Willamette River, Oreg.; use, administration, and navigation of canal and locks at Willamette Falls, Oreg.
33 C.F.R. § 207.680
in effectEffective: 2024-07-01(a) Administration—(1) Administrative jurisdiction. The canal and locks and all appurtenances shall be in the charge of the District Engineer, Portland District, Corps of Engineers, Department of the Army, 319 S.W. Pine Street, Portland, Oregon 97208. The representative of the District Engineer at the locality shall be the lockmaster, who shall receive his orders and instructions from the district engineer. In case of emergency, however, the lockmaster shall have authority to take such steps as may be immediately necessary without waiting for instruction from the district engineer.
(2) Operational jurisdiction. The lock master shall be charged with the immediate control and management of the canal and locks and the grounds and public property pertaining thereto. He shall see that all laws, rules and regulations, for the use of the canal and grounds are duly complied with, to which end he is authorized to give all necessary orders and directions in accordance therewith, both to employees of the Government and to any and every person within the limits of the canal and locks or grounds pertaining thereto, whether navigating the canal or not. In case of the absence or disability of the lock master, his duty shall be performed by an assistant or other employee to be designated by the District Engineer.
(b) Use and navigation—(1) Authority of lock master. The lock master or his assistants shall direct the movement, operation, and moorage of all vessels, boats, rafts, barges, or other floating things using the locks, while they are in the locks, the canal basin, or in either the upstream or downstream lock approaches. Crews of vessels, boats, rafts, barges, or other floating things seeking lockage shall render such assistance as the lock master or his assistants may require.
(2) Signals. All vessels desiring lockage shall signal the same by one long and one short blast of the whistle, delivered at a distance of approximately 1,000 feet from the locks. Requests for lockage may also be made by contacting the lockmaster on VHF-FM radio on channel 14, at WUJ 363, Willamette Falls Locks or by telephone or otherwise notifying the lockmaster's office. Notice to vessels desiring lockage will be given by red and green traffic lights. Vessels may enter locks on green lights, but must await green signal when lights are red. Permission to leave the lock will be given in the same manner. In the event a failure occurs and the referenced lights cannot be operated, the lockmaster will indicate by voice or by hand or lantern signals when vessels may enter or leave the locks.
(3) Controlling dimensions. For lockage purposes the maximum length of space available is 175 feet and the maximum clear width available is 37 feet. All vessels, boats, rafts, barges, or other floating things of less size than the foregoing dimensions can pass through the locks. The controlling water depth over the intermediate miter sills throughout the locks is 6.5 feet. However, the depth on the sill of the upstream gate at low water is 7.5 feet and over the downstream sill is 8.4 feet. The elevation of the upstream sill is 43.7 feet and of the downstream sill is −6.4 feet, corresponding to the elevations shown on the gages provided at both the downstream and upstream approaches to the locks. All vessels, boats, rafts, barges, and other floating things of which the dimensions or draft are greater than will permit clearing any of the above indicated elevations shall be prohibited from entering the locks. All vessels, boats, rafts, barges or other floating things entering the locks in violation of the above shall be responsible for all resulting damages.
(4) Precedence at locks. Ordinarily the vessel, boat, raft, barge, or other floating thing arriving first at the lock will be locked through first. In the event of a simultaneous approach from opposite directions ascending craft will ordinarily be locked through first. When several boats are to be passed through the locks, the order of precedence shall be as follows:
(i) To boats owned by the United States or employed upon river and harbor improvement work.
(ii) To passenger boats.
(iii) To freight and tow boats.
(iv) To rafts.
(v) To small vessels and pleasure craft.
(5) Entrance to locks. The lock master shall decide whether one or more vessels may be locked through at the same time. No one shall attempt to enter the locks with a vessel or attempt to cause a vessel to enter the locks until he is authorized by the lock master to do so. No one shall take a vessel, or cause a vessel to be taken, within the limits of 500 feet above the upper gate and 300 feet below the lower gate, except for the purpose of entering the locks; and not for this purpose until it has been indicated to him by a proper person by signal that the lock is ready to receive the vessel. All vessels within the foregoing limits must be operated under “slow bell” and be kept constantly under control.
(6) Lockage of small boats. Pleasure boats, skiffs, fishing boats, and other small craft may be passed through the locks singularly, in groups, or as part of a lockage of other than pleasure craft. A continual flow of traffic in one direction will not be interrupted or reversed to accommodate these small pleasure boats. However, any such small boat will be accommodated at such time as the lock master upon receipt of a request for lockage deems such action will not interfere with other traffic. The decision of the lock master shall be final as to whether craft requesting lockage is defined as a pleasure boat.
