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OWRD deems Newport dams unsafe; city working on alternatives analysis with remedy due by 2036
Summary
Staff told the council the Big Creek dam/spillway work is a major, separate funding and timing issue: the Oregon Water Resources Department requires unsafe conditions be remedied by 2036 and the city’s alternatives analysis and consultant presentations are scheduled through April.
Staff cautioned that the large dam project (Big Creek and related dams) sits outside the scope of the proposed replacement GO bond because of scale and timing. The Oregon Water Resources Department has deemed Newport Dams 1 and 2 "unsafe, potentially unsafe" and required a remedy by 2036; staff are conducting an alternatives analysis and expect consultant recommendations in April.
"The language is that the unsafe or potentially unsafe situation needs to be remedied," an agency official said, explaining that remedies could take multiple forms and that staff are evaluating different alternatives with Jacob Engineering. Council members pressed for clarity on whether "remedied" meant a completed physical fix by 2036; staff responded that the selected alternative must be completed and unsafe conditions remedied by the deadline.
Because the dam work will likely require a different funding mechanism, staff emphasized it is being tracked separately from the proposed GO bond, though they are exploring overlaps where smaller conduit repairs could align with other capital work.
