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Mark Freeman Commentary Rogue alterations start Monday WHITE CITY -- Upper Rogue River boaters can expect some dramatic changes to water flows and boating paths at TouVelle State Park beginning next week. Construction crews beginning Monday will be altering where and how the Rogue flows past Bybee Bridge, which spans the upper Rogue at Table Rock Road and cuts TouVelle Park in half. The work is designed to steer more of the Rogue toward Medford's water-intake system at the bridge's southwest side. High-water surges over the past two winters have redirected about half of the Rogue's flow away from the intake tower and toward two other chutes that funnel water through the Bybee Bridge abutments. Part of the work also includes stabilizing the river's north bank and adding submerged boulders to a thin north chute used by driftboaters, power boats and rafters. That chute now has fast and boily water that can make boat passage dangerous at times. Officials hope altering that channel will make the water slower and smoother -- and thus easier to negotiate. "There's no guarantee, naturally," says Jeff Smith, staff engineer for the Medford Water Commission. "But that's the hope." The water commission has backed its hope with about $20,000 to do the work, which begins Monday and will take one or two weeks to complete. When done, the reconfigured Rogue will ensure a solid flow of water to the water commission's intake tower as well as provide boaters with easier and safer passage through Bybee Bridge. "It's an important piece of river, a real heavy-use area," says Pete Klingeman, a civil engineering professor at Oregon State University who the water commission hired to consult on the project. "I think it's important that, whatever is done, is done in the best way," Klingeman says. During construction, boaters are warned to avoid the north and central chutes past Bybee Bridge, and using the southern chute past the water commission's intake tower. Signs will be posted at Dodge Bridge and Touvelle boat ramps warning boaters of the construction. Warning buoys also will be placed in the water, Smith says. LTM, Inc., of Central Point, is doing the work under an in-stream work permit issued by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. Since the New Year's Day flood of 1997 and construction of the new Bybee Bridge, the upper Rogue flows past TouVelle Park have been altered. Gravel has built up along the river's south side above the bridge, forcing water in a sweeping "S" design as it swings past abutments. On the north side, a thin chute once favored by downstream rafters and boaters now has swirly water and jagged rocks in it. "It can get pretty treacherous in there," Smith says. The commission is mainly concerned about keeping gravel from depositing in front of its intake system, which sucks water from the Rogue via a tube at the bottom of a 12-foot-deep river hole. Keeping strong currents past the intake will regularly scour gravels and keep the hole deep, Smith says. If more water was allowed to bypass that area, gravel would build up. Crews have dug gravel from the area, but that was viewed as short-term help -- in part because the gravel area is available for wild chinook salmon to spawn in fall. Plans are to help stabilize the north bank so the river will not turn farther away from the intake tower, and place smooth rocks in the north channel. That will force more water toward the south end, and scour more of the gravel away to make for a smoother and more straight path for boaters. Also, the smoother rocks in the north chute will make for slower and calmer water for downstream boaters to use for safe, easy passage, Smith says. "What we're trying to do now," Smith says, "is a long-term improvement." (Mark Freeman covers the outdoors for the Mail Tribune. Call him at 541-776-4470.) Outdoor Journal main page Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA