The Port of Vancouver in January granted the Port of Portland maintenance access to a tidal gauging station on Port property. The station, part of a six-unit system that spans from Vancouver to Astoria, is being upgraded as part of an agreement between the Port of Portland and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Installed in 1984 in order to forecast water levels to help ships navigate the changing waters of the Columbia River, the old system was mechanical, relying on a sort of "float bowl" technology. The new system, manufactured by Sterling, Va.-based Sutron Corp., uses an electronic pressure sensor to get a more accurate read of the water level. The new sensors – at a cost of $25,000 each, which the Portland port will pay – send data to satellites every six minutes, providing real time information to ships through a system known as Load Max, for its function in allowing pilots to maximize the cargo load they can bring into port.
"(The system) has allowed pilots to better do their jobs," said Port of Portland Marine Planning and Development Manager Sebastian Degens. "Hardly a week goes by that we don’t have vessels drafting 39 and 40 feet navigating the 40-foot channel."
Degens said the sheer amount of shipping activity on the river creates the need for constant improvement of tidal navigation systems, and that a partnership between the ports is crucial for this purpose.
"One of our common areas of interest is in navigation," Degens said. "It helps commerce on both sides of the river."
The upgrade began this month and is expected to be complete by the end of February. Two of the six stations have yet to be upgraded. One is located at Saint Helens and the other at the Port of Vancouver. The Vancouver station is currently not operational, as the old system was taken off line and not brought back up in anticipation of the upgrade. Degens said the absence of the Vancouver site in the interim is not a danger.
"There’s an auxiliary station operational under the Interstate 5 Bridge," he said. "It’s just one of several tools the pilots have."
— Neil Zawicki
