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| Milltown Dam Cam |
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This is the most recent image of the Milltown Dam Project. New images are recorded every 5 minutes, so visit often or refresh your screen. The Dam Cam is located on the north side of the confluence and is aimed just upstream of the former spillway area.
High Plains Films has been documenting the work going on in Montana’s Bonner/Milltown community outside of Missoula, where the Milltown Dam has just been removed, allowing the Clark Fork River to flow freely for the first time in 100 years. View a film clip and description of the project at newwest.net.
On Friday, March 27th, 2009, Envirocon breached the spillway channel by excavating a trench from the river toward a pool below the bluff - where the spillway used to stand. About a fifth of the river flowed into the historic channel under the bluff, where the Clark Fork flowed before the dam was built, and where it will flow into the future. On the following Monday (March 31) Envirocon removed additional sediment from the cofferdam, and about 70% of the river's flow moved into the historic channel. Capture of the river from its current location to the new (historic) channel may not fully occur until after this year's runoff. Water will flow in both channels throughout the spring - this is currently visible in the Dam Cam image. The present channel will eventually become part of the floodplain. Watch this video (below) of the March 27, 2009 breach of the spillway channel.
What's happening in the river since the breach? We've created an online resource to keep interested citizens up-to-date on monitoring information. Visit our online guide, Beyond the Breach: A Guide to Water, Fish, and Sediments. Meanwhile, upstream of the dam, Envirocon continues to load 45 train cars per day with reservoir sediment to ship to the ARCO-BP repository near Opportunity. The Milltown sediment is spread 2 feet thick and seeded, forming a vegetated cap for the underlying tailings. This work will continue through 2009. For additional up-to-date information on Milltown and other Clark Fork Superfund projects, check out the Clark Fork River Technical Assistance Committee (CFRTAC) website. The Clark Fork Coalition is proud to host the Milltown Dam Cam. We’re grateful for funding from sponsors CFRTAC, EMC-Squared, PBS&J, River Design Group, Envirocon, Montana Rail Link and Modern Machinery. |