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By Jennifer Yachnin
10/10/2024

Farmers, cities and other users that tap the Lower Snake River for their water supplies could still rely on the waterway even if hydropower dams are breached and their reservoirs drained, given that the river's flow “far exceeds” existing demands, according to preliminary research.

The Bureau of Reclamation and the Washington State Department of Ecology shared their findings Wednesday in a public preview of their ongoing “Lower Snake River Water Supply Replacement Study" on current water supply needs and use in the region.

The study is being conducted as a result of the $1 billion settlement agreement the Biden administration struck late last year in a long-running federal lawsuit over hydropower operations on the Snake and Columbia rivers. The federal government is looking at how to restore fish populations in the Pacific Northwest, which dramatically declined after the construction of dams.

“All indications are that the availability of water in the Lower Snake River far exceeds existing demands,” said Devin Stoker with the Jacobs Engineering Group, which is contracted to conduct the study along with state and federal officials.

“We're still refining numbers and turning some knobs on some models, but that's roughly an order of magnitude higher than the sum of the existing authorized water uses in our study area,” Stoker said. “At a regional scale, the water supply question really becomes one that isn't, ‘Is there enough water?’ but ‘Is there enough infrastructure in place to continue to put it to good use?’”

The study, which is set to be released in a draft form at the end of the year, will also contemplate options for water delivery, including new pipelines or pumps to serve existing users, as well as a potential pumped storage reservoir, an option that would also supply hydropower.

“Our solutions that we're developing designs around do not involve importing or bringing water in from another source,” added Perrin Robinson, who is with Jacobs Engineering. “One of our overarching goals in developing these conceptual designs and these solutions is to have a design that could be built, constructed and be operationally ready Day 1 for any potential breaching of the dam.”

Although only Congress can order the breaching of the dams — something GOP lawmakers have vigorously opposed — state and federal officials are moving ahead with studies on how energy production, river transportation and irrigation needs could be carried out if the Ice Harbor, Lower Monumental, Little Goose and Lower Granite dams are ultimately removed.

Tribal nations with rights to access and use the rivers assert that the dams should be removed to help restore salmon and steelhead populations.

E&E: Lower Snake River flows sufficient even without dams, research finds

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