The Heat is On: Alarming Data on Rising Temperatures, Fish Kills in Columbia River Spurs Call to Action
The Columbia River reaches dangerously high temperatures every summer, threatening juvenile salmon and steelhead and other species that depend on cool water for survival. Columbia Riverkeeper and its team of citizen volunteers have monitored temperature levels throughout the Columbia River and its tributaries since 2006, and the data raise fears that without prompt action from state and federal agencies the Columbia is in danger of massive fish kills.
“We’re deeply troubled by the latest findings on rising water temperature in the Columbia,” said Brett VandenHeuvel, Columbia Riverkeeper’s Executive Director. “To ensure salmon survival and comply with the law, the temperature must remain below at least 68°F. The Columbia regularly exceeded 70 degrees, which is unsafe. The salmon are stressed and suffocating due to lack of oxygen.”
Cool water temperature is critical for salmon and steelhead survival, particularly for juvenile fish which are more sensitive to warm water. 60°F is the upper limit of their optimal temperature range – above that their ability to migrate, resist diseases and escape predation from bass, walleye, and catfish to name a few is greatly reduced. In 2009, Riverkeeper deployed 38 continuous temperature loggers—devices that are submerged under water and record temperatures every half hour. From early July to late September, every temperature logger between Celilo Park, just east of The Dalles, and Vancouver recorded water temperatures that exceed the state and federal standards for the protection of juvenile salmon.
State and federal agencies charged with protecting water quality, including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, singled out the Columbia River for its temperature problem over a decade ago. Despite recognizing the threats that hot water poses to endangered fish, the agencies response to the problem has been stagnant in recent years. In the mean time, temperatures on the river continue to rise.
“We’re already seeing the effects of hot water on juvenile salmonids,” explained VandenHeuvel. “Last summer, a major fish kill occurred on a tributary to the Columbia—Fifteen Mile Creek, a wild steelhead spawning stream in Wasco County. Hot weather combined with the withdrawal of too much water proved deadly for thousands of fish, including juvenile steelhead. We need a coordinated response in the Columbia Basin—not more delay,” said VandenHeuvel.
Under the federal Clean Water Act, the state and federal government set water quality standards—including standards for temperature—based on what conditions aquatic species like salmon require for survival. EPA designated the Columbia River as “water quality limited” for temperature in 1996, which requires the federal government and state agencies to set up a system for improving temperatures to a point where the river supports healthy salmon populations. The high temperatures are a result of decreased river flow, loss of shade trees and wetlands on many tributaries, and warm water discharges.
That process has been in a stalemate for several years. According to Columbia Riverkeeper’s data and data recorded by federal agencies at the Columbia River dams, the river’s water consistently violated state and federal standards.
The high water temperatures must be considered in the context of global warming, which may increase water temperature even more. There are worldwide and local events drawing attention to global warming as part of 350.org. Throughout Oregon and Washington, citizens are posing for a picture in the shape of “350,” which is the level of carbon dioxide scientists believe is safe.
Columbia Riverkeeper is a conservation group with members throughout the Columbia River basin. Members are working to identify, protect, and restore cool-water thermal refuges for endangered and threatened salmon. Riverkeeper also works with school kids and community groups to remind them that the more they conserve energy and conserve water the greater the water flow will be in the river, which is necessary to ensure cool temperatures for the regions prized salmon and steelhead.
Check out the article in The Columbian 10.24.09
