What Happens To Power Grid During Drought, Less Hydro? California Study Looks At Financial, Economic, Environmental Impacts
June 25th, 2020
Drought can mean restrictions for watering the lawn, crop losses for farmers and an increased risk of wildfires. But it can also hit you and your power company in the wallet.
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Though Drought Conditions Persist, Columbia Basin Water Supply Forecast (Dalles Dam Flows) Stands At 107 Percent Of Normal, April-September
June 12th, 2020
Even with heavy May rainfall, most of the Columbia River basin, including the Willamette River basin, is predicted to be at some level of drought – abnormally dry to severe – in the coming months, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.
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With Enough Spring Chinook In Lower Snake Now Passing Little Goose Dam, Idaho Rescinds Spill Change Request
June 12th, 2020
Spring operations at Little Goose Dam on the lower Snake River this last weekend apparently resulted in enough spring chinook passing the dam that Idaho on Monday (June 8) rescinded a request made last week, along with NOAA Fisheries and the Nez Perce Tribe, at the interagency Technical Management Team meeting.
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Spill For Juvenile Fish Migration At Lower Snake Dams Holding Back Adult Spawners Headed For Idaho; River Managers Discuss Possible Operations Change
June 5th, 2020
A proposal aimed at reducing travel time and passing more adult spring chinook salmon on the lower Snake River at Little Goose Dam was “elevated” to a higher task force for a decision this week at the interagency Technical Management Team meeting Wednesday, June 3.
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Columbia River Treaty Update: Ninth Round Of Talks Completed, Exchanges ‘More Focused, Comprehensive’
May 29th, 2020
On March 11 and 12, 2020, the week before COVID-19 international travel restrictions were put into place, Canadian and American negotiators reconvened in Washington, D.C. to continue discussions about a modernized Columbia River Treaty. This was the ninth round of talks since negotiations started in May 2018.
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EPA Releases Temperature Limit Study (TMDL) For Columbia/Snake River; Linked To State Water Quality Permits For Mainstem Dams
May 21st, 2020
After a 20-year wait and a lawsuit that was finally decided in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, a study to determine temperature limits in the Columbia and Snake rivers for the protection of salmon and steelhead was released this week by the Environmental Protection Agency.
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Columbia/Snake White Sturgeon: From Bonneville Dam To The Snake River Each Reservoir Has Own Issues
May 14th, 2020
Fisheries managers say the health of white sturgeon populations in the Columbia River is healthy, but there is a paucity of detailed abundance data from the Snake River, and that each zone – lower Columbia, Bonneville Dam to McNary Dam and the Snake River –has its own issues.
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Corps Coming To End Of Fish-Friendly Construction Improvements At Columbia/Snake Dams, Moving To Operations, Maintenance
May 14th, 2020
Over the past five years, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has been working on a number of structural upgrades at Lower Snake and Columbia river dams, all designed to make passage at the dams safer for salmon and steelhead. Those projects are nearly finished – the last will be new fish friendly turbines at McNary Dam in 2025 followed by new turbines at John Day Dam – and the Corps now plans to concentrate on operational improvements at the dams, while ending the more expensive construction.
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Libby Dam Flows Set To Increase To Encourage Spawning Of Kootenai River White Sturgeon
May 14th, 2020
Flows from Libby Dam in Montana designed to encourage white sturgeon movement and spawning in the Kootenai River will likely begin May 21, depending on water supply.