Editorial: Columbia River Treaty is key for the entire region

Ask folks in Bonners Ferry if the 48-year-old Columbia River Treaty is working for them, and you might get nods of yes with a bobblehead-like intensity.

The Kootenai River has been creeping up the dikes that protect much of the land around the city but – barring more heavy rain – is unlikely to overtop the earthworks and flood crops. For that they can thank Libby Dam, where operators are restraining river flows. In doing so, the reservoir behind the dam may rise as much as 2 feet over normal maximums, which would cause minor flooding all along its 70-mile length.

Some of the damaged property is Canadian.

It was the treaty that allowed the construction at Libby, the addition of a third powerhouse at Grand Coulee Dam, and so much more that has benefited residents on both sides of the border. By coordinating management of dams all along the Columbia, officials can control flooding, maximize hydroelectricity output, and in general make the most of one of the region’s greatest assets.

The treaty is not scheduled to expire until 2024, but officials have already begun to assess how the 20-page document should be modified to reflect all the economic and environmental changes that have occurred since it was signed in 1964. Tomorrow, Inland Northwest residents can take a short course on the treaty and suggest areas negotiators should discuss when talks on renewing the pact begin in 2014. The meeting begins at 8 a.m. at the Northern Quest Hotel.

Much has changed in the last few decades. The 1974 Boldt decision, which recognized long-ignored Native American fishing rights, has significantly changed the way the Columbia is managed to enhance salmon and steelhead runs. Massive wind farms have altered the way flows are adjusted on an almost hour-to-hour basis.

And, unless recent trends are reversed, mountain snows that used to run off in late spring will continue pouring into the river system earlier, complicating efforts to hold water through the summer irrigation and recreation season.

Oh, and millions more residents want their share of the benefits. Those will come with a bigger price tag. With water an increasingly prized commodity around the world, the Columbia’s value cannot be overstated.

Utilities like Avista have been through this drill. Assuring everybody a voice, and an equitable split, is painstaking. It took the Spokane company four years to relicense its hydroelectric projects on the Clark Fork River. Imagine a process an order of magnitude more complex, not to mention international, and you begin to understand why anticipating a treaty expiration 12 years in the future makes sense.

The questions and answers participants put in play tomorrow will affect even the youngest Northwest residents for the rest of their lives. Despite the venue, we should not gamble on the outcome.