Detroit Lake could use some good news.
After three summers impacted by drought and wildfire — not to mention a disruptive project looming on the horizon — the tourist town east of Salem could use a normal, motorboat-filled season.
And this week, Mother Nature delivered.
The recent deluge of rain brought the lake up to 1,549 feet above sea level, right where it should be this time of year.
Even with snowpack below normal, the heavy dose of spring rain should allow “a pretty good recreation year,” said Erik Petersen, operations project manager for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Willamette Basin system.
“We’re expecting the reservoir to fill, and we’re expecting all the facilities to remain useable through the summer months,” Petersen said. “We still need continued showers, but at this point, I’d say we’re optimistic.”
That outlook is a welcome development for an area that’s seemed snake-bit the past few years.
Detroit Lake was plagued by drought in 2015, when the reservoir hit its lowest summertime level in history, and in 2016, when it never completely filled.
Last year, the lake was full and in excellent shape, only to have multiple wildfires foul the air and torpedo an expected tourism boon from the total solar eclipse.
In a normal summer, the 11-mile long reservoir lures over 300,000 people to its campgrounds, marinas, and restaurants to fish, hike and camp.
“Last year tourism took a big dip in our prime season,” said Elaine DeGeorge, owner of the Lodge at Detroit Lake. “All of the local business owners felt it.”
DeGeorge said hopes are high for a big rebound season, beginning with the Detroit Lake Fishing Derby May 18 to 20.
“We look forward to seeing the visitors return and to make some memories at our beloved lake," she said.
A good season at the lake should also provide a distraction from the elephant in the room — a massive project that could drain the lake for one or two years around 2021.
The Corps released plans in December to build a 300-foot tower and floating screen at Detroit Dam to improve water temperature and fish passage for salmon and steelhead in the North Santiam River.
But the $100- to $250-million project sparked alarm over its potential impact to water supply in Salem and Stayton, for farmland irrigation, and to the economies of Detroit and the Santiam Canyon from the loss of recreation at the popular reservoir.
The Corps is currently in the earliest phase of this project, and multiple years of planning remain before a final decision and plans around 2020.
In the meantime, business owners are focusing on a good summer of 2018.
"With each passing day, we get more and more excited as we watch the water levels rise,” said Dean O’Donnell, president of Detroit Lake Recreational Area Business Association. “We have many fun events planned throughout the spring and summer to entice people to get up and enjoy the lake and surrounding area.”
Upcoming events at Detroit Lake:
Kokonee Derby: April 28
Detroit Lake Fishing Derby: May 18 - 20
Fireworks Over the Lake: July 7
Detroit Lake Water Ski Show: July 27
Zach Urness has been an outdoors writer, photographer and videographer in Oregon for 10 years. He loves camping, hiking, fishing and boating at Detroit Lake with his family. He can be reached at zurness@StatesmanJournal.com or (503) 399-6801. Find him on Twitter at @ZachsORoutdoors.