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Please circulate the following Public Notice from ESRD regarding Harvie Passage to your fellow boaters as soon as possible via email, blogs, forums, etc.
For your information, we (the project team) inspected the site yesterday and have serious concerns with the highly-retentive hole that has formed at HWC Drop #4 (commonly referred to as "Tatanka"). This same level of hazard was not present when we expected the site a month ago (at higher flow). As some of you are aware, the flow now plunges off the drop exit into the receiving pool at Drop #4 at the current river discharge, which creates a hazard similar to the "drowning machine" of the weir prior to the creation of Harvie Passage. This extreme hazard is occurring due to reduced tailwater levels within the pool immediately downstream of Drop #4, which are a result of significant scour/erosion of the reach downstream of Cushing Bridge (17 Ave SE).
Mitigative measures at Harvie Passage will be taken as soon as possible. In the meantime, I implore you to spread the word to all boaters - regardless of skill level and experience - to stay off the river until the site re-opens.
