I. INTRODUCTION

Welcome to Save Our wild Salmon’s Hot Water Report 2021. During the summer, this weekly report will provide an update on real-time water temperatures in the lower Snake and Columbia river reservoirs via graphs and analyses, a report on the highest weekly water temperature at the forebay/reservoir of each dam, and the status of adult returns for the different salmon and steelhead populations as they make their way back to their natal spawning grounds. We’ll share information from scientists, fishers, guides, advocates, and other experts about the challenges facing the Columbia and Snake rivers - and opportunities we have to restore healthy rivers and to recover abundant fish populations and the many benefits they deliver to the Northwest’s culture, economy, and ecology.

The once-abundant anadromous native fish populations that call the Columbia-Snake River Basin home are struggling to survive primarily due to multiple harmful effects caused by the system of federal dams and their reservoirs. The federal hydro-system creates conditions that harm and kill both juvenile and adult fish, including by elevating water temperatures in the large, stagnant reservoirs, especially in the summer months. As cold water species, these salmon and steelhead begin to suffer harmful effects when water temperatures exceed 68° Fahrenheit. The longer and higher temperatures rise above 68°F, the greater the harm, including disruption in their migration, increased metabolism, increased susceptibility to disease, reduced fecundity or reproductive potential (by reducing egg viability), and in the worst case - death.

These harmful hot water episodes above 68 degrees in the Columbia and Snake Rivers are increasing in duration, frequency, and intensity. Our changing climate is making a very bad situation for the Northwest’s iconic fish worse. Our region and nation must take urgent action to lower these high temperatures - or scientists tell us that we will lose these species forever. Restoring a freely flowing lower Snake River by removing its four federal dams is our best and very likely only option for lowering water temperatures in this 140-mile stretch of river in southeast Washington State. Restoring the Snake River is one essential part of what must be a larger regional strategy to protect and rebuild healthy, abundant salmon and steelhead populations in order to benefit other fish and wildlife populations, including critically endangered Southern Resident orcas, to honor tribal rights, and to ensure prosperous communities across the Northwest.

Will you be on the river this summer? Do you have a story or photo you would like to share? Please send them to Martha Campos

The Hot Water Report is a joint project of the Save Our wild Salmon Coalition, Washington Sierra Club, Columbia Riverkeeper, Idaho Rivers United, National Wildlife Federation, Snake River Waterkeeper, Northwest Steelheaders, Defenders of Wildlife, and Endangered Species Coalition.

II. READING THE DATA - Lower Snake and Columbia River Temperatures

The daily mean temperature at the four reservoir forebays (immediately upstream from the dam) in the lower Snake River (above) and the lower Columbia River (below) for 2021 is represented with solid lines and their 10-year average (2011-2021) temperatures with dashed lines of the same color. The dotted line across the graph represents the 68°F “harm threshold” for adult and juvenile fish. Salmon and steelhead begin to suffer harmful effects when water temperatures exceed 68° Fahrenheit. The longer temperatures remain above 68°F and the higher the temperatures rise above 68°F, the more severe the potential effects, including: increased metabolism, increased susceptibility to disease, reduced fecundity or reproductive potential, and/or death.

Water temperatures remain high - and harmful to salmon and steelhead - in the lower Snake and lower Columbia River reservoirs: On the lower Snake River, the Ice Harbor, Lower Monumental, and Little Goose reservoirs have all peaked over the threshold (68 degrees) this week. The Ice Harbor Dam has consistently maintained mean temperatures above 71°F, and with a high mean temperature of 72.32°F on July 18, 2021. The Lower Monumental Dam had high mean temperatures of 71.06°F on July 17, 2021. This week, the Lower Granite reservoir is the only one with water temperatures below the 68°F threshold. Temperatures in Lower Granite’s reservoir in the summer months are typically slightly cooler than the three downstream reservoirs on the lower Snake because the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers traditionally releases cold water from the Dworshak Dam (just upstream into the Clearwater River) in July and August. However, this year, due to the extreme heatwave in the Pacific Northwest, the Army Corps began to release “43-degree Fahrenheit (6-degree Celsius) water from Dworshak Dam on June 22. These releases are continuing in July and are helping to prevent the water temperature from reaching 68 degrees Fahrenheit in the Lower Granite Dam reservoir near Lewiston (ID) and Clarkston (WA). Despite these cold water releases from Dworshak reservoir this summer, all reservoirs downstream from Lower Granite Dam continue to experience temperatures above 68°F. As long as these four dams remain in place, the benefits of Dworshak’s cold flows are limited and serve only as a short-term solution to cooling water behind Lower Granite Dam. EPA models show that a freely flowing lower Snake would carry these cooler waters all the way downstream to its confluence with the Columbia River near the Tri-Cities (WA) (see Issue 2 for more information).

On the lower Columbia River, current reservoir temperatures are above the 10-year averages for this time of the year, and all reservoirs registered temperatures above 69°F. On July 19, 2021, The Dalles Dam had the highest mean temperature of 71.96°F. From July 17 to July 20, the John Day Dam had the second highest mean temperature of 71.60°F.

A note on the lower Snake River Water Temperature Graph: The mean water temperature data from these reports comes from the USGS Current Conditions for Washington State and the 10-year average water temperature data comes from the Fish Passage Center. USGS began recording water temperatures at Ice Harbor and Lower Monumental on June 16, 2021, Little Goose on June 19, 2021, and Lower Granite on June 18, 2021. Although we are not able to compare spring water temperatures to summer water temperatures, we can see June temperatures rising above the 10-year average and all water temperatures in the lower Snake River are above 60°F.

