Little Goose Lock and Dam Tour

WAITSBURG - Justin Stegall is the Operations Project Manager at Little Goose Lock and Dam. On Saturday, March 15, Stegall, a Waitsburg Lions Club member, invited fellow club members and their families to tour the dam.

Little Goose Lock and Dam is one of four dams authorized in the River and Harbors Act of 1945. The dam's construction started in 1963 and had three turbines operational by 1970, adding three more in 1978. The dam is 2,655 feet long with a height of 149 feet.

Stegall started the tour with a slide show presentation. He spoke about the dam's history, navigation lock, hydropower, recreation, and fish ladder. 

After the slide show, the group took a tour of the generators, spillway gates, and the fish screens on top of the dam and finished at the fish viewing room.

Taking turns to ride the elevator to the top of the dam, someone asked if there were stairs. Stegall said there were, but it is like climbing eighteen floors. That was a lot of steps, so everyone took the elevator.

"I thought it was great to have the Waitsburg Lions Club members and their families out for the tour and to share information on the dam's benefits of navigation, hydropower, and environmental stewardship," said Stegall. "It was a very enjoyable morning for team building and an opportunity to get to know everyone a little better."

Stegall is a knowledgeable tour guide. It was interesting to see the dam's structure as he explained the working parts.

At the time of the tour, the dam's navigation lock was on an annual lock outage for inspection and maintenance. The lock outage is coordinated with the other dams on the Snake River.

For more information or to arrange for a tour of the Little Goose or other USACE dams, call the Walla Walla District Public Relations office at (509) 527-7020.