Scientists Develop Tool To Predict Dam Removal Costs; Up To 32,000 U.S. Dams May Be Removed By 2050
July 27th, 2023
Scientists analyzed more than 650 dam removal projects over 55 years in the United States totaling $1.52 billion inflation-adjusted dollars to develop a tool to better estimate the cost of future dam removals.
Read the full article...
Become a Member and get unlimited access to all articles.
Droughts In Western States Driving Up Emissions When Utilities Forced To Switch From Hydro To Fossil Fuels, Has Cost Billions Past 20 Years
July 27th, 2023
When drought-stricken rivers and reservoirs run low across the American West, hydropower dries up and utilities fire up hundreds of power plants that burn coal, oil, or natural gas to keep up with demand for electricity. The timing couldn’t be worse, as accompanying heat waves drive up energy use, often to power air conditioners.
Read the full article...
Become a Member and get unlimited access to all articles.
Alaska Fastest Warming State; DOE Looking At Whether Pumped Storage Hydropower Will Reduce Emissions By Backing Up Renewables
July 27th, 2023
Alaska is warming faster than any other state. Pumped storage hydropower has the potential to integrate more wind and solar into the energy grid to reduce the carbon dioxide emissions driving climate change in the state.
Read the full article...
Become a Member and get unlimited access to all articles.
PNWA Report Says Research On Delayed Mortality Effects Of Lower Snake River Dams On Salmon, Steelhead Inconclusive
July 13th, 2023
Do the effects of juvenile salmon and steelhead passage through the four lower Snake River dams carry over into later life stages, contributing to high mortality in the ocean and far too low smolt-to-adult returns to the Snake River basin? In other words, does the stress of dam passage lead to delayed mortality?
Read the full article...
Become a Member and get unlimited access to all articles.
NW House Republicans Hold Field Hearing On Lower Snake Dams Titled ‘The Northwest At Risk’
June 29th, 2023
Republican U.S. Rep. Cliff Bentz, chairman of the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife, and Fisheries, held a field hearing Monday in Richland, Washington titled “The Northwest at risk: the environmentalist’s effort to destroy navigation, transportation, and access to reliable power.”
Read the full article...
Become a Member and get unlimited access to all articles.
Though Water Supply Dropping, Corps Expects To Meet Flow/Refill Targets At Libby Dam For ESA Sturgeon, Bull Trout
June 29th, 2023
Even with a declining water supply forecast, Lake Koocanusa that backs up behind Libby Dam is still slowly refilling and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is near certain it will reach a refill target by September required by a sturgeon-bull trout biological opinion, according to the Corps’ Leon Basdekas.
Read the full article...
Become a Member and get unlimited access to all articles.
Columbia Basin Snowpack, Water Supply Take A Hit With May’s Warm, Dry Weather; Not Much Relief Expected For June
June 8th, 2023
Record average temperatures across the Columbia River basin, with little to no rain in the western and northern areas of the basin in May, are leaving the region dry with a smaller snowpack than average and declining water supply at the beginning of June.
Read the full article...
Become a Member and get unlimited access to all articles.
Once Again, Federal ‘Listening Session’ On Columbia Basin Salmon Recovery Focuses On Breaching Lower Snake Dams
June 1st, 2023
Representatives of Columbia and Snake river ports and grain shippers, as well as Oregon, Idaho and Washington public utilities, lined up to oppose breaching the four lower Snake River dams last week in the fourth and, perhaps, the last listening session sponsored by the White House Council on Environmental Quality.
Read the full article...
Become a Member and get unlimited access to all articles.
Yakama Nation Reintroduction Programs Bringing Once Extinct Coho Salmon Back To Upper Columbia River Tributaries
May 26th, 2023
Once extirpated, coho salmon are making a rebound in two upper Columbia River tributaries. It’s taken nearly 25 years, but the year 2021 saw a record run in the Wenatchee and Methow rivers, a result of reintroduction work in the two basins by the Yakama Nation to bring the salmon back.