The U.S. has paused negotiations with British Columbia on a modernized Columbia River Treaty that was nearly complete after both the U.S. and Canada reached an Agreement in Principle in 2024.
Canada will store several million-acre-feet of water that can be used in 2025 and for the next 20 years to help prevent floods in the Columbia River basin downstream in the United States, according to a virtual briefing earlier this month by federal dam operators on the Columbia River Treaty Agreement in Principle’s flood risk management protections.
In a Columbia River Treaty “Agreement in Principle” with the United States, Canada will set aside 4-million-acre-feet of water each year that in the past has been used for power production. This water stored behind Canadian dams instead will be used to promote ecosystem functions and socio-economic and cultural values of British Columbia and its First Nations, according to an information session by B.C. Treaty negotiators last week.
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