS

In addition to the problems arising from too little and too 

much water, there are those which arise from conflicts of 

interest among actual or potential users of the water. 

Wherever multiple use of the water is undertaken, people 

like to retain all previous benefits as each new use and 

each new benefit is obtained. This worthy objective requires that many potential conflicts of interest be foreseen 

and be resolved in advance.

Divergent views about use of the State's waters are frequently aired. Irrigation rights are weighed against rights 

for stock watering, for fish and wildlife propagation, and for 

power generation. Needs for power generation are evaluated against those for fish life. The use of water for hydraulic mining has been opposed by sportsmen and by 

irrigation districts. The use of streams for disposal of untreated domestic and industrial wastes has been a controversial issue, now resolved by required treatment.

Other possible sources of contention are as numerous and 

as varied as the many uses by which water affects our individual lives. High on the list of these fields of interest is 

that of the regulation of water levels in streams, lakes, and 

ground water. The general public often overlooks the interest which some users have in simple matters like the levels 

at which water stands in stream channels, lakebeds, and 

ground-water reservoirs. An extremely high level in a lake 

may be of no significance to one owner but ruinous to his 

neighbor. Water level is very important to many people in 

its relation to the volume and time of runoff, its effect on

104
waterlogging and subirrigating land, and its influence on 

buildings, other structures, and stored goods.

Other problems exist, such as the passage of migratory fish 

at dams or other obstructions. Ideally the upstream course 

of the brood fish should be assisted, and the downstream 

return of fingerlings should bypass turbine blades and pressure tubes. The chemical and physical character of water 

returned to the streams and to the ground as well as the 

artificial water losses due to evaporation also present continuing problems.

POLLUTION

As the population of Oregon has grown, some of the 

streams that the pioneers found clear and pure have become 

fouled by pollution not only from sewage wastes but from 

wastes of industry as well.

The largest single chemical contaminant of Oregon 

streams is the waste from pulp and paper mills. It results 

from the digestion of wood by a solution of calcium sulfite 

and is known as ligno-sulfonic acid. The acid is a dark, thin, 

syrupy fluid which contains the resins, sap, and nonfiber 

elements of the wood. About 40 percent of each log which 

goes into such a papermill to be shredded and digested for its 

fiber leaves the mill in this solution. The liquor has a phenomenal hunger for oxygen, and the outflow from a mill is 

capable of consuming the oxygen content of a large river for 

many miles downstream. Fish cannot live in this oxygenless 

water, the normal combustion of organic material cannot 

proceed, and the water becomes foul with undecomposed 

waste and slimy organisms which can live without oxygen.

The abatement of this condition is proceeding in four 

ways: (a) Changing the mills to different processes in which 

the wastes can be purified before discharge to the river; (b) 

evaporating the liquid and burning the residue; (c) storing 

the liquids until high water, at which time the dilution and 

the current eases the effect of the waste on the river; (d) 

research into methods of extracting and using this resinous 

waste in the chemical industry.

105
Pollution by sewage offers a different set of problems. 

Sewage contains organic matter in suspension and solution, 

as well as mineral substances in solution. The organic matter is largely in an unstable condition, and it eventually 

breaks down into compounds that are stable. If this breakdown or decomposition occurs in the presence of a sufficient 

supply of oxygen, the active nuisance is greatly reduced; 

however, putrefaction results if the organic matter breaks 

down in the absence of oxygen. The presence of sewage in 

a stream generally means that pathogenic or disease-producing organisms also are present.

Only a few decades ago, sewage outfalls were commonly 

piped to the river. As the region became more settled and 

the waters came into more intensive use, conflicts developed 

from this practice. For many years the Willamette River 

was so devoid of oxygen from pulpmill wastes that it could 

not oxidize the heavy sewage loads, and all swimming and 

most recreation uses in the lower part of the river were prohibited by health authorities. The once-strong migrations 

of salmon had been reduced to a struggling few "spring 

chinooks" that were able to move upstream during the spring 

freshets. The use of our waterways for waste disposal became so offensive that public demand caused the formation 

of the State Sanitary Authority in 1938. Most.people were 

agreeable and willing to abate the nuisance but needed to 

be told when they must expend the funds for treatment 

plants.

Soon after the end of World War II the main part of the 

cleanup got underway. The city of Portland constructed a 

trunk sewer pickup line and a primary-treatment plant from 

which the treated effluent is discharged to the Columbia 

River. Other municipalities and districts put in treatment 

plants. In 1939 only 49 plants were treating sewage from 

16.9 percent of Oregon's sewer-connected population, but by 

1963, 212 plants were serving 96.5 percent. Further treatment of waste products is planned to maintain the quality of 

our water resources as population and industry grow; by the 

year 1975 secondary treatment will be required of all municipal sewage in Willamette River basin.

106
None of the organisms that cause disease are ordinarily 

found in ground water. They may gain entry to ground 

water and even survive during the percolation of the water 

for short distances underground. However, wells that have 

been properly located, cased, and sealed usually yield water 

free of germs. Just as proper filtration of water through a 

few feet of sand in a purification plant will remove singlecelled parasites and many of the bacteria, so does the percolation of ground water through clean soil and rock tend 

to remove these organisms. The replacement of largediameter, poorly curbed dug wells by smaller steel-cased 

wells has done much to abate waterborne disease in this 

country. The biological quality of water can be guarded by 

proper construction and water treatment.

LACK OF INFORMATION ON 

WATER

It is generally recognized that we need to know more 

about our water resources. We do not have enough information to plan for efficient multiple use. The needed information is being derived progressively in modestly financed 

Federal and State investigative programs aided by some 

counties, cities, and private corporations and individuals.

Since the first stream measurements were made nearly 70 

years ago, the basic inventory of our surface waters has been 

continued and expanded. (See fig. 42.) We now know 

the discharge of most of our streams at some point for at 

least a short period of record, but some streams have not 

been measured because of lack of immediate interest in use 

or control of their water. The network of measuring stations needs to be expanded and continued to provide more 

long-period records of streamflow. The lakes are insufficiently known to permit proper planning for their wisest use.

The statewide ground-water resources are, in general, 

moderately well known, and the resources of the larger valley 

areas have been described with some detail. However, some 

valley areas are still without published sources of information on their local ground-water situation, many other

107
FIGURE 42. Above: Instrument shelter at the stream-gaging station on 

Santiam River at Jefferson. The concrete shelter extends into the 

ground to a depth below the river bottom to form a well that is connected to the river through open pipes. The water level in the well is 

thus always the same as the water level in the river. A copper float 

supported on the well-water surface activates a continuous water-stage 

recorder. Frequent measurements of water stage and concurrent discharge furnish data for a chart relating stage to discharge. The continuous stage record is thereby converted to a continuous discharge 

record. Below: Measuring the flow of Lake Creek, the outflow of 

Diamond Lake. Mount Thielsen and the volcanic upland of the Cascade 

Range are in the background.

108
potentially important areas are unstudied, and the relationship between ground water and surface water in many river 

basins is little known.

The quality of the surface and ground waters is known only 

in general terms. Specific ground-water-quality data are 

available for only a very few locations, and the quality of 

water of few streams is well defined.

ECONOMY OF WATER

There's an old saying that "we never miss the water 'til 

the well runs dry." As long as the supply of water is ample 

there is little demand for economy in its use, but as the 

unused supply decreases, economy becomes imperative. 

Industry is now coming to that transition period in water use 

where factories must conserve water by recycling or reconditioning. Mechanical means are replacing water for moving materials within the plant. Stream disposal of industrial waste is being discontinued.

One of the principal industrial uses of water is for cooling. 

Formerly, after one cycle of cooling, the water was discarded, 

and some of it was not available for reuse. Now, much of 

this cooling water is being recycled through cooling towers 

for reuse, and there is less drain on the source. Much of the 

water used for washing is being reclaimed and reused. More 

water is being reconditioned by filtration and purification.

Basic plant design is being pointed toward more economical use of water. Many modern pulpmills use only one-half 

to one-quarter as much water as pulpmills of older design.

Water economies in irrigation are possible. These potential economies lie largely in greater efficiency of application 

of water to the soil, in reduction of conveyance losses, in 

recapture and reuse of excess water, and in general efficiency 

in the layout of the whole irrigation system. Farmers know 

that soil nutrients are lost by using too much water. Some 

newer irrigation districts and some individual sprinkler systems do economize in the use of water, but many of the 

older irrigated tracts continue to waste water and soil nutrients. Conveyance losses are high, especially from unlined 

canals and ditches that traverse sandy and gravelly soils or 

shallow soils over porous volcanic rocks. Some of the water

109
lost is beyond recapture. The complete water tight lining 

of canals may not be economically feasible now, but as the 

value of water increases, some means of decreasing conveyance losses must be found.

Some of the early irrigation communities were not carefully planned in advance but "just grew," the land along the 

center of the valley having the rights to all the streamflow 

available for appropriation. Some of these tracts now use 

water wastefully on near-stream lands that hold the surfacewater rights and also have the only feasible sites for groundwater pumping. Here the lowlands are waterlogged and 

poorly productive; above them the fertile slopes are dry 

and idle. Pumping of ground water for lands in the valley 

center would have bonus benefits: waterlogged lands could 

be restored to good productivity, and the water thus saved 

could be devoted to irrigating the slopes and benchlands.

Reduction of evaporation loss could save a great deal of 

water. About 80 percent of the evaporation commonly 

occurs in the dry and windy period April 1 to September 30, 

hence the principal saving of evaporation loss may be made 

by reducing the area of open-water surface during that part 

of the year. The average annual evaporation for the entire 

State is about 36 inches. The magnitude of this loss can be 

illustrated by computing the loss from the 84,000 acres of 

Upper Klamath Lake, about 252,000 acre-feet per year, or 

one-sixth of the average inflow.