(7) Use of canal locks. No person, unless authorized by the lockmaster or his assistants, shall open or close any bridge, lock gate, wicket gate, or operate any lock machinery, or in any way interfere with any mechanism or appliance connected with the operation of the locks, nor shall anyone interfere with the employees in the discharge of their duties. The lockmaster or his assistants may call for aid from the persons in charge of any craft, vessel, or raft using the lock should such aid be necessary. Persons rendering such assistance shall be strictly under the orders of the lockmaster. The Government reserves the right to refuse lockage to any vessel, craft or raft when the persons in charge thereof refuse to give such assistance when it is requested. The persons in charge of vessels with tows or rafts, barges and other craft must provide sufficient personnel, lines and towing equipment of sufficient power to insure at all times full control of such tows, rafts, barges and other craft while moving into and through the locks, unless otherwise prearranged with the lockmaster. A copy of these regulations shall be kept on board each vessel regularly engaged in navigating the locks. Copies may be obtained without charge from the lockmaster or from the District Engineer, Corps of Engineers, Department of the Army, 319 S.W. Pine Street, Post Office Box 2946, Portland, Oregon 97208.
(8) Petroleum vessels. All tankers, barges, and other floating equipment, used for transporting inflammable liquids, either with or without cargo, shall be equipped with fixed timber fenders and, if not so equipped, shall have aboard an adequate number of suitable fenders of timber, rubber, or rope which are to be placed between the vessel and unfendered lock structures. All such barges or other vessels navigating without power within the canal or locks must be assisted by one or more tugs of sufficient power to insure full control at all times whether passing upstream or downstream through the locks with or without cargo.
(9) Mooring in locks. All boats, barges, rafts, and other craft when in the locks shall be moored by head and spring lines and such other lines as may be necessary to the fastenings provided for that purpose; and the lines shall not be unloosed until the signal is given for the vessel to leave the lock.
(10) Mooring while waiting for lockage. The mooring of boats, tows or other craft in the approaches to the locks where such mooring will interfere with navigation or other vessels to or from the locks is prohibited.
(11) Delays. Boats, barges, rafts, or other craft must not obstruct navigation by unnecessary delay in entering or leaving the locks. Vessels failing to enter the locks with reasonable promptness, when signaled to do so, and vessels arriving at the locks with their tows in such shape so as to impede lockage shall forfeit their turn.
(12) Landing of freight. No freight or baggage shall be unloaded on or over the walls of the canal or locks. Freight and baggage consigned to the Willamette Falls locks shall be unloaded only at such places as may be provided for this purpose or as directed by the lock master.
(13) Refuse in canal or locks. No refuse or other material shall be thrown or dumped from vessels into the canal and locks, or deposited in the lock area, or placed on the berm of the canal so that it is liable to be thrown or washed into the waterway. Violations of this paragraph (b)(13) shall be subject to sections 13 and 16 of the River and Harbor Act of March 3, 1899 (33 U.S.C. 407, 411).
(14) Damage to locks or other structures. The regulations contained in this section shall not affect the liability of the owners and operators of vessels for any damage caused by their operations to the locks or other structures. Persons in charge of vessels and log rafts passing through the locks must use great care to prevent the vessels or log rafts from striking any gate or appurtenance thereto. All boats or barges with metal nosings, or projecting irons, or rough surfaces, and log rafts with dragging cables that may damage any part of the lock structures will not be permitted to enter the locks unless said craft are provided with suitable protective buffers and fenders and log rafts are free of loose, dragging cables.
(c) [Reserved]
(d) Trespass. No one shall trespass on the grounds or buildings, and everyone shall be deemed guilty of trespass within the meaning of this paragraph who shall willfully or carelessly damage or disfigure the canal and locks or any part thereof, or any building or appliance on the grounds, or who shall carry on business or trading of any sort, or shall build any fishing stand or lead, or set any fish net within the limits of the reservation, or do any act to or on the grounds or buildings which would be recognized by law as a trespass.
(e) Definitions. Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (b)(6) of this section, whenever such a word as “vessel”, “boat”, “barge”, “raft”, or the like is used in this section, it shall include all types of floating things which may be subject to lockage. Failure to refer specifically to a type of floating thing by its name shall not mean exclusion thereof from applicability of this section.
Source: eCFRURL: https://www.ecfr.gov/api/versioner/v1/full/2024-07-01/title-33.xmlFetched: 7/26/2026