III. WEEKLY HIGH TEMPERATURES: 7/14-7/20

On the lower Snake River this week, the reservoir behind Ice Harbor Dam registered the highest temperature at 73.22°F - significantly above the level that coldwater fish require. Lower Monumental Dam had the second highest temperature at 71.42°F.

On the lower Columbia River, all reservoirs registered high temperatures above 69°F for multiple days. The Dalles Dam had the highest temperature this week at 72.32°F, followed closely by the John Day Dam with a high temperature of 71.96°F.

Temperature data included in these reports come from the USGS Current Conditions for Washington State and the Fish Passage Center. Graphs and tables were assembled by SOS Staff.

IV. Columbia-Snake fish need help! Salmon and fishing groups, State of Oregon and Nez Perce Tribe call on court to help critically endangered salmon and steelhead.

On July 16, 2021, Earthjustice representing the National Wildlife Federation, American Rivers, Idaho Rivers United, Institute for Fisheries Resources, NW Energy Coalition, Northwest Sportfishing Industry Association, Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations, Sierra Club, Columbia Riverkeeper, Idaho Conservation League, and Fly Fishers International as plaintiffs, requested a motion for a preliminary injunction against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to address violations of the Endangered Species Act.¹ The plaintiffs are asking the U.S. District Court in Portland to order the federal dam agencies to implment specific changes (i.e. "injunctive relief") to how the dams are managed and operated starting in 2022 in order to “reduce irreparable harm to, and increase the survival of, Endangered Species Act-listed salmon and steelhead in the Columbia and Snake Rivers.”¹

This latest round of litigation is challenging the Trump Administration’s 2020 Record of Decision for Columbia River dam operations and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ reliance on the 2020 Biological Opinion (Federal Salmon Plan) for the Federal Columbia River Power System.¹ The State of Oregon has also filed a similar motion for injunctive relief and with the support of the Nez Perce Tribe.²

To “reduce irreparable harm” to salmon and steelhead, the plaintiffs are asking the Court to require the Army Corps of Engineers to:

1. increase spring spill for 24 hours per day to the maximum level that meets but does not exceed state water quality standards at the dams on the lower Columbia and lower Snake Rivers, beginning in 2022;
2. restore summer spill at all eight dams to the levels set in prior BiOps (or federal salmon plans)  through August 31st, beginning in 2022;
3. provide continuous 24-hour spill from September 1 to the beginning of the following spring spill season at all eight projects through the operation of at least one spillway weir or other surface passage route, beginning in 2022;
4. operate the four lower Snake River reservoirs at lower levels, (also known as "drawdown" or minimum operating pool elevations) from March 1 through August 31, beginning in 2022; and,
5. develop and submit to the Court by September 1, 2022, an implementation plan to operate the four lower Columbia River reservoirs (above McNary, John Day, The Dalles, and Bonneville dams) at their minimum operating pool elevations from March 1 through June 15, beginning in 2023.”¹

In summary, conservation and fishing plaintiffs seek increased spill starting next spring (2022) to help endangered salmon and steelhead populations navigate the federal dams and reservoirs in the lower Columbia and Snake rivers.² Spill sends water and fish over the tops of dams - rather than through power turbines or dam bypass systems that increase fish mortality. Years of scientific study demonstrate that spill increases the survival of out-migrating juvenile fish, reduces mortality, and leads to increased adult returns in the years that follow.

Similarly, restoring spill during the entire summer migration season will help to “preserve as much of the diversity of summer migrating juveniles as possible, limit harm to them, and increase their resilience in the future.”¹ The voluntary spill from September 1 to the beginning of the following spring spill season will support the migration of late and early juveniles and serve benefits to Endangered Species Act-listed adult steelhead in the Columbia and Snake River basins that otherwise experienced harm by the limited spill.1

The plaintiffs also seek “drawdown” (lowered reservoir levels) to help speed fish migration through reservoirs with hot water temperatures. Science confirms that lowering reservoir levels “increases the speed with which water moves through the reservoirs.”¹ A faster current reduces the amount of time required for juvenile salmon to pass through the reservoirs and can also reduce water temperatures in these reservoirs to some extent, and increases the survival rates for endangered juvenile salmon and steelhead.¹ The faster juvenile salmon and steelhead pass through a reservoir, the greater the chance to avoid predators like bass and pikeminnow, whose populations have increased significantly due to the large warm, stagnant waters created by the dams.

For Snake River fish that must pass through eight dams and reservoirs to get to and from the ocean, spill and the lowered reservoir levels has the potential to significantly increase survival rates. As we have seen, temporary and short-term solutions like the release of “43-degree Fahrenheit (6-degree Celsius) water at Dworshak Dam” has helped to prevent the water temperature from reaching 68 degrees Fahrenheit and higher. Specifically, this week, we have seen consistent temperatures of 66°F - 67°F at the Lower Granite Dam’s reservoir.

Unfortunately, despite the release of cool waters from the Dworshak reservoir, harmful water temperatures have reached the Columbia and Snake Basin, with high water temperatures of 73.04°F at the Little Goose reservoir on June 27th and a high temperature of 72.32°F at the Ice Harbor reservoir on July 10th. This week, on July 18th, the fish experienced another high temperature at the Ice Harbor reservoir of 73.22°F, which hot water temperatures severely impacts the survivability of these fish. Each year, approximately 50-70 percent of young Snake River fish are killed in the dams and reservoirs en route to the Pacific Ocean.