The average annual evaporation has been measured at a 

sparse net of stations. These few observations indicate that 

annual evaporation loss ranges from 24 inches of water from 

open-water surfaces along the coast to 45 inches in the drier 

parts of eastern Oregon. In an area of high evaporation a 

shallow impoundment may result in the loss of more water 

than is made available by that storage. Thus, some broad 

and shallow reservoirs may make water available at the 

desired time but still cause a prohibitive overall loss through 

evaporation.

The storing of large amounts of water may require reducing 

evaporation losses to gain the highest returns. Research is 

now being made for chemicals that will spread a very thin 

film across water surfaces and reduce evaporation. Tests

110
have indicated that some alcohols hold promise in reducing 

evaporation without damaging the water for any purpose. 

Other water economies may be effected by the proper management of reservoirs in areas of high evaporation toll. The 

diking off of large areas over which water spreads with shallow depth and in which water-storage gains do not justify 

the evaporation losses may be warranted in some lakes and 

reservoirs.

A little water can be saved by reducing transpiration of 

worthless vegetation. Water-consuming plants of low value 

transpire water from valley areas in eastern Oregon; in western Oregon large areas of brushy shrubs transpire water 

with small economic return. The reduction of transpiration 

losses by clearing such brush may offer worthwhile local 

water economies.

A start is now being made toward the appraisal of water 

losses due to useful but excess vegetation, such as the losses 

that result from the interception of snowfall on some closely 

spaced forest trees. Results of preliminary studies show 

that judicious thinning of some forest trees may increase 

both production of commercial timber and water yield from 

the drainage basin. A promising site for the trial of this 

method of augmenting the water yields of drainage basins 

lies in the vast areas of lodgepole pine on the pumiceous soil 

of the Klamath and Deschutes River basins. The possibility 

exists for the management of some of the forests for the 

maximum yields of water as well as for timber and other 

products.

Ill
WATER 

USE

The pioneers' small water needs could readily be satisfied 

with the water supplies in their natural environment. As 

population increased, both quantity and quality of supplies 

became problems. The problem of inadequate supply for 

parts of a year was solved by building reservoirs. Quality of 

supplies is maintained by regulating the use of streams for 

disposal of waste. However, almost every type of use affects 

the quantity or quality of the available supplies, as the following description of the uses of water in Oregon shows.

USES THAT RESULT IN SOME 

WATER LOSS

Irrigation, or the application of water to land in order to 

stimulate plant growth, is the greatest single consumptive 

use of water in Oregon. It ranks second to hydroelectric 

power in respect to the amount of water used. Nearly all of 

the natural flow of some streams is diverted during the 

growing season. Some excess winter flows are stored and 

diverted, but other streams do not have enough natural flow 

to meet demands for irrigation, even if all winter flows could 

be stored. Ground water is diverted through wells and 

applied to the land.

The following tabulation shows the acreage irrigated in 

each county in 1954 and in 1959, and the estimated amount 

of water needed to supply fully all the lands now under 

irrigation.

112
Irrigation in Oregon in 1954 and 1959

County

Baker_ _ __

Benton__ _ _

Clackamas _

Clatsop- __ _ _

Columbia. _

Coos _ ___ __

Curry __ ___

Hood River____

Klamath __

LakeLane _ __

Marion _ _ __

Morrow

MultnomahPolk__. ______

Sherman ____

Tillamook_ _

Umatilla __

Wallowa

Wasco _ __

Washington. _ _ _

Yamhill ___

State ____

Acres irrigated 

(thousands of acres)

1954 2

127.5 

9.1 

8.1 

.8 

4.7 

6.3 

45.8 

1.7 

44.4 

10.8 

2.8 

41.6 

136.6 

18.9 

53.7 

54.8 

20.8 

277.3 

120. 1 

19.5 

1.5 

19.1 

204.3 

42.1 

11.4 

4.7 

8.8 

.6 

6.4 

56.6 

31.1 

43.9 

15.2 

16.7 

10. 1 

12.5

1, 490. 4

19592

119.9 

9.7 

11.1 

.9 

4.7 

7.4 

40.3 

1.6 

44.2 

11.9 

3.3 

41.5 

84.2 

18.4 

51.8 

53.2 

18.4 

231.5 

107.5 

22.5 

1. 1 

23.5 

210.8 

44.9 

14.0 

10.2 

9.5 

1.5 

6.6 

56.3 

27. 1 

42.6 

16.8 

15.2 

4 12. 5 

13.5

1, 389. 8

Change, 

1954-59

-7.6

+.6 

+3 

+- 1 

0

+ 1.1 

-4.5 

-. 1

-.2 

+ 1.1 

+.5 

-. 1 

-52.4 -.5 

-1.9 

-1.6

-2.4 

-45.8 

-12.6 

+3 

-.4 

+4.4 

+6.5 

+2.8 

+2.6 

+5.5 

+ .7 

+.9 

+.2 -.3 

-4 

-1.3 

+ 1.6 

-1.5 

+2.4 

+ 1

-100.6

Expected, 

1975 3

136.8 

18.7 

10 

5 

6 

5.6 

67.1 

2.4 

40.0 

17.3 

5.3 

53.3 

170.0 

24.1 

49.8 

67.7 

42.4 

338.6 

130 

50 

4 

34.9 

213.3 

108.3 

25.5 

10 

23 

1.8 

10 

97.8 

40 

47 

24.6 

26 

15 

35

1, 956. 3

Estimated diversion 

by source (thousands 

of acre-feet) '

Surface 

water

350 

13 

15 

1 

6 

10 

200 

2 

200 

23 

10 

130 

250 

36 

130 

240 

50 

600 

220 

30 

2 

32 

570 

60 

30 

15 

14 

3 

7 

250 

60 

130 

40 

22 

30 

19

3,800

Ground 

water

30 

1 

1 

0 

0 

0 

3 

0 

0

1

0 

0 

24 

2 

3 

0 

3 

80 

20 

4 

0 

3 

50 

9 

4 

1 

1 

1 

1 

27 

2 

2 

10 

1 

0 

1

285

Total

380 

14 

16 

1 

6 

10 

203 

2 

200 

24 

10 

130 

274 

38 

133 

240 

53 

680 

240 

34 

2 

35 

620 

69 

34 

16 

15 

4 

8 

277 

62 

132 

50 

23 

30 

20

4,085

1 Estimated diversion in a year of ample supply for lands now under 

irrigation.

2 From U.S. Census of Agriculture, 1959, p. 146-149; rounded to 

nearest thousand acre-feet.

3 Prediction by Oregon Conservation Needs Committee, 1962.

4 Revised, Oregon Agricultural Extension Service, 1964.

The above table shows that the total acreage irrigated 

decreased 100,600 acres from 1954 to 1959; the decrease in 

Harney, Klamath, and Lake Counties was almost 111,000

113
acres. In those counties, the latter year was one of less than 

average runoff, but in the counties west of the Cascade 

Range, most of which had ample water supply in both years, 

there was an overall increase of 17,000 acres irrigated in the 

same period. The decrease shown in the eastern counties 

was temporary, but the increase in the western counties is 

expected to continue.

Acreage under irrigation varies from year to year because 

of fluctuations in market prices and costs of production and 

freight rates, as well as fluctuations in water supply. About 

1,600,000 acres in Oregon is now (1964) irrigated at times.

The above table also shows the acreage expected to be 

irrigated by 1975. The total area of 1,956,000 acres represents an increase of about 25 percent over the present area 

irrigated in years of adequate water supply. The larger 

increases are expected to occur in the Klamath River basin 

(157,000 acres more than in 1959) and in the Willamette 

River basin (154,000 acres more than in 1959). Other large 

increases are foreseen in Crook, Jefferson, and Umatilla 

Counties, and in nearly all counties west of the Cascade 

Range.

Improved irrigation equipment and techniques have made 

possible the increase of irrigation in the Willamette Valley 

from 3,000 acres in 1930 to about 160,000 acres in 1959. 

Yields of many irrigated field and row crops are double the 

yields of the same nonirrigated crops, and yield from irrigated pasture may be more than double the yield of nonirrigated pasture. Furthermore, because of improved quality of produce, food-processing plants now frequently require irrigation as a condition to fulfillment of contracts for 

vegetables and fruits. Irrigation is practiced for hay, vegetable, grain, and legume crops, pasture for livestock, fruit 

trees, and berries. An additional area of about 600,000 acres 

in the Willamette Valley is irrigable, and the annual water 

requirements would be 1,200,000 acre-feet.

In river basins tributary to the main stem of the Columbia 

River east of the Cascade Range, more than 300,000 acres is 

irrigated and the average annual diversion is nearly 4 acrefeet per acre. Rainfall during the growing season is generally insufficient to produce crops of hay, fruit, and

114
vegetables. Of nonirrigated crops, wheat and green peas 

are most important. The crops of peas and wheat are rotated on lands of more than average precipitation; crop 

failures occur in dry years. In addition to the land presently 

irrigated, more than 250,000 acres of land is considered suitable for future irrigation; about 1 million acre-feet of water 

would be required each year, and most of it would probably 

have to be pumped from the Columbia River.

Livestock raising is the main occupation in the Grande 

Ronde, Wallowa, Powder, and John Day River basins. Hay 

is the principal field crop, and there is considerable production of peas and seed in the Grande Ronde valley. An average diversion of about 3 acre-feet of water per acre is required for irrigation. At present (1964), about 110,000 acres 

of land is under irrigation in the Power River basin. In 

the Grande Ronde basin about 75,000 acres is irrigated, 

mostly in the broad valleys near La Grande and Enterprise. 

