The Columbia River Treaty
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The Columbia River Treaty John Shurts General Counsel Northwest Power and Conservation Council Portland, Oregon CREW May 2014 Northwest Power and slide 1 Conservation Council Columbia River Treaty (1961/64) 15 maf of storage in Canada (Mica, Duncan, Keenleyside/Arrow) Downstream flood control and power generation benefits Sharing of downstream benefits – incl. Canadian Entitlement to ½ of downstream Northwest Power and Conservation power benefits Council Columbia River Treaty (cont’d) US authorized to build Libby Dam on Kootenai River – no sharing of benefits – operations coordinated Entities designated to implement Treaty are BC Hydro in BC; Bonneville Admin and Corps Div Commander Northwest in US Power and Conservation Council Canadian Outflows for Power and Flood Control on Planning Basis Arrow+Duncan Treaty Outflows (60-yr Avg.) 140000 120000 Unregulated 100000 04AOP Regulated 80000 60000 40000 20000 Arrow+Duncan Outflow in cfs in Outflow Arrow+Duncan 0 SEP FEB JAN DEC OCT NOV MAR MAY JULY NorthwestJUNE 15-Apr 30-Apr 31-Aug 15-Aug Power and slide 5 Conservation Council Columbia River: average regulated flows average flows at The Dalles -- natural and regulated 500000 400000 Natural Regulated 300000 200000 Cubic Feet per SecondFeet Cubic per 100000 0 Northwest Power and slide 6 Conservation Council Bonneville Dam 1948 Northwest Power and 1996 Conservation Council Kinbasket Lake (Mica Dam) slide 9 AVERAGE ANNUAL RUNOFF AND USABLE RESERVOIR STORAGE MAJOR WESTERN RIVER BASINS 250 240 230 220 210 200 190 180 170 160 Average Annual Runoff 150 Usable Reservoir Storage 140 130 120 110 100 90 MILLIONS OF ACRE FEETACRE MILLIONS OF 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Columbia Colorado Missouri Northwest RIVER BASINS Power and Conservation Council Northwest Power and Conservation Council U . S . A r m y C o r p s of E n g i n e e r s – B o n n e v i l l e P o w e r Administration 2014/2024 Review Columbia River Treaty Sovereign Review Team/Technical Review: United States agencies: (Bonneville, USACE, NMFS, USFWS, BOR, BLM, EPA, USFS, USGS, BIA, NPS) States: Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana Northwest Indian Tribes: 5 representatives of 15 tribes (CRITFC, UCUT, USRT, Cowlitz, CSKT) Northwest Stakeholders and Public Engagement regional listening sessions; listening sessions directly between SRT/STT and regional stakeholders and technical experts; public open houses Northwest Power and Conservation Council Swaq̓mu Salmon at Brisco, BC, 1910s Courtesy Ede Family Collection River Flow at The Dalles Dam (Averaged over all Water Conditions) 500 450 Natural 400 Regulated Pre-1980 350 Regulated Today 300 250 200 Flow (Kcfs) 150 100 50 0 Jul Oct Apr Jan Mar Feb Jun Sep Dec Nov May Aug Average Regulated Outflows at The Dalles Dam Current Treaty 450 FC No Treaty 450 FC Treaty 600 FC 17 Average Regulated Outflows at The Dalles Dam Norm Norm Current Summer Dry Year flows Elev. 18 Kootenai River – “meander reach” downstream of Bonners Ferry, Idaho slide 19 I’d like to see them come back. Kootenai Chief Martin Morigeau 1964 .