Spill and reservoir drawdown are two methods that help aid the migration of endangered salmon and steelhead and increase their survival in the near-term. However, the best available science strongly supports lower Snake River dam removal as necessary to protect these populations from extinction and restore them to abundance. The plaintiffs view the requested injunction as “an emergency stop-gap measure and not enough alone to prevent extinction.”² A reservoir-free lower Snake River will deliver considerably cooler waters, restored spawning and rearing and migrating habitats - and big benefits to migrating juvenile and adult salmon and steelhead populations that will lead to increased survival and reproductive success.

References:
1. NWF’s Motion For A Preliminary Injunction And Memorandum In Support: National Wildlife Federation, Et Al. v. National Marine Fisheries Service, Et Al.
2. Earthjustice: With Snake River Salmon Facing Deadly Heatwave, Conservation & Fishing Groups Seek More Spill from Dams to Aid Fish (July, 16, 2021)

LINKS TO RECENT NEWS:

• AP News: Lawsuit seeks more spill over Columbia Basin dams for salmon (July 16, 2021)
• Idaho Statesman: If dams go, then what? Saving salmon, power grid means finding answers now, leaders say (July 16, 2021)

 Martha Campos is the Hot Water Report Coordinator with Save Our wild Salmon this summer while she resides on Kizh/Tongva ancestral lands in California. Martha holds a BA from the University of California, Davis in Native American Studies (and two minors: Environmental Policy, Analysis, and Planning and Climate Science and Policy) and is a queer, non-binary person of color with ancestral roots in Mexico.

Issue 7 - August 16th, 2019

Welcome to the Hot Water Report, Week 7. This weekly report during Summer 2019 will present conditions - including water temperatures and status of salmon and steelhead returns - on the lower Snake and Columbia rivers via graphs, analyses, and stories. The harmful effects on struggling fish populations caused by federal dams and their reservoirs is now being exacerbated due to our warming, changing climate.

Each week’s report gives a real-time update on water temperatures in the lower Snake and Columbia River reservoirs, the highest weekly temperature in each reservoir, and the status of adult returns for different species as they make their way back toward their natal spawning grounds. We’ll hear from scientists, tribal fishers, fishing guides, and salmon and river advocates about challenges facing the Columbia and Snake rivers - and the opportunities to improve their health and begin to rebuild healthy, resilient fish populations and the many benefits they deliver to Northwest culture, economy and ecology.

High sustained summer reservoir temperatures are now routine in the basin during the summer months. Salmon and steelhead begin to suffer harmful effects when water temperatures exceed 68° Fahrenheit. The longer temperatures remain above 68° and the farther the temperatures rise above 68°, the greater the harm, including increased energy expenditure, increased susceptibility to disease, reduced fecundity or reproductive potential, and/or death. 

If you are unfamiliar with the location of the lower Snake and Lower Columbia rivers and their dams, find them on this map.

Will you be on the river this summer? Do you have a story or photo you would like to share?  Please send them to Angela Moran. 

The Hot Water Report is a joint project of the Save Our wild Salmon Coalition, Idaho Rivers United, Idaho Conservation League, Sierra Club, Friends of the Clearwater, Columbia Riverkeeper, Pacific Rivers, American Rivers, and Natural Resource Defense Council.

MEAN DAILY WATER TEMPERATURES ON THE SNAKE AND COLUMBIA RIVER

The daily mean temperature at the forebay - the upstream side of each dam - is represented with solid lines, while the 10-year average (2009-2019) for each reservoir is represented by the dashed line of the same color. For this initial report, 10-year historic data was only available for 4 of the 8 dams we will be monitoring. Finally, the dotted line across the top of the graph represents the upper end of the 68° F “comfort zone” for juvenile and adult salmon. 

Harmful water temperatures continue in the lower Snake and lower Columbia river reservoirs: Temperatures on the lower Snake River are continuing their upward trajectory, although luckily this week the increase was not as dramatic as it has been in the previous weeks. That being said, three of the four reservoirs had average temperatures that were well above the safe 68°F threshold for salmon. The reservoir at Lower Granite, the furthest upstream and the one that receives cool water benefits from cold water inflow from Dworshak reservoir, spent most of the week below this threshold, but still is primarily at temperatures that exceed the 10-year averages.

Columbia River temperatures have also begun to slow their dramatic increase. However, all reservoirs experienced average temperatures that were at least 2.5°F over the safe threshold of 68°F. And remember, the longer and higher that temperatures remain above this threshold, the more the negative impacts on salmon accumulate.

WEEKLY HIGH TEMPERATURES

High temperature trends this week are eerily similar to what we saw last week, with seven of the eight dams reaching temperatures above what is considered safe for salmon and steelhead every day this past week. The first three dam reservoirs on the lower Snake River beat out their high temperature records for this year. And although temperatures this week along the Columbia did not exceed the blisteringly hot ones observed last week, each of the reservoirs remained well above the safe 68° degree threshold.

Temperature data included in these reports come from the USGS Current Conditions for Washington State. Graphs and tables were assembled by SOS Staff.

FEATURED FISH: Steelhead (continued)

This week, we will continue our look at steelhead returns to the Columbia Basin. In Issue 6, we compared at year-to-date returns for this year and the 10-year-average. This week, we will see how returns this season so far have compared to the 10-year-average as well as last-year’s alarmingly low levels.

Forecasts for this year are less than 50% of the 10-year average, but we’ll be lucky if we see even that many fish return. Last year’s combined forecast for steelhead was 182,400 fish, but the actual return to the Columbia Basin was far lower at 94,000 fish (with roughly 75% hatchery-origin).

So far, steelhead returns to both Bonneville Dam (on the lower Columbia) and Lower Granite Dam (on the lower Snake) are trending lower than last year, and are dramatically depressed when compared to 10-year averages. As of August 15th, both dams have only had return rates of 30% of what is typically seen by this date. Unless we see a sudden upswing in steelhead returns (unfortunately not likely), the 50% prediction set by fisheries managers may prove a lofty goal.