Because of the low flow of the streams in summer and the 

lack of storage, some of the land does not receive enough 

water. It is estimated that irrigation could be extended to 

an additional 100,000 acres in this region.

In south-central and southeastern Oregon (Crook, Deschutes, Harney, Jefferson, Klamath, Lake, and Malheur 

Counties), about 900,000 acres is irrigated. Here livestock 

raising is a major industry, and irrigation is necessary to 

grow hay for local livestock feed and alfalfa for shipment 

and sale. Sugar beets, hops, potatoes, and small grains are 

produced in large quantities in the Malheur and Owyhee 

basins. Development of ground water in these counties will 

probably make irrigation practicable for another 100,000 

acres or more, and storage of winter runoff will permit still 

further expansion. At present (1964), one storage dam is 

under construction on Bully Creek near Vale, and others are 

planned for building on Chewaucan River and Lost River. 

Expansion of irrigation from surface sources in the Klamath 

River basin after 1957 is limited to 200,000 acres by the 

terms of the Klamath River Basin Compact between Oregon 

and California.

In the Rogue and Umpqua River basins, precipitation is 

insufficient during the growing season for full crop produc115
' * »**^-

:¥Psasr^'

.* £ JP «.

FIGURE 43. View of row irrigation of onions in Sams Valley of the Rogue 

River basin. This method of water application works well on clayey 

soil and requires less labor once the fields are leveled and prepared. 

Table Rock appears in right background. Photograph by U.S. Bureau 

of Reclamation.

tion. Principal crops are fruit, hay, truck, and grass seed. 

About 90,000 acres of land is now (1964) under irrigation, 

and about 50,000 additional acres has been proposed for irrigation. Diversion requirement in this area is about 2.3 acrefeet per acre.

Along the coast, the mean annual precipitation ranges 

from 60 inches to more than 80 inches. Despite this seeming abundance, irrigation is needed for crops during July and 

August. Main agricultural activities are dairying and the 

raising of hay and silage, cranberries, seed crops, and bulbs. 

About 20,000 acres is now irrigated; the diversion requirement is about 1.0 to 1.5 acre-feet per acre. Estimates foresee 30,000 additional acres under irrigation in the future.

The "duty of water" for land is the average depth of water 

that is necessary to produce a full yield of the common field 

crops. East of the Cascade Range it is commonly taken as 

2 to 4 feet, in the Willamette Valley as 1 to 2 feet, and in 

the coastal sections it is 1^ feet or less. The duty of water

116
varies with the local soil, the crop grown, the length of the 

growing season, the natural moisture received during the 

growing season, and other conditions.

The water is applied under a variety of practices that use 

surface, sprinkler, and subsurface irrigation. Most of the 

irrigated land is watered by distribution of the water on the 

surface by rill, basin, or flood methods of spreading. (See 

fig. 43.) On rolling land and land that has highly permeable soil or subsoil and on fields that require only 1 to 2 feet 

of water, the application of water from pipelines and sprinkler heads is common. (See fig. 44.) This practice is also 

usual where water is pumped to the field. The French 

Prairie section of the Willamette Valley, between Salem 

and St. Paul, is one of the areas in which sprinkler irrigation 

is predominant.

The rate of application commonly varies with the duration of the natural water supply, some of the most rapid 

application resulting from the practice of flooding land for 

which only a spring and early-summer supply of water is 

expected. Places where the water supply is deficient in the

FIGURE 44. View of sprinkler irrigation in Bear Creek Valley in the 

Rogue River basin. This method uses slightly less water and is preferred for sandy soil and subsoil and for unleveled land. Photograph 

by U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.

117
latter part of the growing season are especially hard hit 

economically by a series of dry years.

The amount of water diverted from the stream is always 

somewhat greater than the amount that eventually reaches 

the plants in the fields. The transit losses of water are greatest in the canals and ditches of some long distribution systems on highly permeable soil and subsoils; they are ordinarily least where water is withdrawn directly from a well or 

stream and applied to the land through a pipe and sprinkler 

system.

Of the water applied to the ground, some may go to: (a) 

transpiration by plants, (b) incorporation in the structure 

of the crop plant, (c) storage in the soil, (d) percolation 

beyond root depth in the ground, (e) runoff on the surface, 

and (f) evaporation from the surface. The first three processes are normal and proper irrigation uses; the latter three 

are normally unproductive.

The loss of water to deep percolation varies with circumstances, the most significant of which are the permeability 

of the subsoil and the rate and duration of the application 

of the water. As much as three-fourths of the water applied on gravelly soils over permeable subsoils may thus be 

lost. Some occasional loss to deep percolation helps to 

carry down harmful salts that otherwise might become concentrated in the root zone, but good irrigation practice 

avoids large losses. Evaporation from the surface is generally a minor loss, but it may be as much as one-fourth of 

the water applied. Excessive runoff of water on the surface 

is usually a sign of poor land preparation or water application.

Excess irrigation water may run off the surface or escape 

to deep percolation and thus return to the stream or to the 

ground water and become reusable, in amounts as great as 

50 percent of the water diverted. As irrigation practices 

improve, such losses and return flow become smaller.

Irrigation results in a depletion of flow downstream. The 

consumptive use of water in irrigated tracts east of the Cascade Range in Oregon has been estimated as ranging from 

1.0 to 2.0 acre-feet per acre irrigated (U.S. Geol. Survey 

Water-Supply Paper 1220, p. 22). Transit losses that do

118
not return to the same stream may further deplete the downstream flow. The total depletion in streamflow because of 

irrigation in Oregon is estimated as about 2y2 million acrefeet per year.

The use of water for irrigation affects its chemical quality. 

In percolating through the soil, water dissolves more salts 

and the concentration of dissolved mineral matter is thus 

increased. If the water diverted is low in dissolved minerals, 

the addition is usually not significant; however, when the 

water has a marginal concentration prior to its use, the additional minerals may render the water returned to the 

stream or ground water unusable for many other purposes 

as well as for irrigation.

Industrial uses of water include some which result in only 

minor water losses and others which have the effect of a 

large water loss. Minor water losses from industrial use 

result from evaporation and from the inclusion of water in 

the finished product.

Most water diverted for industrial purposes other than 

hydroelectric power generation is used for washing or for 

cooling. Other common uses in Oregon are for log ponds, 

log sprinkling, transport of raw materials and products, 

manufacturing process solutions, and heating. The metallurgical plants for aluminum reduction, steel casting and 

rolling, and other metal production us© water mostly for 

cooling. Some mineral-treatment plants use water for transporting crushed ores. The timber-products operations use 

water mostly for transporting materials, maintaining moisture in unsawed logs, and washing. In the past, industry 

has used water extensively for waste disposal; such contamination may ruin large quantities of water for further use.

The food-processing and canning plants use large quantities of water as a washing agent or a processing liquid. 

Most of that water is returned to the streams or to the 

ground. Some processing liquids require purification to fit 

the water for reuse. Water requirements of most canneries 

are markedly seasonal and are greatest when streamflow is 

low.

The diversion of water for producing power is commonly 

done without water loss. However, large shallow reservoirs

745-668 O 65 9 119
may cause a significant evaporation loss. About 160,000 

acre-feet of water is now (1964) lost each year in Oregon 

by evaporation from reservoirs used chiefly for power.

The following rough estimates, in million gallons per day 

(mgd) and acre-feet per year, are made of water losses that 

result from diverting water for industrial use in Oregon:

Loss from 

Evaporation in cooling, wetting, 

washing, and transporting materials. __

Evaporation from reservoirs, in generation of hydroelectric power

Contamination (process water only).

Total used 

(mgd)

75

180, 000 

20

Loss (estimated)

Million 

gallons 

per day

5

143 

20

Acre-feet 

per year

5,500

160, 000 

22, 000

The nearly 2 million inhabitants of Oregon draw water at 

a rate that varies seasonally from about 20 to more than 340 

gpd (gallons per day) for each person. The average total 

withdrawal for domestic and public water supply is about 

150 mgd. About 30 mgd, or 33,000 acre-feet per year, is 

estimated as lost by evaporation from lawns, parks, streets, 

and reservoirs. The remainder returns to streams by way of 

purification plants and deep percolation.

Evapotranspiration occurs from large areas of shallow 

water reserved as nesting and feeding areas for migratory 

birds. About 200,000 acre-feet of water is lost each year 

in this way; half of the loss is from 35,000 acres of refuge 

water areas located chiefly in the Malheur Lake, Summer 

Lake, and Klamath River basins.

The estimated total depletion by man's use of water other 

than for irrigation appears to be about 400,000 acre-feet per 

year by evapotranspiration and 22,000 acre-feet by direct 

contamination. Until it has been treated, this contaminated water has the capacity to ruin many times that amount 

of water beyond usability for some purposes.

120
USES THAT ARE WITHOUT WATER

LOSS

Some industrial uses of water involve a simple diversion 

through the plant and a return of the water almost unchanged to its original source. Among these uses are generating power, cooling and heating, and transporting raw materials or manufactured products within the plant.

The proper use of water in the streams, lakes, and snowfields for recreation ordinarily involves little water loss, except that lost by evaporation from game refuges. Recreation is a multimillion-dollar use of water, if a monetary value 

can actually be assigned. The tourist business, a large part 

of which is stimulated by Oregon's water, has exceeded $100 

million per year for several years. Additional expenditures 

by Oregon residents for fishing, boating, duck and goose 

hunting, skiing, and other water-dependent hobbies make 

the recreational use of water a major industry.

