Removal of Hydro-Electric dams on the Snake River

By Michael R. Leighton

For Geography 26, Fall Semester 1999

Introduction

The Institute for Fisheries Resources claims that an economic loss of $500 million a year is incurred from not restoring Columbia River Basin salmon (Institute for Fisheries Resources, 1996).  A study by Idaho Fish and Wildlife Foundation showed that restoring salmon runs up the Columbia and the Lower Snake Rivers would result in $72 million in direct annual revenues (Idaho Fish and Wildlife Foundation, 1999).   A draft report by the Drawdown Regional Economics Workgroup (DREW) concluded that removal or partial removal of four lower Snake River dams would increase sport fishing and river recreation, such as whitewater rafting (Report 1999-03-04, Columbia & Snake Rivers Campaign, 1999). The Northwest Sportfishing Industry Association announced their endorsement of partial removal of the four federal dams on the Lower Snake River, stating that removal of the dams was necessary in the recovery of the salmon (Report 1998-10-15, Columbia & Snake Rivers Campaign, 1998).  Over one hundred members of Congress from 21 states called on the President to assure action regarding the fate of salmon and dams on the Lower Snake River and urged that  "all scientifically credible options - including partial removal of the four dams on the Lower Snake River … be considered with equal rigor and seriousness."  (Report 1999-08-04, Columbia & Snake Rivers Campaign, 1999).

Concern for restoring the native environment for the Columbia Basin's chinook salmon, including the possibility of removing or partially removing the four Lower Snake River dams, fails to address the purposes and benefits for which the dams were originally constructed.  These purposes were control and containment of irrigation water, generation of hydro-electric power, and seasonal flood control.  If environmental and recreational uses are granted priority, and the Lower Snake River dams are wholly or partially removed, will a precedent be set for removing other dams along the Snake River including those in the Upper Snake River Basin, in an attempt to "restore the river" to its original primitive state?   Has sufficient attention been directed to the potential economic losses that would be caused by removal of the dams on the Upper Snake River?

History

The south fork of the Snake River begins in Teton County of northwestern Wyoming. The river flows south , then west, cutting through the Teton  Mountain Range and entering Idaho at approximately 43.15° Latitude.  The river continues into a vast, once arid , sagebrush desert known as the Snake River Plain.  This Plain forms a broad arch across southern Idaho from the Yellowstone Plateau of Wyoming, 400 miles to the Oregon border (Wood and Kienle, 1990).

The 20,000 square mile surface of the Snake River Plain is covered by Middle Miocene Epoch (17 to 12 million years ago) dark gray, dense olivene basaltic lava flows (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Portland District & U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey).  In some regions, the basalt covers unconsolidated sediments and clays (U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey, FS-130-97, 1997), suggestive of ancient periodic flooding.  The hydraulic action of the river, cutting through the bedded rock of the Columbia River Basalt Group, formed a deep river course canyon in areas across the plain.  The deep cutting left the arid plain devoid of surface water in many locations.  The sediments and clays in some locations carry groundwater which trend toward the Snake River Canyon (U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey, FS-130-97, 1997).  The Plain, part of the Upper Columbia River Drainage, is bounded by mountain ranges bordering Montana on the North.  Mountains to the south, in Nevada, divide the Great Basin Drainage from the Columbia River Drainage.

Prior to the 1860s, the Snake River Plain was inhabited by the Bannocks, a northern Piute tribe, and by the northern Shoshone tribe of native Americans.  Mormon settlers came to the region in the 1860s,  intending to develop the region for farming.  These settlers established minimal irrigation works on the Henry's Fork of the Snake River by the 1870s.  By the 1880s, water wheels were used to irrigate about 200 acres in Minidoka County.  Enough interest in the possibilities of irrigation on the Snake River Plain prompted investigation by the U.S. Geological Survey in 1889-90 (Stene,  1993. For U.S. Dept of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation).

In 1902, Congress passed the Reclamation Act, and that same year, survey crews began the initial work of locating prospective routes for irrigation canals on both the north and south sides of the river.  From the surveys, it was determined that pumping stations would be required to irrigate land on the river's south side.  The north side could be irrigated by gated gravity flow canals. Surveys were also conducted on the Snake River headwaters to determine the possibility of water storage(Stene. 1993 For U.S. Dept of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation). 

Bureau of Reclamation, then called the Reclamation Service, began the Minidoka Project in earnest in 1904 (Stene. 1993 For U.S. Dept of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation).   The project began in Teton County, Wyoming, and included portions of Bonneville, Cassia, Minidoka, and ten other counties in southern Idaho. The project consists of seven dams for water storage, with most of the reservoirs located in the forested hills and mountains of eastern Idaho.  Two,  Jackson Lake Dam and Grassy Valley Dam, are located in northwestern Wyoming.  By 1907,  with the increased availability of irrigation water, 15,000 acres were under cultivation on 474 farms.  By 1919,  the area supported a population of 17,000 people, six prospering towns and over 2200 farms. Consistently since the late 1950s, 1600 miles of canals with 4000 miles of laterals and 1250 miles of drains have irrigated over 1 million acres of cropland on the rich volcanic soil of the Snake River Plain (Stene. 1993For U.S. Dept of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation).  The famous Idaho Potato is grown in the valley, as well as sugar beets, sweet corn, dry beans, and small grains.  Irrigated pasture and alfalfa hay support  prosperous beef and dairy industries (Stene. 1993 For U.S. Dept of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation).

Current Situation

By 1992,  a total of 18,168 farms encompassing 1,111,178 acres were

irrigated by the waters from the Minidoka project.  Consistently, from 1983 through 1992, the crop value from these irrigated acres has been between $337.8 million (in 1985) and $571.2 million (in 1989).  Additionally, 57,688 non-farm acres received irrigation water from the project (Department of the Interior, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation). 