ORCA AND SALMON

Last week, orca scientists declared that three more southern resident orcas – one from each pod - are missing and presumed to be dead, bringing the entire population down to only 73 individuals. J17 was the mother of Tahlequah (J35), who spent 17 days last summer carrying and mourning her dead calf. K25 had been displaying signs of starvation since last winter, orca scientists stated, and there had been concerns regarding his survival for some time. But the death of L84 may be the most tragic of all, as his death marks the loss of an entire matriline.

These three deaths, and Southern Resident orcas’ struggle for survival today, is largely attributed to a lack of food – particularly chinook salmon. 

Chinook are the foundation of the Southern Resident orca diet. Orca scientists have determined that, at a minimum, the current population needs 317,000 chinook per year to sustain current numbers. But with chinook runs occuring at record low rates, the orcas will continue to struggle to find enough to eat. Furthermore, these fish are getting smaller - in the last 34 years the average chinook has shrunk by 20% in weight. This is forcing the orcas to hunt longer and harder in order to meet their nutritional needs.

Southern Resident orcas have historically been found in the waters surrounding the San Juan Islands in the Salish Sea during the summer months, feeding mainly on chinook returning to the Fraser River. This summer, however, the orcas have only rarely seen.

Scientists hope the whales have found - and are feeding on - abundant salmon elsewhere, but this has not been confirmed and remains hopeful speculation. Around the region, chinook returns have been at an all-time low. “We have seen chinook populations decline for the past number of years, but this year is the worst. It is a real challenge and a great concern,” said Jocelyn Lubczuk, spokeswoman for the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada told the Seattle Times.

Northwest people and policymakers must commit to making some big, bold changes - and quickly - if we are going to recover abundant salmon populations and protect the Southern Resident orcas from extinction. Scientists have told us that without many more salmon, we will lose the Southern Residents forever. Due to its historic productivity, large amounts of high quality habitat and high restoration potential, the restoration of chinook salmon in the Columbia Basin - and in the Snake River Basin in particular - is a critical, urgent piece of this puzzle.

Links:

CBB: Snake River Sockeye Run Lowest In More Than A Decade, Currently 6 Percent Of 10-Year Average (August 8, 2019)

CBB: Upriver Steelhead Forecasts Down, B-Run 24 Percent Of Average; Idaho Considers Extending Fall Chinook Fishing Areas In Clearwater (August 8, 2019)

Seattle Times: Three southern resident orcas missing, presumed dead (August 7, 2019)

Previous Links:

The Spokesman Review: Idaho Steelhead Forecast Remains Poor (July 26, 2019)

Idaho Statesman: The first sockeye arrives at Redfish, but biologists worry few will follow. Here’s why (August 3, 2019)

Seattle Times: Three southern resident orcas missing, presumed dead (August 7, 2019)

Boise Weekly: Salmon Runs in 2019 Expected to Be Lower Than 2017, 2018 (August 7, 2019)

Columbia Basin Bulletin: River Managers Clarify Priorities On Using Dworshak’s Cool Water For Salmon Into September; Lower Granite Sockeye Passage Dismal So Far, Only 19 Fish (July 18, 2019)

Report: Revenue Stream: An economic analysis of the costs and benefits of removing the four dams on the lower Snake River (2013)

Columbia Basin Bulletin: More Salmon/Steelhead To Columbia River Than Last Year, But Forecasts Mixed Among Species (March 15, 2019)

Boise Weekly: 'The Most Complex Natural Resource Issue In The West'  Part 1 of a three-part series on Lower Snake River dam removal (April 24, 2019)

Alaska Public Media: Record warm water likely gave Kuskokwim salmon heart attacks (July 12, 2019)

CBB: Corps releases Dworshak water to cool Lower Granite tailwater for Salmon; Low sockeye run downgraded by one-third (July 11, 2019)

Idaho Statesman Editorial: Tear down these Snake River dams. A natural river saves fish and money (July 20, 1997)

Idaho Fish & Game: Very few sockeye salmon returning to Idaho (July 9, 2019)

CBB: Treaty Fishing To Begin For Summer Chinook, Sockeye; Run Forecasts Down From Last Year’s Actual Returns (June 12, 2019)

CBC: Southern resident killer whales last seen in poor health now missing (July 9, 2019)

Lewiston Morning Tribune: Spring Chinook Season Comes to a close (June 5, 2019)

Seattle Times: Chinook bust on the Columbia - Spring returns worse than forecast on Northwest’s largest river (May 30, 2019)

Seattle Times: Washington State to Regulate Federal Dams on Columbia, Snake to Cool Hot Water, Aid Salmon (January 31, 2019)

Seattle Times: Hunger, the Decline of Salmon Adds to the Struggle of Puget Sound’s Orca (February 24, 2019)

Past reports are archived here: Hot Water Reports - Compiled

Issue 2 - July 12, 2019

Welcome to the Snake and Columbia River Hot Water Report, Week 2. This weekly report during Summer 2019 will present conditions - including water temperatures and status of salmon and steelhead returns - on the lower Snake and Columbia rivers via graphs, analyses, and stories. The harmful effects on struggling fish populations caused by federal dams and their reservoirs is now being exacerbated each year due to our warming, changing climate.

Each week’s report will give an update on water temperatures in the lower Snake and Columbia River reservoirs, the highest weekly temperature of each dam, and the status of adult returns for each species as they make their way back toward their natal spawning grounds. We’ll also hear from scientists, tribal fishers, fishing guides, and salmon and river advocates about challenges facing the Columbia and Snake rivers - and the opportunities to improve their health and begin to rebuild healthy, resilient fish populations and the many benefits they deliver to Northwest culture, economy and ecology.

If you are unfamiliar with the location of the lower Snake and Lower Columbia rivers and their dams, find them on this map.

Will you be on the river this summer? Do you have a story or photo you would like to share?  Please send them to Angela Moran. 

The Hot Water Report is a joint project of the Save Our wild Salmon Coalition, Idaho Rivers United, Idaho Conservation League, Sierra Club, Friends of the Clearwater, Columbia Riverkeeper, Pacific Rivers, American Rivers, and Natural Resource Defense Council.

MEAN DAILY WATER TEMPERATURES ON THE SNAKE AND COLUMBIA RIVER

The daily mean temperature at the forebay - the upstream side of each dam - is represented with solid lines, while the 10-year average (2009-2019) for each reservoir is represented by the dashed line of the same color. For this initial report, 10-year historic data was only available for 4 of the 8 dams we will be monitoring. Finally, the dotted line across the top of the graph represents 68° - the upper end of “comfort zone” for juvenile and adult salmon. 

Over the past week, temperatures have begun to even out across the lower Snake River. As central Idaho snowpack melts, the typically cooler, upstream reservoirs begin to resemble the more downstream reservoirs (see below summary on the Columbia Riverkeeper report for more information). Note that Little Goose dam has already peaked above the 68° threshold, the first of any in the system this year.

The Columbia River dams continue to climb and all have converged within 0.5° of each other this week. Although not as significantly as in mid-June, Bonneville and McNary dam are still continually registering daily temperatures above the 10 year average.

WEEKLY HIGH TEMPERATURES

Little Goose, the second dam on the Snake River when moving east from the Columbia, has already had 2 days above 68°. Meanwhile, the entire Columbia River system had its hottest day on July 10th, with all dams reaching temperatures 1° or less below 68 degrees.

Temperature data included in these reports come from the USGS Current Conditions for Washington State. Graphs and tables were assembled by SOS Staff.

FEATURED FISH: Summer Chinook

ESA recovery goal is 80,000 wild origin spring/summer chinook to Lower Granite Dam for 8 consecutive years.

*Wild salmon numbers are calculated as a proportion of total returns  

While “spring” and “summer” chinook salmon are grouped together under the Endangered Species Act, they are counted separately by the Fish Passage Center. It is crucial that in looking at the data we recognize that wild salmon make up a smaller portion of the total return every year, with hatchery-origin fish constituting over 80% of the run in some years. (See Issue 1 of the 2019 Hot Water Report for information on spring chinook).

Summer chinook begin to return to the Snake and Columbia basin in mid-June, with the termination of the run in late July. Like spring chinook, these fish can be a major food source for endangered Southern Resident orcas. Snake River summer-run chinook salmon spawn approximately one month later than spring-run fish and tend to spawn lower in elevation, although their spawning areas often overlap with those of spring-run spawners. 

Typically, just 8% of summer chinook that pass Bonneville Dam make it through the river system to Lower Granite Dam on the lower Snake. Furthermore, summer chinook returns to Lower Granite are just half of what they were at this time last year. These ong-migrating fish already face difficult navigation through fish ladders and predators in their homeward migration. Even under perfect conditions, this is a trying journey. As water temperatures rise above levels suitable for salmon, deleterious health impacts further increase salmon mortality along their journey.  

COLUMBIA RIVERKEEPER REPORT: Removing dams will reduce lower Snake River water temperatures

In 2015, extreme water temperatures driven by hot weather and a low snowpack killed more than 250,000 salmon in the Columbia and Snake rivers. This incident of mass mortality inspired SOS member organization Columbia Riverkeeper to publish a report that evaluated what the water temperatures of the lower Snake would have been during the summer of 2015 if its four federal dams did not exist.

Using an earlier EPA water temperature model, Columbia Riverkeeper found that each of the four reservoirs behind the dams increase the river temperature by about 2 °F. The reservoirs create large, stagnant water pools which steadily absorb heat from the sun. When waters from one reservoir move downstream to the next, these already warmed waters are stopped once again by the next dam and continue to heat up. The model indicates clearly that this effect would be absent from free-flowing lower Snake River.

A reservoir-free lower Snake River flows freely and does not absorb the same amount of solar radiation. Considerably cooler waters deliver big benefits to migrating juvenile and adult salmon and steelhead populations – leading to increased survival and reproductive success. A free-flowing lower Snake River also has the additional benefit of cold waters that are released from behind the Dworshak reservoir upstream on the Clearwater River in the hot summer months.

The Dworshak reservoir collects cold snowmelt from high in the mountains of central Idaho and stores it in a deep, cool reservoir. An important operation of Dworshak dam today is to deliver cold water into the Clearwater River, which then enters the Snake River near Lewiston, Idaho. As long as the dams remain in place, the benefits of Dworshak’s cold flows are limited to this one reservoir behind Lower Granite dam near Lewiston (ID) and Clarkston (WA). However, as water incrementally warms behind each reservoir, the cold-water benefits from Dworshak are quickly lost.

Today, the lower Snake River routinely suffers weeks and/or months of hot water with temperatures  above – and often well above - 68°F (the upper end of the comfort zone for coldwater fish like salmon and steelhead). However, by restoring this 140-mile stretch of river through dam removal, models in the Columbia Riverkeeper report show that while temperatures in a freely flowing river may spike above 68 degrees periodically, they will quickly return to cool temperatures that salmon and steelhead need to survive and thrive. Cold summer flows from Dworkshak further help keep temperatures healthy for fish all the way downstream to where the Snake River joins the Columbia River in south-central Washington State near the Tri-Cities.

In summarizing findings of the study, Miles Johnson, senior attorney at Columbia Riverkeeper, notes that, "removing the four Lower Snake River dams would keep the river cooler and help salmon reach their spawning areas. This is critical for healthy salmon and a healthy river – especially as the changing climate tightens its grip on our waters in the Northwest. It's time for bold action to protect the Northwest's fishing traditions, orcas, and salmon. It’s time to restore the lower Snake River." 

A 2016 court ruling that invalidated the federal government’s latest Columbia-Snake salmon plan as inadequate and illegal highlighted, among other things, the government’s failure to account for the growing impacts of a changing climate on the already endangered wild salmon and steelhead populations of the Snake and Columbia rivers. Federal agencies in charge (Bonneville Power Administration, Army Corps of Engineers, NOAA-Fisheries) have consistently failed to develop any effective strategy to maintain cool, salmon-friendly water temperatures in these reservoirs in summer months. And, there is no evidence today that the government’s next plan – required by law, ordered by the court and now in development – will address these temperatures issues either.

Links:

Idaho Fish & Game: Very few sockeye salmon returning to Idaho (July 9, 2019)

CBB: Treaty Fishing To Begin For Summer Chinook, Sockeye; Run Forecasts Down From Last Year’s Actual Returns (June 12, 2019)

CBC: Southern resident killer whales last seen in poor health now missing (July 9, 2019)

Previous Links:

Lewiston Morning Tribune: Spring Chinook Season Comes to a close (June 5, 2019)

Seattle Times: Chinook bust on the Columbia - Spring returns worse than forecast on Northwest’s largest river (May 30, 2019)

Seattle Times: Washington State to Regulate Federal Dams on Columbia, Snake to Cool Hot Water, Aid Salmon (January 31, 2019)

Seattle Times: Hunger, the Decline of Salmon Adds to the Struggle of Puget Sound’s Orca (February 24, 2019)

Past reports are archived here: Hot Water Reports - Compiled

Issue 1 - July 1, 2019

Welcome to the Hot Water Report 2019. This weekly report during Summer 2019 will present the conditions - like water temperatures and status of salmon and steelhead returns - on the lower Snake and Columbia rivers via graphs, analyses, and stories. The harmful effects on struggling fish populations caused by federal dams and their reservoirs is now being exacerbated each year due to warming waters and a changing climate.

Each report will provide an update of water temperatures in the lower Snake and Columbia river reservoirs, the highest weekly temperature at the forebay of each dam, and the status of adult returns for each species as they make their way back in search of their natal spawning grounds. We’ll also hear first-hand from scientists, tribal fishers, fishing guides, and salmon and river advocates about challenges facing the Columbia and Snake rivers - and the opportunities to improve their health and begin to rebuild healthy, resilient fish populations and the many benefits they deliver to the Northwest’s culture, economy and ecology.

In 2015, hot waters caused by low snowpack and high temperatures killed more than 250,000 adult salmon returning to the Columbia Basin. High sustained summer reservoir temperatures are now routine in the basin during summer months. Salmon and steelhead begin to suffer harmful effects when water temperatures exceed 68° Fahrenheit. The longer temperatures remain above 68° and the farther the temperatures rise above 68°, the greater the harm, including increased metabolism, increased susceptibility to disease, reduced fecundity or reproductive potential, and/or death. 

Furthermore, one of the key threats facing the region’s critically endangered Southern Resident orca is a lack of prey. These incredible mammals depend mainly on chinook salmon, which comprise roughly 80 percent of their diet. As numbers of chinook salmon dwindle in Northwest coastal waters - and especially Snake River spring chinook - the Southern Residents population has also plummeted. Just 75 individual whales survive today - they are struggling to survive and reproduce; they need more food.

Will you be on the river this summer? Do you have a story or photo you would like to share?  Please send them to Angela Moran. 

The Hot Water Report is a joint project of the Save Our wild Salmon Coalition, Idaho Rivers United, Idaho Conservation League, Sierra Club, Friends of the Clearwater, Columbia Riverkeeper, Pacific Rivers, American Rivers, and Natural Resource Defense Council.

MEAN DAILY WATER TEMPERATURES ON THE SNAKE AND COLUMBIA RIVER

The daily mean temperature at the forebay - the upstream side of each dam - is represented with solid lines, while the 10-year average (2009-2019) for each reservoir is represented by the dashed line of the same color. For this initial report, 10-year historic data was only available for 4 of the 8 dams/reservoirs we monitor. Finally, the dotted line across the top of the graph represents the 68° “comfort zone” for juvenile and adult salmon. 

Apart from a dip in mid April, temperatures in the forebays have either hovered at or above the 10-year average, with notable spikes occurring in mid-May and late June.

The lower Columbia shows considerably less fluctuation as it has a higher volume, lower grade, and a more temperate climate than the lower Snake.

WEEKLY HIGH TEMPERATURES

Ice Harbor Dam registered the highest instantaneous temperature on the Snake River this week at 65.3° with The Dalles Dam just downstream registering the high for the Columbia at 64.58°.

Temperature data included in these reports come from the USGS Current Conditions for Washington State. Graphs and tables were assembled by SOS Staff.

RESERVOIRS, NOT RIVERS

Above average spring temperatures have become the norm on the lower Snake River, as the large reservoirs created for shipping traffic slow the river to a crawl and absorb solar radiation. 