Commercial fishing has been a basic Oregon industry since 

pioneer days. The three major classes of Oregon's commercial fisheries items are salmon and other "sea-run" species; ocean-dwelling fish, including sole, cod, rockfish, and 

tuna; and shellfish, of which clams, crab, and shrimp are the 

main items. Oyster "farms" are operated on some of the 

tidal areas. Commercial fishing for salmon was formerly 

done in the main rivers, but commercial river fishing is now 

limited to the tidal reaches of the Columbia River. Commercial fish range from the small eulachon, or smelt, to the 

large sturgeon; including shellfish, the annual catch ranges 

from 40 to 60 million pounds.

The mainstay of the fisheries industry has been the salmon 

(fig. 45). The names and nicknames of the different species 

are so loosely used that the average person is somewhat confused as to what salmon inhabit the waters of Oregon. Of 

the four species of the salmon genus (Oncorhynchus) in 

Oregon, the chinook (species tshawytscha) is the largest, 

adult specimens weighing generally from 15 to 40 pounds; 

the silver (kisutch), an intermediate-size fish of 5 to 15

121
pounds, usually spawns in coastal or near-ocean streams; 

the blueback (negro), a small 4- to 5-pound fish, runs in 

certain streams that contain lakes; and the chum (keta), 

which averages about 10 pounds, appears in small numbers 

as far south as the Columbia River.

The salmon belong to the group of fish called anadromous 

because of their custom of migrating up rivers to spawn. 

The young fish live in the streams for nearly 2 years before 

going to the ocean where they mature and return to spawn 

and die in their fourth or fifth year. The precocious males 

which follow the spawning run of mature fish are commonly 

referred to as "jacks."

The steelhead is a seagoing variety of rainbow trout 

(Salmo gairdneri) which becomes mixed with the commercially harvested salmon because of its migrating habits. Unlike the salmon, it does not die after the first spawning, but 

retires, thin and haggard, to the ocean from which it may 

return for several more spawning trips before dying as an 

aged fish weighing 10 to 20 pounds. The steelhead is a 

premier sports fish, and its continued classification with 

commercial fishes is of lively concern to the sports fishermen.

FIGURE 45. Indians netting salmon at their historic fishing grounds, 

Celilo Falls on the Columbia River. Their rights were purchased and 

the falls were submerged when The Dalles Dam was closed in 1957. 

Photograph by U.S. Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife.

122
WATER 

FOR 

URBAN 

CENTERS

Primitive man obtained his drinking water from streams 

and springs where animals drank, assuming that water safe 

for them should be safe for him. This early test of a water 

source by animal reaction was a crude check on purity of the 

supply. Primitive man, prehistoric man, historic man, modern man, all have looked for water, adequate in quantity 

and of assured quality.

As civilizations developed, complicated public water systems were built. By the time of the Caesars, the Romans 

had a public water supply not equaled again in Europe until 

after the Industrial Revolution; spring water flowed by gravity from distant mountains to the cities through masonry 

aqueducts supported across low places by stone piers and 

arches. In the United States the first piped water supply 

was in operation in 1652 at Boston; there townspeople filled 

their water buckets from a 12-foot-square tank fed by conduits from springs and wells.

When we turn the tap at the kitchen sink, we expect the 

water to flow. Only when it fails, or alarming reports suggest its possible failure, are we jarred into a realistic consideration of our public water supply. Then we realize that 

this on-call source of pure clear water, so generally available 

in Oregon homes, actually furnishes many of the comforts 

which we include under the term "our high standard of living." People of the United States lead the world in the 

use of water, both internally and externally, and Oregonians 

hold up their end of the habit at about the national average.

123
For the pioneer Oregonian, 5 to 10 gallons of water per 

person per day was sufficient. This comparative trickle may 

be contrasted with the daily quota of more than 400 gallons 

per person that the 20 largest water systems were prepared 

to supply during the summer of 1963. The development of 

public-supply systems (fig. 46), the shifting of population 

centers from rural to urban and suburban areas, the introduction of numerous water-using appliances in the home, 

and the widespread use of water by industry have all contributed to this increased demand.

Oregon has almost 300 incorporated towns and cities 

whose central public-supply systems serve about 1,300,000 

people. More than three-fourths of those people live in or

FIGURE 46. Block diagram illustrating the principal features of public 

water-supply sources and systems.

Intermediate-level

City dam and headworks / - 

control and chlorination,/!^

Reservoir maintains 

pressure (floats) on City "B" 

distribution system

illage "C_a j wty"B 

sew^-Wtment plant

124
near 20 of the larger cities or principal commercial centers 

whose community water sources and disposal points are 

shown in the following list:

Water supply and disposal for the larger communities in C regon

[Data as of December 1963, estimated in part]

Principal 

city

Albany _

Astoria____

Bend______._

North 

Bend. 

Corvallis___ -

Hillsboro ____

Falls. 

La Grande___

TVTpHfofH

Milwaukie___ 

Pendleton____

Roseburg__ __

Springfield

The Dalles. __

TotalPopulation 

served

13, 000

11, 000

12, 000

10, 000

14, 000

21, 500

22, 700

72, 500

10, 700

18, 500

24, 100

1-0, 000 

35, 400

13, 200 

15, 500

577, 700

13, 500

58, 500

21,600

13, 000

988, 400

Source of water 

supply

South Santiam RiverBear Creek

Lake, well, and

springs. 

Tumalo Creek

Rock Creek and

Willamette River. 

McKenzie River __ _

Tualatin River

tributaries. 

10 wells. _-._______

4 wells and Beaver 

Creek.

5 wells and Portland 

standby. 

3 wells, 3 springs. _-_

Bull Run River. ____

North Umpqua 

River. 

North Santiam

River and 4 wells. 

8 wells__ _.-_ -----

3 wells, Mill Creek, 

Dog River.

Average 

daily 

use 

(mgd)

2.8

4. 0

1. 7

3.0

3.3

2.6

3.7

12.7

2. 0

2.0

2. 5

1.7 

10. 1

1. 1

4.8 

70. 0

3. 1 

13. 1

3. 5

1.5

149.2

Waste disposal 

discharge to 

Willfmette

River.'

Columbia River.2 

Powder River. 1

Lava sinks.3

Willamette River.1 

Do.1

Rogue River.1

Tualatin River. 1 

Lake Ewauna. 1

Catherine Creek.1 

Bear Creek.1

Willamette 

River.1 

Umatilla River.1 

Columbia

River. 1 

Soutl Umpqua River.1 

Willamette

River.1 

Do. 1

Columbia 

River.1

Average per capita.______ gallons per day_______ 151

1 Treated. 1 Not treated. 3 Part treated.

Of the water furnished by the 20 largest public-supply 

systems, about 90 percent is drawn from rivers and creeks 

and about 10 percent from wells and springs. Medford, 

Klamath Falls, Pendleton, and Milwaukie are the largest

125
cities using ground-water sources entirely, although the 

larger cities of Salem and Springfield use ground sources recharged by induced infiltration.

In addition to the 20 largest systems, there are smaller 

cities, towns, and suburban water districts which have public water systems supplying about 300,000 people. These 

smaller localities obtain their water about equally from surface and ground water. More than 95 percent of the rural 

dwellings have private piped-water supplies, obtained mostly 

from wells and springs.

Many of the cities still use the original source, a spring, 

well, or creek, but other sources have been developed to keep 

up with increased demands. In other places, original sources 

of public water supply have been replaced by larger or cleaner 

supplies and are now of only historical significance. The 

progressive succession of water sources is illustrated at Portland, where individual wells that originally served the inhabitants were succeeded by a system that drew water from 

several creeks, which in turn was outgrown and succeeded by 

a system that pumped water from the then "pure" Willamette River. The first water mains were laid in 1857 and 

consisted of bored logs. Portland replaced its Willamette 

River sources in 1895 with the original conduit of the present 

supply from Bull Run River, but the Willamette pumphouse 

still stands on the west bank of the river midway between 

Portland's south boundary and Oswego, and the 12-inch 

steel pipe which formerly carried this water north to Portland now carries Portland water south to Oswego and the 

Palatine Hill District.

The utilization of surface-water sources for public supplies 

is well illustrated in western Oregon. In this part of the 

State, clean and strongly flowing streams are present near 

most cities, and large bodies of permeable rocke are not commonly available to furnish ground water in adequate quantities. Some of the riverbank cities purify water pumped 

from the adjacent river, whereas other cities divert water 

from rivers and creeks far upstream in the headwater areas. 

The diversions in the upriver areas require expensive conduits, but usually they provide a purer and less turbid water; 

another advantage of upriver diversion works1 is that they

126
150

100

FIGURE 47. Dissolved solids and hardness of selected public water 

supplies in Oregon.

are commonly built high enough that the water flows by 

gravity to the main distribution reservoirs. The least flows 

in most streams come during the summer and fall months, 

which are the period of greatest consumer demand; hence, 

many systems using surface water need considerable storage. 

This storage is commonly obtained by building dams on the 

source stream or by building additional concrete or steel 

reservoirs at the head of the water-distribution system.

The small range in mineral content and hardness cf nine 

major public water supplies in Oregon is shown in figure 47.

PORTLAND

The Bull Run River, source of the Portland municipal 

water, is the most extensively developed Oregon river, and 

it supplies by far the greatest number of users. The Bull 

Run watershed, tributary to Sandy River, comprises an area

127
of about 136 square miles on the west side of the Cascade 

Range. The densely forested basin was set as: de as a protected watershed reserve in 1892, and is closed and policed.

