Project Links Project History Project Data Contact Information   Related Facilities DamsUnity Dam   Related Documents Burnt River Project (36 KB) (pdf)

The Burnt River Project in east-central Oregon consists of a storage dam and reservoir that provides water for supplemental irrigation of some 15,600 acres which formerly depended entirely on the natural flow of the Burnt River.

Return to top

Floodwaters of the Burnt River are stored in Unity Reservoir for later release when the natural flow of the river is insufficient for irrigation purposes. The reservoir assures an adequate water supply for project lands below and above the dam by exchange of stored water for natural streamflow during the summer months.

Unity Dam, located about 40 miles southwest of Baker, Oregon, is a rolled, zoned earthfill-type structure, 82 feet high above its foundation. The dam contains 254,000 cubic yards of earth and rock. The original total capacity (1938) was reported at 27,000 acre-feet. A 1991 sedimentation survey estimated the total capacity at 25,500 acre-feet (active 25,000 acre-feet).

Operating Agencies

The project is operated and maintained by the Burnt River Irrigation District.

Return to top

Early settlers in the Burnt River Valley became cattle ranchers and used bottom lands along the river to produce hay for winter feed. The first attempts at irrigation consisted of direct run-of-the-river diversions into farm ditches, without the benefit of storage. As the valley developed, the river usually dried up during July and August, leaving no water to mature crops.

Investigations

In 1933, the Bureau of Reclamation, in cooperation with the State of Oregon, investigated the possibility of developing a storage structure on Burnt River to provide a late summer water supply. The project was constructed following the plan developed from this investigation.

Authorization

The project was found feasible by the Secretary of the Interior on September 25, 1935 pursuant to section 4 of the Act of June 25, 1910 (36 Stat. 836) and subsection B of section 4 of the Act of December 5, 1924 (435 Stat. 702). Funds were provided by the President on August 13, 1935, under the Emergency Relief Appropriation Act, 1935, approved April 8, 1935. Unity Dam and Reservoir is operated exclusively for irrigation.

Construction

Construction began on August 13, 1936, and was completed in January 1939.

Return to top

Principal crops produced are alfalfa, wild hay, barley, wheat, and pasture.

Recreation

Although recreation is not an operational consideration, the reservoir provides a significant amount of recreation, primarily fishing. The State of Oregon constructed and operates Unity Lake State Park at the reservoir.

Endangered Species Act

In March 2005 the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) provided Biological Opinions on Reclamation's Operations and Maintenance of 12 projects and associated facilities in the Snake River Basin above Lower Brownlee Reservoir. If conditions don't change these Opinions should be valid for 30 years.

The FWS determined that Reclamation's proposed actions were not likely to joepardize the continued existence of ESA listed species in the Snake River basin. The Opinion includes an Incidental Take Statement with Reasonable and Prudent Measures and associated Terms and Conditions to minimize incidental take for bull trout and Utah valvata.  The FWS's Opinion contains its conclusions for each species in Chapters 4 through 9, respectively. Reclamation provided a Decision Document in November of 2005 as well as a Monitoring and Implementation Plan in March of 2006.

NMFS concluded that Reclamation's proposed actions were not likely to jeopardize the continued existence of the 13 salmon and steelhead evolutionarily significant units (ESUs) or adversely modify or destroy critical habitat that is designated for 3 of the ESUs. A summary of its conclusions is contained in Section 8 of the Biological Opinion. The Opinion includes an Incidental Take Statement with Reasonable and Prudent Measures and associated Terms and Conditions to minimize incidental take.

Return to top