A free flowing river is varied and dynamic with pockets of cold water that fish navigate between as they rest, hunt, or travel. Lower Snake river reservoirs, however, spread water temperatures uniformly throughout, effectively eliminating cold water refuges that are an essential part of healthy, resilient salmon habitat. Along the whole 320 miles of slackwater from Bonneville Dam to Heller Bar on the Snake River, where the river flows free once again, there is precious little cold water in summer. As climate change pushes regional temperatures higher and reduces snowpack in Northwest mountains, we can expect migration conditions - and salmon mortality - to worsen.

FEATURED FISH: SNAKE RIVER SPRING CHINOOK

ESA recovery goal is 80,000 wild origin spring/summer chinook to Lower Granite Dam for 8 consecutive years.

*Wild salmon numbers are calculated as a proportion of total returns  

As the first major salmon run of the year, spring chinook hold special significance for many Northwest Native American Tribes and their first salmon ceremonies. Fisheries scientists see them as an initial indicator of the overall status and condition for adult returns in any given year.

Chinook, or King salmon, are the largest and richest of the salmonid species and are thus prized by many commercial and sport fishers. They are also notably the primary food resource (roughly 80 percent of their overall diet) of the critically endangered Southern Resident orcas. Columbia Basin chinook spend up to seven years in the ocean and are caught as far away as the waters of northern Japan before returning to freshwater to spawn. 

The Snake River Basin once produced nearly half of the two million adult spring chinook that flooded into the mouth of the Columbia River each year. Much of this Snake River Basin habitat is still in excellent condition. Upstream of the lower Snake River dams are cool waters flowing through millions of acres of wilderness and thousands of miles of pristine rivers and streams. Due to its historic productivity, protected status, high elevation (thus cool temperatures) and excellent condition today, fisheries biologists highlight this basin for its very high recovery potential.

Spring chinook returns this year were below even the record-low numbers forecasted. This has resulted in fishing closures on the lower Columbia in Washington and lower Snake in Idaho and Washington (see links below). 

ORCA AND SALMON

The urgent plight of critically endangered Southern Resident orcas has recently captured the attention of millions of people in the Northwest and the nation. Last summer, the region watched with breaking hearts as J35 (Tahlequah) bore her dead calf for 17 days through the waters of the Salish Sea in a public procession of grief. This unique community of whales is suffering first and foremost from a lack of prey.

These whales need a plentiful supply of salmon year-round., The Columbia Basin – and especially the Snake River – historically produced the largest numbers of Spring Chinook anywhere on the West Coast – and provided critical food for orcas in the winter months when other Chinook populations are especially scarce. In its 2008 Orca Recovery Plan, NOAA acknowledges that orcas’ historic reliance on Columbia Basin chinook and describes its population declines as “[p]erhaps the single greatest change in food availability for resident killer whales since the late 1800s...”

Orca scientists have documented the orca malnutrition with aerial photographs. These images reveal many of the whales suffering from a condition known as “peanut head,” where the outline of the whale’s typically blubber-covered skull becomes visible. 

Without a commitment in the Northwest to make some big changes very soon to restore and reconnect freshwater habitat critical to salmon recovery, orcas will continue to struggle to find sufficient quantities of chinook needed to survive and begin to recover. Over the course of this summer, the Hot Water Report will periodically check in on these whales whose fate is so deeply intertwined with the salmon. 

Links:

Lewiston Morning Tribune: Spring Chinook Season Comes to a close (June 5, 2019)

Seattle Times: Chinook bust on the Columbia - Spring returns worse than forecast on Northwest’s largest river (May 30, 2019)

The Daily News: Orca advocates join lower Snake River dam removal debate (Apr 29, 2019)

Seattle Times: Hunger, the Decline of Salmon Adds to the Struggle of Puget Sound’s Orca (February 24, 2019)

Past reports are archived here: Hot Water Reports - Compiled

By Geoffrey Redick <http://www.knkx.org/people/geoffrey-redick>, Bellamy Pailthorp <http://www.knkx.org/people/bellamy-pailthorp> & Ed Ronco <http://www.knkx.org/people/ed-ronco>

September 15, 2018

There's one coal-fired power plant left in Washington state. But it won't be burning coal for much longer: It's scheduled to shut down or to switch to natural gas by 2025.

The company that runs the plant, TransAlta, has plans to open a solar farm on one of the open-pit mines that used to provide coal to the plant. If plans hold, it would be the largest solar project in the state.

KNKX environment reporter Bellamy Pailthorp went to the site, and she talked with host Ed Ronco about the project.

http://www.knkx.org/post/how-washingtons-last-coal-plant-could-become-states-largest-solar-project

INTRODUCTION

Welcome to the Lower Snake and Columbia River Hot Water Report, week nine. This weekly report presents the conditions on the Lower Snake and Columbia Rivers via graphs, analyses, and stories. We have been tracking the rivers as they become too hot for migrating salmon, as well as the return of each individual salmon species. Reports will conclude soon, once temperatures settle below 68°.

In 2015, extreme water temperatures killed upwards of 300,000 salmon in the Columbia Basin. Extinction is looming for wild Snake River salmon and steelhead, with myriad threats facing these dwindling stocks. As each salmonid species journeys through the Columbia and Snake, we will highlight its unique attributes and discuss how different species respond to increasing river temperatures. We’ll also hear first-hand from scientists, tribal fishers, guides, and citizens on the Columbia and Snake rivers throughout the summer.

Will you be on the river this summer? Do you have a story or photo you would like to share?  Please send them to Jacob Schmidt

If, in the course of your river trips this summer, you come across a dead sturgeon, remember to contact the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.