The altitude of the drainage basin ranges from about 4,500 

feet on the ridges at the head to about 240 feet at the channel 

mouth. The diversion at the headworks of the conduits is 

at an altitude of about 747 feet.

The drainage area of about 102 square mile? provides an 

average flow of about 760 cfs at the diversion headworks. 

The average precipitation at the headworks has been measured as about 86 inches per year; however, the rainfall must 

be considerably larger than that for the basin as a whole, 

because the measured flow of the river at the headworks is 

equivalent to an average annual runoff of 101 inches of water 

over the drainage area. The flow of springs in summer is 

substantially strengthened by late snowmelt, r.nd snow accumulation is therefore important to water storage in the 

basin.

To assure an adequate minimum streamflow at the headworks during the summer, four dams have been built above 

the headworks; the reservoirs store a total of 21.4 billion 

gallons of water. Dams at eight other sites are planned to 

serve future needs.

From the headwaters, three conduits carry the water to 

the main reservoirs on Mount Tabor in the eastern part of 

Portland; completed in 1911,1925, and 1953, they are 52, 58, 

and 66 inches in diameter. The rated capacities are respectively 50,75, and 100 mgd to the main reservoirs. An earlier 

pipeline completed in 1894 was abandoned in 1953.

The four reservoirs on Mount Tabor have an aggregate 

capacity of about 157 million gallons; the two in Washington Park, on the west side of the city, have a capacity of 34 

million gallons. Those on Mount Tabor range in altitude 

from 229 to 412 feet, and those in Washington Park are at 

230 and 300 feet. In addition to these reserve ; rs, there are 

34 concrete and steel tanks and standpipes which range in 

altitude from 200 to 1,144 feet and are mostly located on 

the hillside areas of Portland's west side. The combined 

maximum storage of these tanks is about 25 million gallons.

128
The terraces and slopes on which the main part of Portland is located are divided into four main elevation zones for 

distribution of water by gravity from the reservoirs. The 

zones are called the "high gravity," the "intermediate," the 

"low gravity," and the "Vernon Standpipe." The ridgelands of west Portland and other high points are served by 

pumping to the storage tanks and reservoirs located on high 

points. The main lines to distribution-service mains include pressure-reduction valves to limit the maximum water 

pressure for consumers to 80 pounds per square inch. The 

normal minimum water pressure to customers is 40 pounds. 

In addition to the 440,000 residents of Portland proper, about 

138,000 people outside the city limits are supplied liy more 

than 50 local water districts and companies that purchase 

water from the city system. All services are metered.

From the principal water mains the water is led to the 

network of distribution mains. These are mostly pipes of 

12-inch diameter in the business districts and of 6-inch diameter in the residential area. On lines which must supply 

fire hydrants, the smallest pipe used is 4 inches in diameter. 

Within the city there are 122,000 customer connections, 

1,370 miles of pipelines, 7,400 fire hydrants, and 12 pumping 

stations.

The average consumption during the warm dry summer is 

about 150 mgd. On an annual basis, the average daily use 

from the system is 70 million gallons and the average per 

capita consumption 121 gallons per day. The sources are 

adequate to supply a much larger population than the present (1964), and plenty of water has been available at the 

reservoirs since the latest conduit was constructed in 1953. 

However, as a result of overdraft during warm periods of the 

summer, low pressures occur at times near the ends of undersized water mains serving rapidly growing communities. 

Lawn sprinkling has been limited to alternate daysr during 

part of the summer.

An example of household use of water may be taken from 

the home of one of the writers. This household of four people uses about 150,000 gallons of water per year, or rn overall daily rate of 410 gallons and an average of 103 gallons 

per person. During the seven cooler months, October to

129
April, only 45,000 gallons of water is used, a drily use of 52 

gallons per person. Thus, on a year-round basis, the total 

inside-the-house use of water is about 78,000 gallons, and 

the average use per day per person is near 55 g:allons. The 

use outside the house during the five months May to September is 72,000 gallons, or an average of 475 gallons per day, 

largely for partial irrigation of a half acre of lawn and garden. 

This irrigation use exceeds that of the averr.?e homesite 

within the city.

The citywide average per-capita consumption of 121 gallons of water per day includes about 55 gallons used within 

the dwelling, about 30 gallons outside the duelling, and 

about 36 gallons used elsewhere by industries commercial 

establishments, transient lodgers in hotels, city-park irrigation, public drinking fountains, street washing, public swimming pools, fire-control operations, and pipeline leaks.

Within the city limits there are about 60 drilled wells that 

draw water from the gravel strata beneath the terrace lands 

or from the volcanic bedrock. The capacities of the wells 

range, according to their size and construction characteristics, 

from 5 to 1,200 gpm (gallons of water per minute). Water 

from these wells is used principally by industries and public 

buildings for heating, cooling, and air conditioning, and the 

piping systems are separate from the municipal waterlines. 

Some of the outlying water districts have wells as supplementary supply to meet demands during the summer when 

their long pipelines from the Portland system may be unable to deliver enough water for their greatest needs.

The quality of the Bull Run water is excellent. It is clear, 

cool, and oxygen-laden, and it contains only a very small 

amount of dissolved solids it is virtually pure rainwater 

and snowmelt. The solids content averages about 30 ppm. 

The water has a hardness of about 10, which is low in softwater classification, and a neutral pH of 7.0 (neither acid 

nor alkaline). The only treatment given is the addition 

of about 0.2 ppm of chlorine injected at the headworks. 

There is little or no residual chlorine when the \-ater reaches 

the consumer, and, because of the low content s.nd the odorless character of the ammoniated chlorine, few users are 

aware that the water has been chlorinated.

130
The copious supply of excellent water for Portland, and 

many other cities of the State, is a point of justified pride 

to Oregonians. Portland's water supply stands as a constant 

testimonial to the wisdom and foresight of all concerned 

with its selection, construction, and maintenance, and to the 

bountiful good fortune of its residents.

SALEM

Salem obtains her supply of water from infiltration galleries (pipes) near the upper end of Stayton Island in the 

North Santiam River, 15 miles southeast of the cit;r. The 

pipes underlie the sand and gravel floors of shallow basins 

which can be flooded at will by the river water. Tv e sand 

and gravel serve to filter the river water before it reaches 

the infiltration galleries. From the gallery collectors the 

water is led to the lower end of Stayton Island, v^here it 

passes through sand traps and fine screening basins before 

entering the 36-inch and 54-inch conduit lines, which have a 

combined capacity of 70 mgd. The water is chlorinated near 

the head of the conduits which convey it 8 miles to the 100- 

million-gallon Franzen Reservoir near Turner and then 7 

miles farther to the 10-million-gallon Fairmont Reservoir at 

Rural and John Streets in Salem. Chlorine is added as the 

water leaves Franzen Reservoir. The city also has 4 wells 

for standby supply.

The Fairmont Reservoir floats on the distribution system 

and thus maintains a pressure of about 70 pounds pe1" square 

inch in the mains serving the principal section of the city. 

The water leaves the reservoir through a 30-inch pipe and is 

distributed through a 186-mile network of smanV mains 

that range from 30 inches down to 2 inches in diameter. All 

connections are metered. Local areas of high ground, mostly 

in the western and southern parts of the city, are served by 

pumps which raise the water to the tanks and reservoirs 

that maintain water pressure in the distribution pipes of 

those areas.

About 18,000 people in five independent water districts 

outside Salem are supplied with water, in addition to the 

city population of about 40,000.

131
Four deep wells in West Salem are used to supplement 

the supply during periods of peak water use. Some raw 

(untreated) water from Mill Creek is brought by a separate 

pipe to the State Capitol grounds where it is used for irrigation, but that waterline is not a part of the municipal system.

The peak water use hag increased rather uniformly from 

8 mgd after the Stayton Island system was first put into use 

in 1938, to about 28 mgd in 1960. The average f ow through 

the system in 1960 ranged from 5 mgd during December to 

20 mgd during August. The per-capita consumption averaged 164 gpd for the year, and the maximum day's use was 

487 gallons per person.

The water is excellent in quality; an analysis made of 

water sampled on December 14, 1960, shows the water had 

80 ppm dissolved solids, a hardness of 25 ppm, a very low 

salinity, and a pH of 7.4.

EUGENE

Eugene diverts water from the McKenzie River near Hayden Bridge about 6 miles northeast of the city. The water 

passes through a coarse screen and a concrete canal to a 

pumping basin from which it is pumped a third of a mile 

through a.36-inch pipe to the 37^-mgd filter plant. The 

treatment consists of prechlorinating, coagulating, settling, 

and filtering to remove the sediment. A 45-irch pipeline 

carries the water from the clear well at the plant to the city, 

where 23 million gallons of storage space is provided in one 

15-million-gallon, two 3-million-gallon, and five smaller 

reservoirs. The reservoirs are between 605 and 850 feet in 

altitude on Skinner Butte, College Hill, Fairmont, and College Crest. More than 130 miles of main water pipes distribute the water to users.

The system serves 72,500 people (1963), including those 

living in eight water districts outside the city.

The total quantity of metered water supplied has increased progressively from an average of 2.74 mgd in 1934 

to 12.7 mgd in 1963. Water consumption in the summer 

months is about three times that in the winter months.

132
All connections are metered except those solely for fireprotection purposes; a flat monthly charge is paid for that 

service.

The water is of excellent quality, is soft and of low salinity, and is very similar to that of Salem. An average of the 

analyses made on daily samples in 1957 showed that the 

water had dissolved solids of 37 ppm, hardness of 19 ppm, 

and a very slightly alkaline reaction expressed as a pH of 7.1.

