In partnership with Save Our wild Salmon Coalition, we are releasing the second issue of our 10th annual weekly series of the Hot Water Report: Warming Waters in the Lower Snake and Columbia Rivers.

Since time immemorial, wild salmon and steelhead from the Snake and Columbia rivers have delivered vast cultural, economic, nutritional, and ecological benefits to the people, fish, and wildlife of the Northwest. Before the construction of the lower Snake River dams, the pristine, clear, cold waters of the Snake River Basin supported millions of spawning adult salmon and steelhead.

Today, salmon and steelhead face dramatically decreased survival rates, largely due to the federal system of dams and reservoirs in the Columbia River Basin. The dams on the lower Snake River in southeast Washington State—Ice Harbor, Lower Monumental, Little Goose, and Lower Granite—and their stagnant reservoirs heat up this historic, once highly productive river, harming and killing both juvenile and adult fish.

These cold-water fish begin to suffer harmful effects when water temperatures exceed 68° Fahrenheit. The longer and the higher these temperatures rise above 68°F, the greater the harm. Over the last several decades, harmful hot water episodes above 68°F in the Columbia and Snake Rivers have steadily increased in duration, frequency, and intensity during the summer months. In the lower Snake River, the four reservoirs have been above the 68°F threshold for an average of 15.25 days as of July 23, compared to an average of 13 days above the threshold this time last year. Ice Harbor reservoir has been above 68°F for the longest at 21 days (compared to 15 days this time last year). The reservoirs behind Ice Harbor, Lower Monumental, and Little Goose dams are also currently routinely reaching lethal daily temperatures between 70-72° F.

The lower Snake River dams transformed a healthy and free-flowing river into a series of large, warm, stagnant reservoirs—creating an unhealthy and unnatural ecosystem by restricting access to clean, cold, free-flowing water, promoting the development of toxic algal blooms, and adding pollutants when dams spill cancer-causing oil.

This summer, we are working with a coalition of organizations on the Hot Water Report to track real-time water temperatures in the lower Snake and Columbia river reservoirs and provide scientific information on the collective impacts of hot, stagnant, and toxic water on salmon and steelhead. The reports will focus on bringing the data to life, featuring stories from scientists, Tribes, and community members regarding the challenges salmon face, and the opportunities to heal the river and the ecosystem.️

View the first issue of the bi-weekly Hot Water Report here: https://www.wildsalmon.org/HWR

The Hot Water Report is a project of: Save Our wild Salmon Coalition, Association of Northwest Steelheaders, Columbia Riverkeeper, Endangered Species Coalition, Idaho Conservation League, Idaho Rivers United, National Wildlife Federation, Nimíipuu Protecting the Environment, Northwest Sportfishing Industry Association, Orca Network, Sierra Club Washington State Chapter, and Snake River Waterkeeper.