The Removal of Savage Rapids Dam
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- Опубликовано: 27 ноя 2009
- The Savage Rapids Dam built by the Grants Pass irrigation District in 1921 was designed to deliver Rogue River water to the fields of local farmers; It did not offer water retention, electrical creation, or flood control. Because the age of the dam was leading to costly replacement issues and its disruption of adult and juvenile fish passage caused local leaders to consider its removal. Irrigation was to be continued with the building of a modern pumping plant. After a 20 year court and legislation battle the parties agreed to remove the dam and build the pumping facility.
I am watching so many dam removal videos this week. It makes me wish I was a heavy equipment operator. As a white water boater and fisherman and all around lover of rivers, I am ALL for removal anywhere it can happen.
I was blesses with the opportunity to contribute to the removal of a fish barrier on The Eel River in Northern California. I am a fifth generation Oregonian. Nothing pleases me more than to see these dams come down. Growing up on the Willamette River I remember massive fish runs back in the late 60's. Most of the fish are gone. We can reclaim the Oregon I knew as a child. I love to read the list of contributors to this dam removal. So many people are behind this movement.
Did some boating and skiing behind the dam before its removal. Glad it is gone and the river runs free. Now to old to ski at 96 but enjoy the beautiful river.
96?
This post should be called "read the caption". The dam did not generate electricity, provide flood control or retain water. It was a diversion for irrigation purposes which is being handled by pumps.
I was in tropical agriculture for many years in Africa and I can assure all readers that if you have to irrigate your crop then you are planting the wrong plant in the wrong place.Irrigation is one of the great ecological errors of the 20th.century in my opinion.
+Squarerig uhm. what.
+Foc4ccin4 On re-reading what I wrote in my comment I intended to say that if it is found necessary to build dams in order to irrigate whatever one is planting then one is planting the wrong crop!See California,UdSSR where the flows to the Caspian and Sea of Azov were diverted for to irrigate cotton.The results have been ecological disasters.The Colorado is but a mere trickle but the farmers of Calif. "need" water for their citrus and other plants.If you need water above what the heavens send you then you need to find another crop or another area for the plants you wish to develop.Tea,Coffee,Macadamia need copious rainfall.If one has to irrigate the costs simply eat up the very small profit margins which these crops,subject to large variations in price,deliver.Of course,if the irrigation projects are subsidised-by the taxpayer,who else?-then the results,by shutting out market forces,are distorted.
+Ron Wilson cactus plants for export to the east coast. scorpions as novelty pets. solar energy farms. charge a dollar a minute to get a tan.
Squarerig, commenters don't seem to understand you, and perhaps your argument is a little disjointed, but you are quite correct. Irrigation in the western United States is most often paid for by government and the crop farming or livestock ranching it supports very often could not be sustained if the consumers of the products had to bear the costs of the irrigation.
The foundational problem is that water is one of those goods that present great difficulties in defining and enforcing ownership. The river runs through your property before it runs through mine. It is obviously unfair for you to take all the flow for your crops, but also obviously unfair that you take none so that I can have it all. But what if I have no productive use for the water and you do? Or what if your use is less valuable than mine? The state steps in to make a fair allocation among all users, but what of potential users?
In Texas, the Railroad Commission regulates the extraction of oil so as to make at least some approximation of a fair allocation of underground reservoirs, but also to preserve the reservoirs so that the maximum amount of oil is extracted over time. (The ultimate total yield of an oil field is dependent on the rate at which it is drawn down.) Not only present actual users but future potential users are thus being served. Effectively, the railroad commission has to decide on a per barrel value of oil in order to decide rationally whether it's worth slowing down production in order to have more in the future.
There's the same problem here of pricing the water in order to calculate whether irrigation is rational.
Where I disagree with you is in the idea that rainfall is the only way we should water crops and livestock. I live in a valley that has very low rainfall, but the soil is good for planting. Rain is abundant in the mountains to the west, but one can't plant there. What happens now is that the rain falls in the mountains, enters the aquifer under the valley floor, and is pumped up to irrigate crops and water cattle. We're not depending solely on the rainfall we receive, but I don't see the objection to pumping out of the aquifer rain that couldn't be used in the mountains. Conclusion: irrigation from pumped water is not automatically a bad thing, neither is it without costs that should be counted and might make it uneconomical.
There's not enough land that gets enough rain or is in an area of long lasting moist soils to feed the world. Maybe if we all didn't eat animals then all the food we grow for them would lessen irrigation needed.
