U.S. and Canada begin talks on Columbia River Treaty update

Canadian negotiators are resisting U.S. attempts to increase the amount of water released into a major waterway that flows through British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest.

“We have to make sure we’re paying attention to our side of the border and the issues around maintaining certain levels of water in the river,” said Katrine Conroy, the B.C. cabinet minister who’s monitoring talks that began this week in Washington, D.C., on updating the Columbia River Treaty.

The two countries signed the treaty in 1964, but its flood control measures expire in six years and the United States has asked for talks to modernize its provisions. The Americans want to add environmental measures.

That would mean being able to request more water from Canadian reservoirs to improve salmon habitat in the U.S. reaches of the Columbia.

“We seek greater co-ordination with Canada on the appropriate quantity and timing of water releases to help support a healthy ecosystem,” said a senior U.S. official.

Canada would love to see salmon return to the heavily dammed Columbia, said Conroy. But it has concerns about sending more water south.

Conroy points out the reason there are no salmon in the Columbia is that the Grand Coulee dam in Washington blocks the fish from moving upstream.

The water issue stems from U.S. environmental legislation that requires American authorities to improve the river’s environmental quality and salmon habitat, said Bruce Maclock, a consultant who’s with a science advisory group not affiliated with either government.