The infamous sub-standard fish ladder at Winchester Dam
1890 Four-foot hydropower dam was built on the North Umpqua River.
1907 Dam height raised to sixteen-feet.
1923 Dam bought by the California Oregon Power Company.
1945 Fish ladder installed.
1948 Toktee Powerhouse built 60 miles upstream.
1961 Pacific Power & Light (PPL) acquires now obsolete Winchester Dam.
1964 Flood wrecks dam. PPL abandons Winchester Dam.
1969 PPL sells dam to Winchester Water Control District (WWCD) for $1.
1976 Oregon Water Resource Department condemns Winchester Dam.
1978 City of Roseburg refuses to accept ownership of Winchester Dam.
1984 Boat ramp privatized by Fish and Wildlife’s (ODFW) regulation.
1987 Oregon Water Resource Department (OWRD) inspects Winchester Dam.
1994 OWRD determines WWCD is storing 30% more than their legal allotment.
2013 Oregon Water Resource Department inspects Winchester Dam.
2019 ODFW ranks fish ladder the 26th worst out of 590 fish passage barriers.
2019 OWRD rates dam a “high hazard;” forsees loss of human life if dam fails.
2019 Winchester Dam repairs cause contamination & fish kill and $59,000 fine.
2020 Department of Environmental Quality reduces $59,000 fine to $19,000.
2021 All fishing closed on North Umpqua River.
2021 WWCD approves $3 million for dam repairs, penalties, fines, & legal fees.
2021 After 34 years of stonewalling, WWCD updates Emergency Action Plan.
2022 17 organizations offer to remove Winchester Dam at no cost to owners.
2023 All fishing closed on North Umpqua River.
2023 Permit violations cause worst fish kill of the year and $27.6 million fine.