MEDFORD

Medford has obtained its water since 1927 from Big 

Butte Springs, 30 miles northeast of the city. The springs 

issue from porous young lava rocks, and have a combined 

discharge of about 45 cfs from several spring orifices. The 

water is collected in concrete galleries, a tunnel, and underground perforated pipes, and is transmitted by gravity 

through two conduits varying from 20 to 30 inches in 

diameter. At the city, three main reservoirs with 12.2 million gallons total capacity and one concrete standpipe on 

Pierce Hill (200,000 gallons capacity) serve as distribution 

storage. By gravity descent from the 2,640-foot level of the 

intake to the 1,590-foot level of the reservoirs, the conduit 

will transmit 26 mgd. A water pressure of 70 to 95 pounds 

per square inch is generally maintained in the distribution 

lines from the reservoirs.

There are about 10,000 active service connections including those of three towns and eight water districts outride the 

city. The average daily consumption during the month of 

maximum use is about 16 million gallons. Fifty-five percent of the service connections are metered. In 1963 the 

average daily use was 10.1 million gallons.

The quality of the water is excellent. It is clear, soft, of 

low salinity, and without harmful constituents. An analysis 

of March 11, 1958, shows the water had 85 ppm dissolved 

solids, a hardness of 32 ppm, and a pH of 7.2. Analyses 

indicate that the content of dissolved materials is uniform 

throughout the year. The water is not treated. Tv e temperature of the water at the intake varies between 41° and 

44°F.

133
KLAMATH FALLS

Klamath Falls obtains its water from 10 wells ranging in 

depth from 143 feet to 850 feet and located on the east bank 

of Link River in the southwest part of the cit;r. The wells 

flow by artesian pressure to three centrifugal pumps whose 

combined capacity is 8,000 gpm. The wells will flow 2,000 

gpm, and a pump withdrawal of 5,000 gpm lowers the water 

to a level only 10 inches below the surface. I laximum dependable yield of the four wells commonly in use is 12 mgd. 

The water from the wells is pumped through three mains 

into the low-distribution system. The comb; ned capacity 

of 4.3 million gallons of water in six steel reservoirs floats on 

the system. One high-level reservoir on the ridge of the 

eastern part of the city is served by a separate 200-foot pump 

lift from the low-distribution system, and stores 400,000 

gallons for the high-distribution system.

In 1963 there were 8,862 connections, all metered, serving 

a population of 24,100. The average daily consumption in 

1963 was 2.5 mgd. Daily use exceeds 10 mgd at times.

A few industrial and commercial establishments have their 

own wells. Many homes in a residential part of the eastern 

side of the city are heated by natural hot water from individual deep wells along a fault zone; these well waters are 

at temperatures of 180° to 220°F.

Klamath Falls' water is treated with about 0.1 ppm chlorine. The water is of excellent quality, clear, soft, of low 

salinity, and has a pH of 7.7. Like most ground water in 

the volcanic rocks, it contains a relatively lar^re amount of 

dissolved silica (55 ppm). The temperature of the water 

is 67°F throughout the year, and it contains 141 ppm dissolved solids.

CORVALLIS

The source of Corvallis' gravity water supply is Rock 

Creek, southwest of the city. Dams divert the north and 

south forks and the tributary Griffith Creek. The Rock 

Creek water is treated in a plant of 4.5 mgd capacity, and is 

conveyed in a 20-inch line to three reservoirs o* 6.75 million 

gallons total capacity, on Bald Butte northwert of the city.

134
The water from the reservoirs is fed into 14-inch and 20-inch 

mains, which supply the distribution pipe net. Philomath, 

population 1,400, is supplied water from the line leading to 

the reservoirs.

The Corvallis distribution net serves the State university 

as well as the city. All 5,750 connections are metered. 

Average daily consumption is 3.7 million gallons, the range 

being from about 2 mgd to about 8 mgd.

The water is soft and low in salinity, dissolved solids, turbidity, and color. Fluorides are added to the water at the 

rate of 1 ppm.

The greater needs of the summer season are met by supplementing the Rock Creek supply with water diverted from 

the Willamette River. In 1957 a pumping plant and treatment works that were constructed in 1951 were equipped 

with a new intake structure having a capacity of 16 mgd.

PENDLETON

Pendleton's basic supply is obtained from four infiltration areas in the gravel along the Umatilla River at Thornhollow, 15 miles east of the city. The gallery system is 

divided into the lines necessary to pick up water from 

Wenix Spring, Simons Spring, Shapplish Spring, s.nd the 

Long Hair line. Flow from Wenix Spring is gathered by 

five infiltration lines, three of them on South Wenix Spring 

(the original source of the city's Thornhollow system) and 

two on North Wenix Spring. Simons Spring is gathered 

in by three infiltration pipelines totalling 2,000 feet. Shapplish Spring is picked up by four lines having a total infiltrating length of 4,000 feet. A linear layout of about 

500 feet of porous pipe, called the Long Hair line, is the 

most recently constructed unit. The total yield of the 

Thornhollow source varies from time to time, but the 

amount withdrawn is controlled by the 5-mgd water right 

and the 51/4-mgd capacity of the 24-inch conduit to the city's 

south reservoirs.

As standby supply, the city uses three deep wells of their 

own plus those of the Smith Cannery and the Oregon State 

Hospital. The wells draw water from the basaltic bedrock of

745-668 O 65 10 135
the area, range from 665 to 1,008 feet deep, and are within or 

near the city. The capacities of the pumps are 2,500; 1,800, 

and 585 gpm for the three city wells, 900 gpm for the Smith 

Cannery well, and 800 gpm for the hospital well. The wells 

can thus provide 6,585 gpm, or a daily total of about 9.5 

million gallons of water, which can be pumped directly into 

the distribution system.

The main supply to the distribution system is from the 

two 1-million-gallon reservoirs at about 1,260 feet altitude 

on the south side of town. Four other reservoirs with a total 

capacity of 2.2 million gallons are supplied by booster pumps 

from the main distribution lines.

There are 4,100 connections, nearly all netered. The 

system serves a population of 15,500. The average daily 

consumption in 1963 was 4.8 million gallons and the minimum daily consumption about 2 million gallons. The maximum water consumption of about 10 mgd occurs in June or 

July when the canneries are operating at peak capacity. 

The unusually heavy demand during cannery season is a 

major problem because it requires a supply that may be as 

much as four times the normal rate. Similar problems exist 

at nearby Athena and Milton-Freewater. At Pendleton 

during canning season, a draft rate as great as 13 mgd has 

been metered for short periods.

The water from Thornhollow is soft and is low in dissolved solids. It is chlorinated in the conduit 5% miles east 

of the city, and fluoride is added to this gravity supply to 

provide 1 ppm. Each deep well has its own chlorinator. 

The water from the wells is moderately hard and carries two 

to three times the amount of dissolved solids of the Thornhollow supply. However, the quality of the well water is 

good and it carries about one-half ppm of fluoride, near the 

lower limit at which fluoride in drinking water has been 

found beneficial to children's teeth.

COOS BAY AND NORTH BEND

The two cities of Coos Bay and North Bend jointly own 

and operate their municipal waterworks system. The supply is obtained from the logged-off 2,400-acre catchment 

basin of nearby Pony Creek. The water is impounded in

136
two reservoirs, the higher having a capacity of 550 million 

gallons and the lower one of 100 million gallons. The lower 

reservoir lies behind an earthfill dam 1.5 miles north v^est of 

Coos Bay; from the reservoir the water is taken for treatment with activated carbon, alum, and chlorine, and is 

pumped three-quarters of a mile southeast to the 1.15-million-gallon settling basin at the filter plant. The water is 

put through pressure filters and further treated with lime, 

chlorine, fluoride, and ammonia. From the S^-millicn-gallon clear well at the filter plant the water flows by gravity 

through 14-inch and 16-inch lines to the low-zone distribution system of the two cities. Pumps lift water from this 

low-zone net to a million-gallon reservoir which serves the 

smaller high-zone distribution net. Other high are^s are 

supplied by separate pumps.

The system has a capacity of 6 mgd; it serves 4,7£Q metered connections and a population of 21,500, including those 

in seven nearby towns and water districts. The average 

consumption is 2.58 mgd, minimum demand about 1.6 mgd 

(1957).

Like most of the surface supplies of western Oregon, the 

water is soft; it has a low dissolved-solids content, low salinity, and a nearly neutral pH of 6.9. The creek w^.ter is 

colored at times by vegetation, and filtration and treatment 

are required to obtain a satisfactory municipal supply.

SPRINGFIELD

Springfield's water is supplied by a private company from 

a field of eight wells which tap water in the gravel alongside 

the Middle Fork of the Willamette River, iy2 miles southeast of the city. The wells are 30 to 44 feet deep, and the 

withdrawal of water from them induces percolation of water 

from the river, the intervening gravel acting as a filter. During the summer, some artificial recharging of the ground 

water is practiced by pumping from the river into seepage 

basins and into three recharging wells at the well field. Thus, 

although the system draws water entirely from wells, the 

ultimate source of water is the river. From the producing 

wells the water is pumped into a 20-inch steel main which 

feeds into the distribution net.

137
The distribution system includes a 1.5-million-gallon reservoir, and a 50,000-gallon tank for the high-zone distribution net in the northwest part of town that is supplied by 

pump lift from the low zone.

There are over 4,000 connections, including one large sawmill ; most of the connections are not metered. The average 

day's consumption is about 3.5 million gallons and maximum 

day's use is about 9 million gallons.