Irrigated Agricultural Land as a Percentage of Total Farm Land, by County, for the Counties Irrigated by the Minidoka Project.

Data from County Profiles of Idaho, at  http://www.idoc.state.id.us/idcomm/pdfs/.

By 1997,  nearly 2,100,000 cropland  acres were irrigated in the 13 Idaho Counties served by the Minidoka Project.  The value of crop production from irrigated cropland  acres in these 13 counties was approximately $775.4 million.  (USDA, 1997 Census of Agriculture, County Databases, Various Counties).

In addition to the economic benefits to the region from irrigated agriculture, the Minidoka Project contributes hydro-electric power to the surrounding region and to other states.  During the summer months, when the Snake River is at its peak, the hydro-power generated is enough to run the irrigation project with the excess power being exported to the state of California to meet that state's peak usage demand.  In the winter months, when  flows on the Snake are relatively low and power generation is necessarily curtailed,  Idaho imports electric power from California.  Both states mutually benefit from the hydro-electric dams on the Snake River (Governor's Council on Hydroelectric and River Resources, 1997).

Conclusion

          The  Snake River a part of the Columbia River drainage basin has come under scrutiny  as a fervor of environmental concerns  in a movement  to restore the river  to a primitive natural state channel has not addressed a quality of life that would be negated for an estimated unproven benefit to the few. Far more questions  are raised than has been answered . Since the individual dams required years to construct , how many years does it take to dismantle a dam? Will the salmon survive that long? What time element is involved in restoration of the original river channel ? During channel restoration what controls would be in place for water quality and existing habitat ? What is the monetary expenditure and who absorbs the cost ?

A century  of continued  development and use of  Snake River waters and adjacent lands has provided a quality of life unprecedented  not only in Idaho but region wide. In place is a proven and increasing value of products and returns that has stemmed from the use of the Snake River.

In my opinion , caution should be exercised before consideration is given to a theory for unknown results that may not succeed in the  intended purpose.

GIS CONSIDERATIONS

           Acquisition of  geodetic data from National Geodetic Survey (NGS)  will be required to continue with this project . Geodetic data will allow  a frame work  to be established on which a GIS data base can be constructed. The navigable waterways of the Upper Snake River Basin and tributary watershed needs to be located by  accurate coordinates to be properly scaled and projected into a  cartographic coverage. Cadastral  layers can be translated and rotated to conform to the selected map projection. This data can then be overlayed on existing topographic coverage or digital imagery. A base map of this scope will allow additional layers to be added to the GIS. The layers can include political boundarys such as counties ,enumeration districts, canal systems, dams and other waterworks that the economy of the basin  relies. It is known that the area is dependent on the Snake River .  Entering the data into  a GIS will take a long step in proving the extent  of that dependence.

REFERENCES

Columbia & Snake Rivers Campaign,  Report 1998-10-15,  "Northwest Sportfishing Industry Association Endorses Dismantling Snake River Dams to Save Salmon",  1998.  Contribution on  website at http://www.idahorivers.org.

Columbia & Snake Rivers Campaign,  Report 1999-03-04,  "Report Shows Almost $1 Billion to be Gained Annually From Partially Removing 4 Lower Snake River Dams",  1999.  Contribution on  website at  http://www.idahorivers.org

Columbia & Snake Rivers Campaign,  Report 1999-08-04,  "107 Representatives Call  for Open, Honest Process to Save Snake River Salmon: An Economic and Environmental Asset",  1999.  Contribution on  website at  http://www.idahorivers.org

Governor's Council on Hydroelectric and River Resources, 1997.  Report of Subcommittee for Consumer and Public Purposes to Governor's Council on Hydroelectric and River Resources. Contribution to website at  <http://www.state.id.us/gov/GovBatt/hydro/homepage.htm>.

Idaho Fish and Wildlife Foundation, "Salmon Fishing: Idaho's First Natural Resource Industry", August 1999. In Columbia & Snake Rivers Campaign,  Report 1999-09-25,  "Scientific Reports on Columbia Basin Salmon and Dams",  1999.  Contribution on  website at http://www.idahorivers.org

Institute for Fisheries Resources, "The Cost of Doing Nothing: The Economic Burden of Salmon Declines In the Columbia River Basin",  October 1996. In Columbia & Snake Rivers Campaign,  Report 1999-09-25,  "Scientific Reports on Columbia Basin Salmon and Dams",  1999.  Contribution on  website at http://www.idahorivers.org.

Stene, Eric.  1993.  The Minidoka Project, Research on Historic Reclamation Projects. U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation, Bureau of Reclamation History Program,  Denver, CO., 1999.  Contribution to U. S. Bureau of Reclamation website at  <http://dataweb.usbr.gov/html/minidoka1.html>

U. S. Corps of Engineers, Portland District, and the U. S. Department of the Interior, U. S. Geological Survey, The Geologic History of the Columbia River Gorge: Information Brochure.

Contribution on USGS website at

<http:/vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/Glossary/LavaPlateaus/description_lava_plateaus.html>

U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1999.  Agricultural Census for the United States, 1997.  County Tables, Various Counties.

U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. Minidoka Project - Project Data from the Bureau of Reclamation website at   <http://dataweb.usbr.gov/html/minidoka.html>.

U.S. Department of the Interior, U. S. Geological Survey,  FS-130-97, 1997.  Geohydrology of the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory, Eastern Snake River Plain, Idaho.  Contribution on USGS website at <http://water.usgs.gov/fs13097>

Wood and Kienle, 1990.  Volcanoes of North America: United States and Canada: Cambridge University Press, 354p., p246-248. Contribution on USGS website at <http:/vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/Volcanoes/Idaho/SnakeRiverPlain/description_snake_river_plain.html>