Letter: Fish and hydropower can coexist with Snake River dams

The issue of breaching the dams continues. Activists have been effective at attracting press coverage but fail to make a strong case for dam removal.

Here’s why: The Snake River dams produce reliable, low-cost, carbon-free energy. Together, these dams on average supply 12 percent of all the energy produced by the federal hydro system and are essential to the Northwest electric grid reliability.

Yet anti-dam groups ignore the benefits and say they must be removed to save salmon. That’s not true.

The dams are equipped with state-of-the art technologies to ensure that salmon travel safely downstream. Survival rates for young salmon at these dams are astounding, with 97 percent safely traversing each dam.

Northwest residents care deeply about both salmon and dams. Polling shows 70 percent of Northwest residents recognize the value of the dams and 77 percent said dams and salmon must co-exist. The good news is, they are. The Corps of Engineers reports that last year brought some of the highest fall chinook, coho and sockeye salmon returns to the Lower Snake River since Snake River dam construction began in 1962.

The naysayers may capture the headlines, but the fact remains — fish can be protected while also preserving our hydropower.

Kennewick

This story was originally published November 9, 2015 at 5:13 PM with the headline "Letter: Fish and hydropower can coexist with Snake River dams."