A safer river is within our reach

The Millrace Dam Authority is a nonprofit organization (currently in formation) dedicated to protecting the safety, history, and future of the Millrace Low Head Dam on the Willamette River, between Springfield and Eugene, Oregon. Its central objective is singular and clear: to secure safe, unobstructed passage on the Willamette River through this stretch, where a century-old industrial relic continues to endanger the public.

The dam at the heart of this work sits at roughly River Mile 184, beneath the Interstate 5 Bridge. It began as an 1891 wing dam built to divert water into the historic Eugene Millrace—a channel first dug in 1851 to power the region's early mills—and was later rebuilt in concrete by the Chambers Power Company. When the last water-powered industry closed in 1928, the dam was abandoned, and it has served no purpose for nearly a century. What remains is a hidden hazard: as water spills over the structure, it creates a churning, recirculating current that river safety experts call a "drowning machine," capable of trapping and holding boaters, paddlers, and swimmers, even those wearing life jackets. In one recent summer, emergency crews performed five rescues at this single location. For decades, no government agency has accepted ownership of the structure, leaving the public to bear the cost through repeated, dangerous rescues.

The Authority exists to break that stalemate. Rather than conducting its own engineering study, the organization plays a focused civic role: it tracks and reports on the feasibility study being led by the City of Eugene, keeps the community informed of its findings, and advocates for a sound, science-based path forward—whether that means removal, modification, or augmentation of the dam.

The organization's mission rests on a set of clear commitments: tracking Millrace rescue efforts and documenting every close call; honoring Millrace victims and keeping their stories central to the case for change; supporting historical preservation of the Millrace's place in regional history; encouraging fish and game habitat creation through river restoration; researching the dam's unclear ownership to help establish responsibility; and tracking the City of Eugene's feasibility study.

The Authority builds its strength through broad community participation, welcoming involvement at four levels: Board Members and Officers who govern and lead; Experts who lend specialized knowledge in engineering, law, river safety, ecology, history, and communications; Survivors and Witnesses who share firsthand experience of the dam's danger; and Concerned Citizens who add their voices, volunteer time, and energy. I

Its near-term goal is concrete and time-bound: to formally announce the creation of the organization and deliver public testimony on next steps for the dam at the Eugene City Council meeting on November 9, 2026. Grounded in the conviction that a safer river is within reach, the Millrace Dam Authority works to turn a long-ignored hazard into a safe, restored passage—together with the community it serves.