A highly satisfying video of mn, for once, undoing his damage to nature......great stuff and well done.......
Nice to see the restoration of these beautiful rivers...These old technologies worked at the time...Nice documentary.
Hydro is clean and reliable. It is "Green". ???
@@MikeJones-rk1un not this dam, it was for watering crops. now better pumping technology and crop strains have rendered it obsolete.
So many posts below (people who can't even read or listen to the basic facts of this dam) show that a lot of people go only by stereotypes when it comes to dams (against hippies, environmentalists, the government, the bogeyman), when if they'd drop the stupid stereotypes and dealt with facts, most people could agree on solutions that help humans and help the environment (usually those two go together).
Sadly when people destroying natural dams it is an issue. Waterwatch should be ashamed
I wonder how the cost of 20 years of lawyers and legislators compares to the cost of doing the job.
Nice sound track
Great video, I enjoyed the back story of the dam.
I remember standing there watching them take that out now you can go all the way down town
Jason Redden wait...was the town inaccessible with the dam there...?
EATSLEEPDRIVE2002 I think he means by paddling.
Your doing such a amazing and wonderful job.
my left ear enjoyed this
both of mine did?
ntepup you got 2 left ears?
Justin Church 😂
Go into your Windows audio settings and tick "Turn on mono audio".
I thought I was having a stroke for about 2 minutes before I realized what was happening...
it realy is a bright and beautiful day when i watch all these rivers being restored to there former glory gives me hope that perhaps humanity might just buck its ideas up makes a real uplifting change from all the bs thats about hope you all keep this up its been good utube viewing excellent
Removal of that damn dam was long overdue. Poorly designed and maintained. So damned happy to see its removal.
This video reminds me of elementary school where they had the machine that played a sound in a certain ear and the nurse asked you which side the sound was on.
It looks so much nicer with the dam removed.
I like to see the power of these machines to do good and set free the river!!!!
The overly loud music severely detracts from the excellent content.
The normal editing of videos calls for no music while a narrator speaks.
Has the removal brought about the increase in fish numbers that was anticipated. I am near Dodge Bridge and have not seen much if any increase.
GOVENOR KATE BROWN owns all the water in Oregon .
That was one seriously heavy duty built dam
Great video!
How much damage was done to the fishery by releasing so much silt from the upstream riverbed?
They recover and with more natural water flows, eventually have a much bigger spawning are, so in a few years it will be a win-win for the people and fish.
Typically the reservoirs retain some silts and sands as they fill over time. They also retain all the gravels. Below the dams the gravels and fines continue to move downstream over the years. Result is stream bed with left with large cobbles, unsuitable for spawning salmonids. Allowing the retained bedload upstream of the dam to relocate can result in a quickly restored stream downstream of the dam site. Yes, there is a negative impact in the short term. On the Elwha this was a couple years. So much material moved that the delta at the Straits of Juan de Fuca was recreated. Maybe chum and pinks were most impacted negatively in the short run. (Personal communication with Tribe biologist in last week said just finished pink run was up considerably this autumn, which would demonstrate continued uptrend. I’ll be curious for final report.) Now that reach of the Elwha is in much better condition, especially for pinks and chum. On the Sandy in Oregon, maybe days. It is a big deal in the planning, and implementation.
They tore this dam out in the middle of a salmon run, and used heavy equipment in the river for a while afterwords building the electric station. At the same time telling everyone how destructive dredging is. These people are nothing but a joke! Then they have the nerve to say in your comments that silt doesn't hurt the salmon, and the river will clean itself. What a joke! FYI i was there first hand.
this was done in 2009. What is the status of the area now in 2019?
I wouldn’t be surprised if they built another dam
Judging by how they mentioned the dam was 79 years old in the video and built in 1921, it appears the video was actually made around 2000.
@@maximumhardcore4362Was in GP last September. No, they did not rebuild. Other dams taken out as well. River runs free up to Lost Creek.
All materials as far as possible must be recovered before letting water to flow so that scraps could be recycled without any waste.
Seems like a few well placed sticks of Dynamite would be much quicker.
as much as I am sad to see old structures demolished, the restoration of the waterway is far more important.
What's the piece of music at 7:15?
Nice job!
I sure hope the same can be done with Hetch Hetchy Valley someday.
John Muir was heartbroken when they dammed Hetch Hetchy Valley & filled it up
HolyCross9 - Not likely. That is the source of drinking water for much of the SF Bay Area.
