Jan. 16, 2025 (Ice Harbor, WA) — The Stockholm Environment Institute today released a technical study showing that the Lower Snake River dams waste roughly 30,400-acre feet of water every year due to evaporation from the reservoirs.
The water lost to evaporation because of the Lower Snake River dams each year could meet the residential needs of over 240,000 Washingtonians or grow more than 8,000 acres of Washington apples.
“Our region continues to make progress towards understanding the importance of restoring salmon and replacing the services of the Lower Snake River dams. We are also seeing the acknowledgment of impacts to Tribal Nations and the historical and ongoing injustices to their cultures and way of life,” said Kayeloni Scott, executive director for the Columbia Snake River Campaign. “This study highlights an additional hidden cost of the Lower Snake River dams and amplifies the need for our critical work. The science is clear that there is too much at stake to not make some changes. Service replacement is an opportunity for growth and advancement in the region.”
Using the WEAP Model and data from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the study calculated the amount of water that evaporates from the existing Lower Snake River reservoirs and subtracted the amount of water expected to evaporate from a free-flowing Lower Snake River.
“This evaporation study complements the recent draft Lower Snake River Water Supply Replacement Plan by the Washington Department of Ecology and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation,” explained Miles Johnson, Legal Director for Columbia Riverkeeper. “Together, they show that farms along the Lower Snake River can have reliable, plentiful water to grow food and other crops even after dam removal.”
Creation and dissemination of this study was supported by Columbia Riverkeeper, The Water Foundation, and Patagonia.
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