Boater Caution Urged On Rivers Because Of Debris, High Flows

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers warned boaters Friday that high river flows mean they need to be careful.

“We want people to remember to be especially safety conscious because flows are very high in the rivers right now,” said Wayne John, the Operations Division chief for the corps’ Walla Walla District.

That is especially true around dams on the Snake and Columbia rivers where the corps is shifting spillway releases to try to protect migrating fish.

The changes can affect boaters trying to pass through locks at corps-operated dams.

Dworshak Project officials also have warned boaters to beware of more debris in the water than usual this year because of the flooding last winter.

The same is true on the Snake and Clearwater rivers where high water along upper tributaries carried an unusually heavy flow of debris downstream.

The Salmon River has dropped from its peak but remains dangerously high. The logs and other debris it stripped from its banks still are making their way down the Snake and into Lower Granite Reservoir between Lewiston and Clarkston.