@@GH-oi2jf They can always get alternate water sources.
HolyCross9 which would require other water impoundment. You can’t just wish away the problem of too many people.
@@bpdp379 Sounds like they need to move out of the desert then.
how is this looking now?
Does the state replant trees and seed the river banks?
I'm guessing it's good PR for the greenies.
I expect the silt is Prime colonisation territory, the green wouldn't be long taking hold unaided
Who are the people who think that natural sounds must be enhanced to set the mood of a documentary with sweet music? This is not the only one. It's annoying and unnecessary. Watched for 60 secs then clicked off so it shouldn't count as a view.
Seems to me they should have had the tractors on the other side when they opened it up... legend has it they are still there to this day.
Considering that the Rogue River Highway is on one side of the river at this point and the railroad and Interstate 5 are on the other side of the river, the legend is extremely doubtful. The dam was located between the town of Grants Pass and the town of Rogue River, in southern Oregon and Savage Rapids is still the location of some intake pumps for the irrigation district and a pipeline bridge over the river. The place is not isolated.
Removal starts at 5:00! You're welcome!
Is there any one agency compiling fish numbers to see what happens as fish are able to navigate all the way up to historic spawning beds.
From what I have read, fish imprint on the stream of their origin so is there any attempt through instream hatching to "create home streams" for fish to return to??
LouB
Good question. But you don't get that kind of interesting answers with these vids. I wonder why?
That was savage
1:47 This Dan Shephard fellow looks and sounds just like Andy Devine, the old time movie character actor.
It's good work if you can get it, and apparently these guys can.
Not much of the actual removal here
Salmon are more important then nostalgia
Change is tuff.
But necessary
Yes
Next down: The lower four dams on the Klamath.
Wow, not too many rivers can claim to flow from the Pacific Ocean 107 miles upriver, most go the other way.
"Runs free for 107 miles up stream."
Actually none of them can. (I know you're being sarcastic.)
Why the horrible intrusive music introduced near the end? Did an adult review this video prior to release??
What's the real estate market like in Grants Pass?
There is not a great economy down there.
My richt ear felt alone..
I love this stuff
👍☕️👍
☮️🇺🇸🐋
Great video. Glad to see it's gone. Those demo tractors looks like some kind of wicked dinosaur.
6:32 OM NOM NOM NOM
+jmr1068204 moron
I'm sure the salmon liked all that mud in their water.
Acording to them, only dredging hurts the salmon, which is completely FALSE, and dredging out of spawn season inproves salmon spawning by removal of lead and silt from spawning beds. These people are nothing but a joke.
These folks never heard of hard rock miners and blasting technology??
5:14
7:10
I fished, swam and jet skied right above the damn there through the years. Had my worst jet ski accident there (my own fault from inexperience), learned 1st hand what people meant by water acting like concrete when your body hits it at a high rate of speed and your unable to break the water tension. It's great the dam was removed if it indeed helped the fish. At the time the whole dam removal issue was well publicized, it seemed more like a political circus than anything else.
Less dams=Many more big wild salmons.---food for our grandchildren.
Shows what kind of idiot you are. Since the dam removal the fish population has plummeted. It was the deep water from the dams that kept the population healthy. They where not killing them. Ask any real fisherman who all but lived on that river. Dumbass.
As a guide on the Rogue before the dam was removed, I spent many a moonlit night chilling by Savage Rapids Dam.
I remember those nights very fondly, so although the fish ladder/screen was a joke and maintenance was becoming a nightmare I still kind of miss it. Found the party music at 6:10 during the demolition really offensive. Really dude?
You ruined what was a decent production with your disrespect, You're probably from GP. I got the hell out of that stupid place as fast as I could a long time ago.. Hope you enjoy it.
i just wanna see most logging dams removed from inteior amarica
Ditch the music it doesn't add to the video
I bet they really miss that reservoir this year. Poor planning in the face of a growing demand for water.
Why is this guy wringing is hands?
Volvo
"...preserve (the river) for the next generation."
Until some genius comes along and says, "Hey... we should explore this river's potential for hydroelectric power."
Everyone should be proud to see this happening!! All damns should be gone except for a few that blocks invasive species!!!!💯🔨🏈🎼👍🏻💡💡❤️🙏🎄
More talk than dam removal.
excellent
"One of the nations most beloved rivers!" R u serious. I haven't even heard about this river until i watched this and your saying its beloved my the entire nation!!
