Snake River reservoir to be lowered to clean up trashed beach

A reservoir on the Lower Snake River will be lowered to help with the cleanup of a popular riverside spot trashed by partygoers last week.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers officials said that Lake Bryan will be dropped three to four feet to expose more shoreline at llia Dunes, a habitat management area and a popular beach site about three miles downstream of Lower Granite Dam.

The Illia Dunes area was closed last Sunday after an estimated 1,800 people who gathered there left behind what officials described as “enormous amounts” of trash, broken bottles, beer cans and human waste.

The lake lowering will begin at 7 p.m. Sept. 14 and end at 7 a.m. Sept. 16.

Corps rangers are warning lake users to look out for underwater hazards that will become closer to the surface as the lake level drops, particularly near shorelines. Boaters should also use caution when mooring vessels along the shoreline to avoid being stranded as water levels recede.

In a release, officials said cleanup efforts will begin Sept. 15. Volunteers have offered to assist and the Corps’ Natural Resources Management staff is coordinating with selected groups to use a limited number of people during the cleanup.

Bruce Henrickson, Corps’ public affairs specialist, said Corps staff have been doing some cleanup “but we’re maneuvering to take advantage of volunteer groups, particularly from (Washington State University)” who have offered to help.

Officials said reopening the area is contingent upon completion of trash cleanup and a safety inspection of the Dunes and surrounding area. The Corps is also reviewing last Sunday’s crowd event and its management policies with an eye toward preventing future similar problems, Henrickson said.

“We’re still in the cleanup phase,” he said today. “No decisions have been made about it yet.”

The Illia Dunes area typically draws heavy crowds over the Labor Day weekend. Two years ago a crowd of 3,000 people came to the area, leaving behind thousands of pounds of litter which forced a shutdown until it could be cleaned up.

This year cooler-than-normal weather apparently kept people away from the dunes area over the regular Labor Day holiday weekend. But the return of warm weather last weekend drew hundreds to the dunes, which are “the nicest sandy beach on the (lower) Snake River,” Henrickson said earlier this week.

This story was originally published September 12, 2014 at 11:31 AM with the headline "Snake River reservoir to be lowered to clean up trashed beach."