The water is soft and of low dissolved-mireral content. 

It is chlorinated at the wells.

ASTORIA

Astoria draws its water supply from Bear G^eek, 10 miles 

southeast of the city. The city-owned watershed contains 

three dams which impound 326 million gallons of water on 

one branch and on the main stem of the creek. From the 

lowest reservoir, at an altitude of 620 feet, the water is 

carried 12 miles in a 22-inch steel conduit to a hill in the 

southeast part of the city. At that point a 20-million- and a 

6-million-gallon reservoir supply the distribution net.

The creek water is passed through screens snd the water 

is treated with ammonia and chlorine. At times, copper sulfate is used to suppress algae growth. Fluorides are added 

to the water as it leaves the main reservoir in the watershed. 

The water is soft and contains very little dissolved solids. 

Because of the forested watershed, it does hr.ve some dissolved organic materials; at times it has slight turbidity.

There are 3,300 connections, all metered, serving a population of 12,000 in 1963. The average consumption is 1.7 

mgd, and the maximum about 3.5 mgd. Water is supplied 

to outlying water districts and to some individuals near the 

pipeline.

WATER FOR OTHER CITIES

The water supplies of other cities are derived from sources 

similar to those described above. West of the Cascade 

Range, the Roseburg supply is taken by a private water 

company from the North Umpqua River above Winchester. 

It is treated and piped 5 miles to the city. Albany -obtains

138
its supply from the Albany Power Canal, into which water 

is diverted from the South Santiam River near Lebanon; 

the water is extensively treated. Hillsboro obtains water 

from the upper part of the Tualatin River and from Sain 

Creek; the water requires only chlorination. Tillamook has 

small dams and diversions on Killam and Fawcett Creeks 

7 miles south of the city. Grants Pass pumps water from 

the Rogue River, and purifies it in a complete treatment 

plant. Ashland stores and diverts water from Ashland Creek 

above the city.

East of the Cascade Range, Bend gets water from Tumalo 

Creek that requires only chlorination. The Dalles diverts 

water from Dog River, in the Hood River drainage basin, 

across the divide to their Mill Creek treatment plant and 

diversion; this supply is at times supplemented by pumping 

from a well into Mill Creek and from three deep wells in the 

city. The city of Hood River pipes water from Cold Spring 

and Stone Spring 17 miles southeast of the city. MiltonFreewater diverts some water from the Walla Walla River, 

but also uses six deep wells which tap ground water in the 

basaltic bedrock; the system provides for the high demands 

that occur during the canning season even though several 

of the canneries have deep wells of their own. Baker's primary supply is obtained from several mountain streams and 

springs and from Goodrich Lake, 20 miles northwest of the 

city; a deep well in the city is used for standby supply. 

Burns uses two deep wells as its basic supply. La Grande 

impounds a mountain creek and pipes the water to the city, 

but also has four deep wells in the city to supply water during the height of water needs in summer and during cold 

periods in winter. All these cities obtain soft water of excellent quality, low in dissolved solids.

Ontario, Nyssa, and Vale, the triple cities of the Ma.lheurSnake River plain of east-central Oregon, obtain their water 

supply from wells. The water is hard but otherwise c f good 

quality. Parts of this area have the hardest water at shallow depths in Oregon. Ontario and Nyssa have located their 

wells close to the Snake River in order to induce infiltration 

of softer water. Most of the water is softened before it is 

chlorinated and distributed.

139
SPECIAL FEATURES OF OREGON'S 

MUNICIPAL WATEP

All the cities and nearly all the smaller towns are situated 

where water can be obtained in quantities sufficient to support double or triple their present populations. A few 

towns and smaller cities have neared the capacity of their 

present sources or distribution systems, but other supplies 

are available. These new sources may be rrore expensive, 

but they still are cheap as compared with the cost of water 

at many places in less favored regions. Some cities need 

more water to meet the expected demands of industry. For 

most of the systems, technical plans have been prepared for 

different degrees of future expansion of their supply and 

facilities.

Since about 1940, many of the Oregon municipal water 

systems have been feeling the strains of a general population increase. Needs for additional water and for enlargement of the distribution system have been almost universal. 

One of the most widespread needs has resulted from suburban housing developments. These additions required 

lengthening and enlarging the service mains, an expansion 

which commonly had to be carried back through the whole 

system. Along with these suburban water-supply problems, 

some of the additions have presented difficult problems in 

drainage and sewage disposal.

At present none of the cities using surface water need to 

take their water supply downstream from the outfall of untreated or raw sewage from a city, an advantageous situation which has resulted from the clean-stream campaign of 

the Oregon State Sanitary Authority.

140
WATER 

IN

OREGON'S 

FUTURE

In rivers, the water that you touch is the last of what 

has passed and the first of that which comes; so with 

time present. Leonardo da Vinci

Wise development and use of Oregon's water resources 

require a prophetic look to the future. Large water projects 

are expensive to alter or replace, and design is a major part 

of the undertaking. Though the future may not be entirely 

ours to see, a continuing record of what water we nor7 have 

is a fair guide to what we may expect in the future. Certain 

lines of reasoning may visualize future water use in Oregon 

well enough to guide development in the right direction.

WHAT WATER NEEDS ARE TO BE 

EXPECTED?

The projection of the population trend and the adjusted 

rate of water use provides a simple base from which future 

water needs may be estimated. The increase in Oregon's 

population since 1900 has ranged from 147,000 to 460,000 

per decade. The smallest increase occurred in the period 

1930-40 and the greatest from 1940 to 1950. Since 1900, 

the annual average increase in population has been about 

22,500.

The average-per capita use of water from public rupply 

systems will probably increase only moderately from the 

present rate, which is between 100 and 150 gallons per day. 

The phenomenal increase in the average per-capita use of

141
water in the past has coincided with the addition of modern 

sanitary facilities and large industrial drafts from public 

water-supply systems. As a result of the relative standardization of these rates of use, the per-capita withdrawal of 

water from public systems in Oregon for the next 40 years 

may rise but little.

Almost certainly, there will be an increase in the number 

of industrial plants using water, both from municipal supplies and from their own sources. It also seen?-? certain that 

these plants will be more economical in wr-ter use than 

older plants. The trend of industrial development is toward 

manufacture of finished goods. Foodstuffs, paner and wood 

products, finished metallic and nonmetallic articles, garments and fabrics, and similar merchandise will be produced 

more extensively, rather than bulk grain, lumber, metal bars, 

raw ores, baled wool, and such basic raw materials which 

have been Oregon's chief exports in the past.

More water will be used for irrigation. Though many of 

our basic agricultural products are now in a period of oversupply, the past history of these periods of surp lus, the growing national population, and other factors point toward 

great future needs for agricultural products. Many of the 

irrigation districts that now have not enough water during 

dry years will augment their sources by storage and diversions. More land will be brought under irrigation in both 

the eastern and western parts of the State.

The uses which involve little water loss are undoubtedly 

due for a great increase. The market for electrical energy, 

like some other human wants, seems to know no limit. The 

construction of the John Day Dam on the Ck^umbia River 

just below the mouth of the John Day River completes the 

harnessing of the Columbia throughout the usable part of its 

340 feet of fall where it bounds Oregon. The 1,300 feet of 

fall in the Snake River, where it bounds the State, is now 

being developed for electric generation. There are numerous unused hydroelectric-power sites on the somewhat 

smaller rivers within the State. For Oregon and the Pacific 

Northwest, waterpower possesses many advantages over the 

use of fossil fuels (coal, oil, and natural gas) and sawdust 

for electrical generation.

142
Nuclear power is not economically competitive in this 

region. This process may in time become competitive, but 

the belief is widespread that the hydroelectric plants will 

continue to be the most economical sources of energy for a 

long time.

The recreational uses of water are burgeoning. This fact 

is apparent to" anyone who is locked in a traffic jam at one 

of the beach towns or who looks out over almost any river 

on a weekend, attends a boat show, or tries to elbow his 

way to the creek bank on the o>pening day of fishing reason. 

The beaches of Oregon below high-tide line are State property and are reserved for public use. The State and local 

agencies are interested in improving access and providing 

facilities for the greater public use of recreational areas". The 

recreational use of waterways involves little loss in water 

resources, and this water use may well expand to the general 

benefit of the community. It will be an integral part of any 

multiple-use plan for the water resources.

POSSIBLE NEW SOURCES OF WATER 

OF GOOD QUALITY

The aforementioned economies and the solutions to some 

of our present water problems should result in an ir crease 

in water supply. Other sources of water are available. 

Storm runoff may be stored either on the surface or underground, and unfit, contaminated water may be made usable.

Fresh water can be made from sea water or brackish inland water. At present (1964) the cost of removing the 

salt is too great to make such fresh water competitive with 

naturally available water in Oregon. The Federal government has recently constructed several pilot plants to make 

full-scale tests of desalting both sea water and brackish 

inland water by different methods. Continued testing may 

lead to some means of producing water by desalting that 

is less costly than natural fresh-water supplies available in 

some arid and semiarid regions.

Attempts at artificial weather modification in Oregon by 

the seeding of clouds have not conclusively demonstrated

143
benefits from increased precipitation. In the present state 

of knowledge, this process seems to offer little aid in the 

search for additional sources of water for Oregon.

WHAT ARE THE RESOURCES TO 

MEET FUTURE NEEDS?

Comparisons of available water supplies with estimates 

of future water needs show a gradually varyirg picture ranging from overall abundance, but some seasonal shortage, 

along the coast to critical shortages in eastern Oregon. We 

still have flowing to the sea large quantities of water beyond 

the amount necessary to maintain channel and navigation 

conditions and to provide for recreation and adequate water 

supplies in the lower reaches of the rivers.

