Columbia River

School Brings Back Swim Requirement After Pool Tragedy

Jessica Robinson — Tue, 21 May 2013 19:29:07 +0000

A tragedy in Wenatchee, Wash., is prompting educators there to bring back a high school aquatics program. Starting this fall, high school freshmen in the central Washington city will have to demonstrate they know how to swim.

Formal swimming lessons in Wenatchee had gone by the wayside, as is frequently the case lately in public schools.

Study: Aquifers Draining Quickly, Less In Pacific Northwest

Courtney Flatt — Tue, 21 May 2013 15:22:59 +0000

A new study says the nation’s aquifers are shrinking at an alarming rate The problem is not as bad in the Northwest, thanks to an abundance of rivers and streams. But even here, aquifers are shrinking.

Think of all the water in Lake Erie. Then double it. That’s how much water has drained since 1900 from aquifers in the U.S. When these underground water bodies shrink, it means less water for cities, farms and streams.

How To Clean Up A Crude Oil Spill From Trains

Courtney Flatt — Thu, 09 May 2013 17:43:16 +0000

Pacific Northwest refineries have been getting their crude oil for years from tankers and pipelines. Last September, trains began shipping crude oil into the region by rail.

Columbia River Treaty Public Meetings Begin in Spokane

Courtney Flatt — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 20:31:29 +0000

A decades-long treaty between the United States and Canada will soon be up for renewal. It governs power management and flood control in the Columbia River Basin. Next year is the first time in 50 years either country can end or revise the treaty.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Bonneville Power Administration kicked off a series of public meetings in Spokane Wednesday. The agencies are gathering public input about the treaty’s future.

Preparing For Zebra Mussels In The Pacific Northwest

Courtney Flatt — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 23:06:13 +0000

Invasive zebra mussels could soon be heading toward the Pacific Northwest. So, researchers are working to protect and prepare the region’s waterways.

In the Great Lakes region, the mussels have caused $1 billion worth of damage. If zebra mussels make it to the Pacific Northwest, they could clog hydroelectric dams and irrigation systems, and damage salmon habitat.

So, researchers have received at $630,000 grant from Bonneville Power to figure out when and how zebra mussels will reach the Columbia River Basin.

Canadian Smelter Found Liable For U.S. Pollution

Courtney Flatt — Mon, 17 Dec 2012 21:34:16 +0000

A federal judge Friday found a Canadian smelter responsible for the millions of tons of pollutants it dumped into the Columbia River.

For nearly 100 years, smelter Teck Metals dumped pollutants into the Columbia River, less than 10 miles upstream from the U.S.-Canada border.

Over the years, close to 10 million tons of waste poured into the river. The waste, also called slag and slurry, contained mercury and other toxics.

Project To Recharge Aquifers With Columbia River Water

Courtney Flatt — Tue, 04 Dec 2012 20:44:18 +0000

There’s not enough water in eastern Oregon for farmers and fish. Governor John Kitzhaber designated one basin as a place to try a possible solution to this problem.

Farmers and environmentalists talked about what’s being done at the Oregon Leadership Summit Monday.

In some areas of the Umatilla Basin, aquifers have dropped 500 feet since the 1970s. But some farmers and environmentalists say they’ve come up with a better way to manage the area’s water supply.

Sea Lions At Bonneville Dam Kill Estimated 2,500 Sturgeon

Amelia Templeton — Tue, 16 Oct 2012 20:33:41 +0000

Biologists say the sea lions that scoop up fish at the foot of Bonneville dam on the Columbia river have killed more sturgeon this year than salmon.

Two different species of sea lions like to feast at Bonneville. California sea lions only eat salmon. But Stellar sea lions arrive earlier in the year. While they wait for the spring salmon run to start, they snack on sturgeon.

Biologists with the Army Corps of Engineers estimate that this year, the Stellar sea lions ate about 2,500 sturgeon.

Buff Kennewick Man Had Coastal Diet

Anna King — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 18:39:55 +0000

For nearly a decade, scientists and Northwest tribes fought bitterly over whether to bury or study the 9,500-year-old bones known as Kennewick Man. Now, after years of careful examination, scientists are releasing some of their findings to tribes at meetings this week in Central Washington.

Kennewick Man was buff. So says Doug Owsley. He’s the head of physical anthropology at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History and led the study of the ancient remains.

Agencies Release Annual Salmon Report

Aaron Kunz — Mon, 01 Oct 2012 18:55:01 +0000

Federal agencies Friday delivered a mixed report card on their efforts to recover endangered salmon in the Columbia River.

The report was delivered to federal judge Michael Simon in Portland. He is overseeing the legal case involving salmon and dams along the Columbia. The Bonneville Power Administration says this year's report shows some improvement in returning adult salmon and steelhead numbers. In 2011, the number of adult salmon migrating past the Bonneville Dam was the fourth highest since 1938.

Recent Eastern Washington Coal Spill Raises Questions About Proposed Increased Exports

Anna King — Fri, 06 Jul 2012 21:03:09 +0000

This week crews are cleaning up about 30 train cars full of coal that overturned near Mesa, in Eastern Washington. The accident has raised questions about proposed increased train shipments of coal through the nearby Columbia River Gorge.

Huge machinery had to be trucked in from the Tri-Cities to clean up the black dusty mess in the rural burg east of Yakima. Car loads of coal overturned and damaged the tracks there.

Spring Chinook Numbers Lower Than Expected

Courtney Flatt — Wed, 20 Jun 2012 21:16:18 +0000

You might remember predictions of really high spring chinook runs this year. But, turns outs, after spring salmon runs wrapped up, the numbers were not as high as everyone had hoped.

Biologists had predicted the Columbia River would see one of the stronger spring salmon runs in the past decade. But it looks like forecasts were off by a little more than one-third. Biologists say, still a decent run, just not all that exciting.

One tool they use to predict salmon runs are early returns of male salmon, known as “jacks.”

Sea Lions Under the Gun

Ashley Ahearn — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 21:58:59 +0000

Since April, 20 sea lions have washed up dead in Oregon and Washington. The majority of the animals were shot.

The dead sea lions have been found mainly near the mouth of the Columbia River, a hot spot for salmon.

Many believe the animals are being killed by fishermen who view them as competition for their catch.

Sean Stanley is with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Office of Law Enforcement in Portland.

Tribal Group Claims Sea Lions Munch More Salmon Than Previously Thought

Chris Lehman — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 19:53:56 +0000

A coalition of tribal groups says sea lions are eating far more salmon along the Columbia River than previously thought. The claim comes in a legal fight over whether wildlife officials should be killing some of the hungry sea lions.

A federal judge has authorized wildlife officials in Oregon and Washington to kill as many as 30 California sea lions each year near the Bonneville Dam. Four have been killed so far this spring. A conservation group has filed a lawsuit in an attempt to stop the killings.

1.2 Million Gallons Of Sewage Spills Into Columbia From Broken B.C. Pipe

Jessica Robinson — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 18:18:05 +0000

A pipe failure on Monday in British Columbia has released an estimated 1.2 million gallons of raw sewage into the Columbia River. Emergency crews from the British Columbia Ministry of Environment stopped the flow yesterday afternoon.

But Washington Department of Ecology spokeswoman Jani Gilbert says once the sewage is in the river, there’s nothing they can do to clear it out.