By Whitney Woodworth
Salem Statesman Journal

Marion County, along with a collection of Santiam Canyon cities and agencies, submitted a formal letter June 22 to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers urging it to cancel any deep drawdown of Detroit Reservoir in 2026 and reevaluate future draining plans.

The letter, which cites serious risks to downstream drinking water systems, local recreation and fish populations, was submitted on behalf of a community coalition that includes Stayton, Sublimity, Mill City, Detroit Lake Foundation, Detroit Lake Marina, Woodburn Area Chamber of Commerce and North Marion Tourism Collaborative.

The city of Salem also sent a letter in early 2026 urging the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to take more steps to protect the city’s drinking water. It was not one of the cities that signed the June 22 letter.

“Our residents depend on clean, reliable drinking water,” Marion County Commissioner Kevin Cameron said. “The Army Corps should complete the analysis required by law before taking on any risks that could harm that supply.”

Commissioner Colm Willis said the Corps’ own analysis acknowledges the drawdown’s adverse risk to drinking water and recreation.

“The risks to our communities strongly outweigh any perceived, hypothetical benefits from this drawdown,” Willis said.

The drawdown is meant to save endangered salmon, but that could impact water quality for 210,000 and harm the economy of the Santiam Canyon. It has been the source of disagreement between the county and federal agency since news of it was first reported by the Statesman Journal in January 2025.

The move spurred alarm bells in Salem and Marion County over concern the drawdown would flush muddy water into the drinking water facilities for Stayton and Salem.

Salem City Council voted to declare a state of emergency in July 2025. The declaration allowed the city to take immediate action to prepare for the impacts of the drawdown, including constructing new groundwater wells at the Geren Island Water Treatment Plant and adding a new pump station connection with Keizer.

The letter comes after Marion County filed a lawsuit in May against the Corps asking a federal court to pause efforts to drain the lake until the Corps completes a federally required turbidity request.

Marion County also sent letters in December 2025 and in January 2026 asking for a halt to the drawdown. The county also requested a more formal review, pointing to the 2023 Green Peter Reservoir drawdown, “which caused significant damage to downstream water filtration systems and killed hundreds of thousands of kokanee salmon.”

County leaders said despite these warnings, the Corps published its Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement in May without completing the required turbidity study.

The joint letter sent on June 22 asks the Corps to refrain from authorizing any deep drawdown in 2026 and to satisfy five conditions before revisiting a draining plan: completing the turbidity report; establishing enforceable triggers for termination if the drawdown impacts water quality, recreation and fisheries; demonstrating that prior drawdowns produced improvements in fish passage; consult directly with downstream water providers and governments for coordination and emergency response; and identify and commit in advance to funding for impacts to water systems and local businesses.

“Any changes to Detroit Lake’s water level must be grounded in data-backed science with meaningful protections in place for our downstream communities,” Commissioner Danielle Bethell said. “We will continue working to ensure that decisions made at the federal level align with the needs of local communities.”

Statesman Journal reporter Zach Urness also contributed to this report.

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A neighborhood group opposed to construction of the $2.1 billion Bull Run water filtration plant isn’t giving up yet.

On Friday, an attorney for the Cottrell Community Planning Organization filed a notice of intent to appeal a Multnomah County hearings officer’s determination that the infrastructure project could proceed.

The Cottrell group earlier appealed a county hearings officer’s determination to the state Land Use Board of Appeals. Then in January, LUBA remanded the matter back to a hearings officer.

After an April hearing, hearings officer Liz Fancher ruled in June that the project could resume construction.

Cottrell, represented by Bateman Seidel attorney Carrie Richter, has argued the county failed to fully consider natural resources in its decision approving construction. (Editor’s note: Richter co-writes monthly land use commentaries to the 91��Ƶ.)

The Portland Water Bureau halted work on the massive project in February after the remand. Construction is only now ramping up, Water Bureau spokesman Brandon Zero said.

Zero vowed the Water Bureau will move forward.

“We will continue to address whatever issue is brought forward because nearly a million people around the region depend on us to provide clean and safe water,” he stated in an email on Friday. “Unfortunately, the cost of this appeal will ultimately be borne by our customers, even though it stems from objections raised by a small group of residents who live near the site. We have won at every stage in the land use process, including the recent Multnomah County hearings officer decision to reapprove our permits.”

Zero added that Fancher’s June decision “reaffirms this is the right place and the right time for this project.”

The city of Portland faces a Sept. 30, 2027, regulatory deadline to provide filtered drinking water to customers after a parasite was repeatedly found in the city’s water supply.

Construction on the infrastructure project is led by a joint venture of MWH Constructors and Kiewit Corp. They broke ground on the site in June 2024.

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