Dam breaching is not the answer
Several national and regional interest groups advocate breaching
the four Snake River dams. The facts are that the region has made
significant investments in improving the hydro system and those
investments have worked.
The region’s
investments have
paid off in
increased survival
and adult fish
returns.
Fish returns are the highest on
record
Adult salmon returns past Bonneville
dam for each of the years 2001-2004
were the highest on record since counts
began in 1938. Adult returns were down
in 2005, yet, at over one million fish,
they were the second highest on record
prior to the dramatic increase in 2001.
Put another way, the salmon returns
over the last five years were the first,
second, third, fourth and sixth highest
ever recorded past Bonneville Dam.
Returning Adult Salmon and Steelhead Counted
at Bonneville Dam 1938-2004
2,500,000
2,000,000
1,500,000
1,000,000
500,000
0
Data Source: US Army Corps of Engineers
Juvenile survival through the
system is higher than ever
Dam breach advocates have said that
the decline in juvenile fish survival in the
1970s was due to the building of the
Snake River dams. Improvements at the
dams have increased survival three-fold
since the seventies. Survival today is as
high, or higher, than it was in the 1960s,
before the last four dams were built.
Breaching Dams won’t help the fish
Twenty six runs from the Canadian Border to California are listed as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act. Only four pass through the Snake River dams. Many of the others
are from watersheds without any dams at all. It is simply not credible to claim that taking out the
dams will solve the endangered fish problem in the Northwest.
.
www.pnwa.net
Breaching dams is bad for the environment
Breaching dams eliminates hydropower and barge navigation. Hydropower does not pollute the air. It has no emissions and
does not contribute to climate change. Navigation is the least polluting mode of transportation. According to the Environmental
Protection Agency, per ton-mile, barges consume less fuel (only 40% of rail and 11% of truck) and produce significantly fewer
emissions (1/4 the emissions of rail, 1/10 the emissions of trucks). Breaching dams would put hundreds of thousands more
trucks on the highway through the Columbia Gorge and on the streets of Portland and Vancouver.
Breaching dams is bad for the economy
Breaching the dams puts the entire Northwest economy in jeopardy. Hydropower fuels the factories, powers the high tech companies, lights the businesses, and heats the homes of the Pacific Northwest. The four Snake River dams produce an average of
nearly 1,200 megawatts each year. According to the Northwest Power and Conservation Council, it would take 2 nuclear, 3 coalfired, or 6 gas-fired power plants to replace their average annual power production. The four dams’ peak capacity, which is
needed to meet demand in extreme events, is nearly 3,500 megawatts. Wind and conservation cannot be used to meet peak
demand. It would take 3 nuclear, 6 coal-fired, or 14 gas fired power plants to provide the peaking capacity of the four Snake
River dams. Breaching the dams would require the region to build new fossil fuel or nuclear power plants and dramatically increase the cost of power to all consumers.
Not only would hydropower be at stake, but so would navigation. Columbia River navigation supports $15 billion in international
trade. The river is one of the largest export gateways in the United States, ranking # 1 in the U.S for wheat and barley, and # 1
on the West Coast for mineral bulks, forest products, and paper products. It accounts for over 40,000 jobs in the Portland metropolitan area alone. Half the grain and 25% of the container exports from the Columbia River arrive by barge.
Processed Grains
1%
The Columbia Snake River System is:
Metal Products 1%
Vegetable Products
1%
Other 6%
Waste Materials 1%
#1 U.S. wheat export gateway
Paper Products 1%
#1 U.S. barley export gateway
Fertilizers 2%
#1 West Coast paper and
paper products exports
Rye, Barley, Rice, etc.
2%
Wood Products 7%
#1 West Coast mineral bulk exports
Fuel Oil, Other Oils
8%
Wheat 56%
Containers and autos serve 43 states
Petroleum
Production 14%
Columbia River Traffic
Breaching dams is extreme and risky for fish, for the environment and for the economy
In 1992, the Corps of Engineers conducted a drawdown test of the Lower Granite Reservoir on the Snake River below Lewiston. It killed fish; it destroyed property; it eliminated hydropower production at Lower Granite Dam; it ended navigation to the
Ports of Clarkston and Wilma, Washington and Lewiston, Idaho.
This is what dam breaching or
drawdown looks like. From the
1992 Snake River drawdown test.
www.pnwa.net