Efforts to modernize the Columbia River Treaty provide an opportunity to right the wrongs of the past

The Columbia River Treaty is a landmark water-management agreement, ratified in 1964, by the United States and Canada which aimed to co-ordinate water management within the Columbia River Basin, particularly through the construction of four large dams in the headwaters. Three treaty dams were built in B.C. with an additional dam located in Montana.

Last month, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and U.S. President Joe Biden announced an “Agreement in Principle” for the modernization of the Columbia River Treaty.

A map of the Columbia River basin. (Kmusser - based on USGS and Digital Chart of the World data.), CC BY