Tuesday March 26, 2024
KEZI —
River protection advocacy groups and volunteers have started a new push to get the Millrace Low Head Dam inspected and ultimately removed.
Advocates and volunteers from organizations such as Willamette Riverkeeper and Cascade Wave, want the more than 100-year-old low head dam to be inspected after countless search and rescue operations have been conducted on or near the dam along the city line between Eugene and Springfield — right next to the interstate-5 freeway.
An online petition started by volunteer Mike McFarlane, urges the Oregon Marine Board and “all relevant authorities” across local and state jurisdictions to immediately inspect the low head dam.
“People just come down here in an inner tube and they don’t see [any] signs. And it’s very difficult to navigate this space with a big river,” he said. “Most people will never know until they go over the falls and get trapped in there.”