The Hot Water Report is a joint project of the Save Our wild Salmon Coalition, Idaho Conservation League, Columbia Riverkeeper, Idaho Rivers United, Friends of the Clearwater, and Washington Sierra Club.

Check out previous Hot Water Reports here.

READING THE DATA

The daily mean temperature at the forebay (upstream reservoir) of each dam is represented in the solid lines, while the 10 year average (2008-2017) for each reservoir is represented by the dashed line of the same color. The dotted line across the top of the graph represents the 68° survival threshold for juvenile salmon. The longer temperatures remain above 68° and the farther the temperatures rise above 68°, the more severe the effects, including: increased metabolism, increased susceptibility to disease, reduced fecundity (reproductive potential), and/or death.

If you are unfamiliar with the location of the Lower Snake and Lower Columbia dams, you can find them on this map.

Temperatures at all four of the Lower Snake dams have began to decrease over the last three or four days. Daily highs are still breaking above the 68 degree survival threshold, with the exception of Lower Granite and Little Goose, whose high temperatures measured 67.6° and 67.5° respectively on August 30th. Continuing along last week’s trend, air temperatures have been cooler overall this week. Nonetheless, warm temperatures in the 80’s and occasionally the low 90’s persist. Temperatures at Ice Harbor, the furthest downstream of the lower four Snake River dams, remain the warmest and continue to register well above the 68° survival threshold. Meanwhile, at the forebay of Lower Granite dam - the furthest upstream and most direct recipient of high elevation streamflows - temperatures have begun to dip back below the 68° threshold.

The general trend toward lower temperatures apparent on the lower Snake is also evident on the lower Columbia. Though the temperatures at the forebays of all four dams have begun to dip, they remain above 68°. McNary is the first of the four dams to see days without a daily max temperature above the threshold. Yet, until all daily temperatures remain consistently below 68°, fishing closures will likely continue. Last week’s night fishing closure remains in place, as does the closure at the mouth of the Deschutes.

WEEKLY HIGH TEMPERATURES 8/24 - 8/30

Temperature data included in these reports come from the USGS Current Conditions for Washington State and the Fish Passage Center. Graphs and tables were assembled by SOS Staff.

2018 Columbia-Snake Basin Adult Salmon Returns – year-to-date

Fall Chinook

Chinook arriving at the mouth of the Columbia after August 18 are no longer counted as Summer Chinook, but rather as Fall Chinook. Snake River Fall Chinook have fared far better than Spring/Summer runs, but are still listed as a threatened species. There was talk of delisting the species after the banner year of 2014, in which more than 50,000 chinook returned to the Snake River and its tributaries.

So far, this year’s fall return has been far below average. However, the improvement over 2017 results at this point in the year gives hope that we might see a return to the sort of recovery that was underway in the first half of the decade. These returns are, however in a very early stage. The numbers on the graph above represent less than 30% of the complete run.

New Links

Lower Granite Water Remains Cool; Snake River Sockeye Run Nearly Complete At 272 Fish

Columbia Basin Partnership Develops Preliminary Abundance Goals For Salmon, Steelhead

Biologist Explains Why Last Year’s Idaho Wild Steelhead B-Run Better Than Dam Counts Showed

Past Links

IFiber One: Entire State Drying Out Under Drought Like Conditions

Oregon Whitewater: Snake River at Hells Canyon

Spokesman: Salmon, steelhead fisheries on Columbia restricted

NW  Sportsman: COLUMBIA AT DESCHUTES MOUTH, LOWER HALF MILE OF TRIB CLIdaho Fish and Game: Sockeye

Lonesome Larry

Times of London: Scottish Heatwave is Disastrous for Salmon Industry

WSU: Demand factored into Columbia River Basin’s future

Columbia Basin Bulletin: With Run Downgrade, Summer Chinook Fishing Below Bonneville Dam Ends Early; Sockeye Above Forecast  

Columbia Basin Bulletin: Corps Second Spill Report to Court Details Impacts of High Flows

Hatch Magazine: Trout and Water Temperature: How Hot is Too Hot?

Alan Lierres Fish Hunting Report, July 4

Oregon Live: Columbia River spring chinook salmon run prediction downgraded OSING TO ALL FISHING

Oregon Live: Oregon closes steelhead sanctuary off mouth of Deschutes to all fishing

CBB: State Of The Climate Report: 2017 Was Third Warmest Year On Record

CBB: River Managers Opt To Save Cool Dworshak Water For Upcoming Salmon/Steelhead Migration  

Spokesman: With climate change warming Washington’s waters fish are left seeking a place to chill

Heat Wave: Renewables pass a test, but greater challenges await

First Sockeye Arrives at Redfish

Alan Lieres Fish Hunting Report for August

Rule Change for Columbia River Anglers

TCH: Fishing halted in Tri-City area due to hot river waters

CBB: Tripped Generators At Dworshak Temporarily Interrupts Water Releases Cooling Clearwater, Lower Snake  

Eastern Oregonian: Pacific lamprey swarm Umatilla River in best numbers in years

Oregonian: Tribes return to the chilly waters of Willamette Falls for annual lamprey harvest

Portland Tribune: Mitigating the migration

Nez Perce Tribe Lamprey Restoration Project

DART Columbia Basin "Quick Look" Adult Passage

CBB: River Managers Ponder Passage Gaps For Snake River Sockeye At Lower Snake Dams  

Columbia Basin Bulletin: Climate Forecast Favors Onset Of El Nino, Could Mean Warmer Winter In Northwest

Drought Conditions Hitting Oregon, Washington; Most Streamflows In Basin Remain Healthy

CBB: With Temps Rising, Corps Cools Snake River With Dworshak Water To Aid Endangered Snake River Sockeye