The rivers that drain the west slope of the Coast Range, 

from the Chetco at the south to the Necanicum at the north, 

contain unused water for 6 to 7 months of the year. Most 

of this excess water flows to the ocean during the period 

of high runoff. The Willamette, Umpqua, and Rogue 

Rivers have excess winter flow; the summer f ow is now used 

at least once in parts of these basins, as in the basins of Bear 

and Little Butte Creeks.

In eastern Oregon the Owyhee, Silvies, and Lost Rivers, 

Drew and Cotton wood Creeks, Willow Cre?k of northern 

Malheur County, and many lesser creeks ar^ now entirely 

used during the drier years. The Walla Walla, Umatilla, 

Powder, Chewaucan, and Malheur Rivers £,re used except 

for winter and spring runoff. The Grande Ronde and the 

lower part of the John Day and the Deschutes Rivers are 

the only ones which commonly have unused water in the 

summer months. The Klamath River has an excess only 

in the spring season in wet years.

The boundary rivers will soon be harnessed for hydroelectric generation from the 2,070-foot altitude dbove Brownlee 

Dam on the Snake to tide level below Bonneville Dam on 

the Columbia. Much of the same water vrill be used for 

many other purposes such as industrial processing, public 

supply, navigation, recreation, and fish propagation.

144
Where suitable demonstration of a higher priority is established, requests to withdraw water for consumptive uses also 

may find favor, just as water is now being withdrawn 

from the Columbia River at Grande Coulee Dam for irrigation of the large Columbia Basin Irrigation Project. Any 

such future diversion of large amounts of water for consumptive uses during periods of low flow in the Columbia River 

may adversely affect downstream fisheries and water transportation. There is not enough water now during low-flow 

periods to dilute properly all the wastes that enter the lower 

part of the Columbia River, and a reduction of that pollution 

load is needed for the protection of aquatic life (Oregon 

State Sanitary Authority Ann. Rept., 1963, p. 2). The 

maintenance of the proposed 40-foot channel, 750 feet in 

width, downstream from the Portland-Vancouver are", may 

also require all the flow during low-water periods.

The unequal distribution of the water in both time and 

place throughout the State creates problems of storage and 

diversion of the water. A more nearly equal areal distribution could be provided by the transfer of water eastward 

within the State. The transfer may start with the eastward 

diversion of excess headwaters across the crests of the Coast 

and Cascade Ranges. The storage and diversion projects 

will probably progress from the cheapest to the mc^t expensive, but they can and should be constructed within a 

master plan for water in Oregon's future.

In summary, then, there is still a large amount of unused 

runoff many millions of acre-feet of water each year with 

which Oregon may meet its future needs. This wpter is 

mostly in the western part and along the northern border of 

the State, far from some of the places of greatest need; its 

development will surely be more expensive than that of the 

water used to date.

Besides the surface sources of additional water for the 

future, the ground-water reservoirs in many parts of Oregon 

contain water and storage space not much utilized so far. 

Ground-water practices which have been little used in Oregon include the artificial recharge of ground-water aquifers 

with excess surface water, the extraction of water from finegrained valley alluvium, and the systematic management of

145
water-bearing strata as reservoirs. A larger and better engineered development of ground water will help meet Oregon's future water needs, and will make it easier to provide 

water in some parts of the State.

Waste will have no place in Oregon's future water plans. 

Economy in water use will provide additional supplies. In 

exploiting these economies, it is well to heed the lessons of 

the drought years. The good water years which have generally prevailed since 1941 will not continue indefinitely, and 

periods of below-average precipitation are sure to test the 

structure of Oregon's water supply, as a drought period did 

in the 1930's. A water plan for Oregon's future must assume that drought periods will come, as they have in the 

past.

WHAT CAN BE DONE TO ASSURE 

OREGON'S WATER SUPPLY?

In assuring Oregon's water supply, the first basic principle 

is to retain the excellent quality that was and is native to our 

water. In this operation the services of the State Sanitary 

Authority, the State Engineer, the U.S. Soil Conservation 

Service, the U.S. Forest Service, and other agencies are vital; 

but the responsibility belongs to all, and the effective execution of this clean-water enforcement needs th«^ participation 

of an informed public.

Another basically sound principle is to prevent waste of 

water. This course may encompass many water savings 

ranging from economies in the use of diverted water to abatement of excess evaporation and storage of flood runoff. 

These practices all help to make water available when and 

where it is needed.

A third basic principle calls for acquiring and integrating 

as much information as possible on our water resources. No 

one can design an efficient hydroelectric power plant, a floodcontrol dam, an irrigation district, a public water-supply 

source, an industrial water supply, or any other water-use or 

control facility unless he knows the approximate quantity 

of water their structures will use or control. The quality of 

the water, and characteristics of its movement are other basic

146
facts which the designer must consider. At present our engineers must estimate from inadequate records, or must 

select prospective dam and storage sites without geologic 

maps, or even must estimate drainage areas without adequate topographic maps of the watersheds. The users pay 

the tolls imposed by that lack of information.

The U.S. Geological Survey, the U.S. Soil Conservation 

Service, the U.S. Weather Bureau, and the State Engineer 

are agencies charged with obtaining and publishing basic 

information on water resources. Other agencies obtain data 

as it directly affects their sphere of operations. A list of the 

principal agencies concerned with water is appended to this 

report. But again, like the enforcement of water-quality 

protection, the collection of water data is a field in which an 

informed public will take a progressively greater part. The 

full benefits will be derived from Oregon's water supplies 

only by the use of a fully adequate fund of basic engineering 

information.

A fourth basic principle calls for a soundly integrated 

long-range plan for the development of water resources. 

The Oregon State Water Resources board is the agency responsible for developing such a plan.

147
PUBLISHED INFORMATION ON 

WATER^ IN OREGON

Precipitation and weather records 

U.S. Weather Bureau:

Monthly and annual publications (weather data

and some stream stages). 

U.S. Soil Conservation Service:

Seasonal publications (snow data). 

Streams, records of flow 

U.S. Geological Survey:

Prof. Paper 272-D (evaporation loss). 

Water-Supply Papers 680 (drougr. t, 1930-34).

771, 1080, 1137, 1650, 1689

(floods).

1220 (depletion by irrigation).

1330 (requirements for industry).

1669-S (yearly variations). 

1734, 1735, 1737, 1738 (summaries, 1951-60; introduction lists reports giving 

data for earlier years).

Ground-water occurrence 

U.S. Geological Survey: 

Water-Supply Papers 489, 494 (principles of 

ground-water hydrology).

569-B (the Dalles area).

841 (the Harney Basin).

890 (the Willamette Valley).

1475-E (Cow Creek-Soldier Creek area).

1539-K (sand dune area 

near Florence).

1650 (Umatilla River basin).

148
Quality of water 

U.S. Geological Survey:

Prof. Paper 417-D (chemical quality, Snake River

basin). 

Water-Supply Papers 363 (surface water).

659-B, 841, 890 (ground 

water). 

679 (thermal springs in the

United States). 

Waterpower potential 

U.S. Geological Survey:

Water-Supply Papers, 344, 637-C (Deschutes

River).

636-F (Umpqua River). 

63&-B (Rogue River). 

1329-B (Wilson River). 

1610-B (Trask River). 

U.S. Army, Corps of Engineers:

87th Congress, 2d Sess., House Doc. 403 (Columbia

River and tributaries). 

Tidal waters 

U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey: 

Navigation charts.

WHERE TO ASK QUESTIONS 

ABOUT 

Coast, ocean, and harbors:

U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey.

U.S. Army, Corps of Engineers.

Local port authorities. 

Data on water resources:

U.S. Weather Bureau (precipitation and weather).

U.S. Geological Survey (occurrence, quartities, 

quality).

U.S. Soil Conservation Service (snow storage).

Oregon State Engineer (quantities, water rights). 

Development structures and facilities:

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (flood control, navigation).

U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (reclamation of land). 

Fish and wildlife habitat:

Oregon Fish Commission (commercial fisheries).

Oregon Game Commission (sport fisheries and game).

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (migratory fish and wildfowl).

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Geology of drainage basins:

Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries.

U.S. Geological Survey. 

Hydroelectric power:

Federal Power Commission (Federal permits and 

studies).

Power companies and Bonneville Power Administration 

(generation and transmission.)

U.S. Geological Survey (preliminary site and river

surveys). 

Laws, rights to water:

Oregon State Engineer.

U..S. Bureau of Indian Affairs (laws, rights on Indian

reservations). 

Management planning and policies:

Oregon Water Resources Board.

Columbia Basin Interagency Committee.

Columbia Basin Interstate Compact Commission.

Federal Power Commission. 

Recreational uses of water:

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (fish and game conservation).

U.S. Park Service (National parks).

Oregon Game Commission (sport fishing and hunting).

Oregon Fish Commission (commercial f shing).

Oregon Highway Commission, Parkr Department 

(camps and beaches).

U.S. Forest Service (camps and facilities). 

Sanitation and health:

Oregon Board of Health (public water supplies).

U.S. Public Health Service (interstate matters and Federal reservations).

Oregon Sanitary Authority (pollution and contamination of water).

City water departments. 

Soil management and water in soil:

U.S. Soil Conservation (erosion abatement, snow 

surveys).

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Extension Service,

Oregon State University, Corvallis. 

Topography of drainage basins, delineation c f streams:

U.S. Geological Survey (topographic quadrangle and 

river maps).

Army Map Service (tactical maps).

U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey (navigation charts).

O

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