The new White Salmon sandbar

moondog · Thu Nov 10, 11 6:26 pm **The new White Salmon sandbar**

Kayaked up the WS today from the Columbia. Do you want the good news or the bad news first? If your are a Native American, your in lieu access is unusable. If you are a salmon fisherman your WS pool is now a huge sandbar for a half a mile upstream. There is a prodigious quantity of sediment that has filled in the pool North of the bridge. Water depth used to be 20 ft. It is now 0-3 ft. If you are a kiteboarder their is a sandbar forming South of the bridge on both sides, favoring the west side. The fishing bench on the west side used to be 20 ft deep next to the wall. It is now 3 inches.
I paddled across the entire mouth checking depths on the south side of the bridge and found water depths ranging from 3 inches to 3 feet. It was normally 20-30 ft.
When the winter rains show up, everything could change. One thing is for sure, it is a very fluid situation with changes every day. Pun Intended!!!! I forecast a small sandbar on the west side of the bridge next spring extending out about 50 yards, because of the east eddy in the area. This is a major event, every day I go explore there are either scientist or reporters on the scene!!!

kitezilla · Since 22 Jun 2006 453 Posts gorge Obsessed

Thanks for the report.

The depth of the water around the old pilings at the bottom of what used to be an old access road, ending about a hundred yards west of the mouth of the WS river... was always quite shallow.

My question is: "Did a lot of the silt pile up around those old pilings?"

wylieflyote · Fri Nov 11, 11 7:15 am

And my question for you hydrologists is: Any thoughts on whether the added silt and change in depth at the bridge will cause for better swell sets on the Columbia River? Or maybe higher flow rates from the White Salmon will create bigger swell in our playground?

nickdward · Since 11 Aug 2008 130 Posts Seattle Stoked

Yes Kip, I'd say the swell near White Salmon will be 157% better next summer.

Pepi · Fri Nov 11, 11 10:35 am

kitezilla · Since 22 Jun 2006 453 Posts gorge Obsessed

The same place, from which, this picture was taken, would be a good place to start taking pictures... every month or two for the next few years. We would have a reference for comparison of any growth from deposits from the WS.

While we are making bets and hypothesis on the changes which may occur...here's one:

No significant sandbar will form at the mouth of the WS river until some MASSIVE floods occur, which will drive not just sand and gravel and silt down the WS river, but wil drive BOLDERS down the WS river, out into the Columbia. The bolders will then form a foundation on which to eddy out the sand, and on which the sand can accumulate and build. Until the bolder "groin" forms, the Columbia will just wash away any sand and silt that gets washed down the WS river.

It would be interesting to know how much of the sand in the picture, is still there under the water of the Columbia.

moondog · Fri Nov 11, 11 2:42 pm

Senor Kitezilla, where did you find the photo? I know the present owners of old Eyrie Resort so I could take photos when necessary.

kitezilla · Since 22 Jun 2006 453 Posts gorge Obsessed

apctjb · Since 19 Aug 2007 427 Posts Obsessed

Cool photo; would love to get a higher res copy.

What fun that sandbar would be for those of us in Underwood...

moondog · Fri Nov 11, 11 4:07 pm

It might be in the Bingen museum, they have many old photos hanging like a book on the south wall. Yesterday Channel 2 news was at the WS pool interviewing someone from Pacificorp with numerous irate fishermen milling around saying what a disaster this turned out to be. Patience, it has only 2 weeks and no rain!!!

4Stringer/KipWinger · Since 27 Apr 2005 541 Posts Hood River Addicted

As has been said already, it's going to be very interesting to watch the mouth of the White Salmon through winter and into spring. Here's what it looked like on Sunday, 11/13/11. Sandbar is definitely forming, whether is stays or not is difficult to say. But I'll go out on a limb and say that the White Salmon sandbar is gonna stick around. That's to say, Monkeyboy is going to be dead wrong. We'll see. Perhaps some beer oughta' be riding on this call.

Justsmile · Since 20 Jul 2009 1523 Posts Not Portland XTreme Poster

awesome, keep it growing!!! please mutha nature, please!!!!!

kitezilla · Since 22 Jun 2006 453 Posts gorge Obsessed

My hope was that the silt would eddy out in the 3 little bays between the Hatchery launch and the fish hatchery buildings... and thereby make a perfect place to get out of the wind shadow, for launching a kite. Any sign of anything happening in any of those bays? If so, can someone take pictures?

Here's a thought: If a real nice sandbar (delta) forms at the mouth of the WS river, then, kiters and fishermen might have some real conflicts, fighting over parking spaces up against the tracks, not to mention what would happen out on the sand bar, so it might be better if a shallow water, submerged sandbar is all that forms. That way, the more devoted kiters could do a shallow water launch (ghost launch, drift launch, etc.)... and the fishermen probably won't want to go out on the sandbar and stand in shallow, wavy water. It looks like a kiter could do a shallow water kite launch, right now, from the picture.

moondog · Mon Nov 14, 11 8:37 am

The sediment is very unstable right now. When I kayaked out there last week my paddle would sink into the sand 6-12 inches! The main channel of the upper river is mostly down to bedrock now, but the constant calving of sediment from the sides especially from the rain we got this weekend will continue to keep sediment coming down all winter. If these crazy 5-45 knots winds diminish, I will kayak down to the hatchery area soon.

moondog · Mon Nov 14, 11 8:48 am

This is my favorite website so far, they should be updating all big changes and challenges for the next year.

http://whitesalmontimelapse.wordpress.com/

sirmichaelo · Since 26 Mar 2010 353 Posts Maui Obsessed

Great video link!!

I should have that warning horn installed in my bathroom. Would be great after a morning cup of coffee.

pkh · Since 27 Feb 2005 6548 Posts Couve / Hood Site Lackey