I vaguely remember having heard of the river before, but I have never been so emotionally deprived as to love this or any other river.
Key words to the sentence, "one of the".
It's called 'hype'.
In truth, I hope it works out for the state of Oregon. It is beautiful country. I'd like to experience it first-hand someday.
Unfortunately, they're going to have to deal with their power needs without disturbing their natural resources. Good luck.
Pine Tree - They mean among people who love rivers, of course. Anyone who fishes for steelhead knows about the Rogue River. People who do white water rafting know about the Rogue River. People who aren’t interested in rivers don’t matter.
You can show it was a dead loss now be serious.
Poorly informative video. Absolutely nothing about any challenges in removing the dam, nothing about the irrigation replacement, no idea whether the turbines are solely to power pumps or generate saleable electricity, no explanation of the method of removal. Unless I missed it, not even a statement of how much farther upstream the fish can go with the dam out of the way.
Mustn't try to educate oneself via RUclips. Try the local junior college.
I went deaf in my right ear watching this, well, for a few minutes
Did I miss the involvement of the native people in the project? Shouldn't they be the prime beneficiaries?
I don't understand removing this dam or the Gold Hill dam so close to the Lost Creek dam. Are we going to remove Lost Creek dam, too? Now instead of gravity flow irrigation you have to use electricity to pump water and the pumps are already having problems with silt. Wait until we get another 1964 type flood, people will be clamoring for more dams. Same thing goes for the Klamath River. Folks have a very short memory about how much rain/snow can fall in Southern Oregon in a short time.
Flood control was likely (?) the reason for building the dam in the first place.
new technologies will be, have been, introduced to create electricity. Check out the turbulent-tech.com/ systems setups.
I have to stop watching dam removal videos one day.
Ok I finally found a study done 2 years after the dam removal and it shows the removal didn't make a damn bit of improvement. Get wise tree-huggers and rock lovers.
White man puts it up White man takes it down
Wow just think of we didn't have 30 million illegals to feed we wouldn't need all that irrigation not to mention how many kids they have.
Except they are the ones picking the crops that feed you. Kinda ironic and diluted that you say that.
Don't just destroy a dam, update it or replace it so there is water storage and hydroelectric power generation that is environmentally friendly and economical . The endangered conservatory is a crock, it is manufactured by the greedy fishing industry that is actually causing the fish to become endangered by over fishing them. They want the dams removed so they can advertise their fish as " wild caught" and of. Course they don't mention all the hatchery fish being added to the streams far above any dams.
I understand removing dams and restoring the natural flow of a river but i REALLY hate hippies and tree huggers...
Tsula. That's because you've been taught to hate them.
@@andrewm8063 I'd say 'conditioned' would be a better choice of words. Many/most SEEM TO BE extremists, with no real interest in compromise.
On the other hand, if it weren't for their collective efforts, industry would go unchecked in their pollutants.
I'd say it's a battle that we can afford to let continue. Both sides grumble about the other, but things get better for America.
Cause you love those coal mine owners instead. The ones who work to undermine safety rules and would much rather employ children and pay the workers less than minimum wage. You’d rather overfish a species to extinction than follow a quota system designed to maintain healthy populations. Or vote for a president who lies about what he wants to do for working people when all he’s done is cut taxes for the wealthy. He wants to eliminate rules that benefit coal mine owners but not coal mine workers. All the while claiming he’s helping workers. So called tree huggers want to protect workers, preserve nature, help native species survive indefinitely and ultimately stop environmental degradation. What’s there to admire?
Tsula - Hippies are so 20th century. Get up to date.
Yells at clouds
The absurd music adds only noise pollution.
This video sucked bad. My attention was caught by it being a dam removal. Let’s see a redo
How much taxpayer money was spent removing the damn? Wouldn't have been cheaper to just replace the stairway?
Camel Tanker shut up you moron.
Why do I have to be a moron just because I asked a simple question?
the freakin music is so distracting and ear shattering
No Dam = Less Jobs! :-(
There are lots of way to produce renewable energy, from wind, solar, hydrogen and hydrokinetic... dams are absolete, dangerous and only creates damages and corruption, but no jobs!
We should do away with all bridges that allow traffic and commerce going east/west if the span doesn't completely extend from one side to the other after all it must have some impact on the fish they probably swim into the pilings/footings too many years the aquatic lives have been inconvenienced by society
🤡 show