The Northwest Power 

and Conservation Council’s

Fast Facts About the 

Columbia River Basin

Pocket 

Guide

Pocket 

Guide

Northwest orthwest

Power

Conservation

Council

and

2005 Edition Council Document 2004-16
The Northwest Power and Conservation 

Council was created by Congress through 

the 1980 Pacific Northwest Electric Power 

Planning and Conservation Act (Northwest 

Power Act) to give the citizens of Idaho, 

Montana, Oregon and Washington a 

stronger voice in determining the future of 

key resources common to all four states–

namely, the electricity generated at, and fish 

and wildlife affected by, the Columbia River 

Basin hydropower dams.

The Council is a unique organization that 

helps the Pacific Northwest make critical 

decisions that balance the multiple uses of 

the Columbia River and its tributaries.

Council Profile
3

The principal duties of the Council under the Act 

are to:

Develop a regional power plan to assure 

the Northwest an adequate, efficient, economical and reliable power supply.

Develop a fish and wildlife program as part 

of the power plan to protect, mitigate and 

enhance fish and wildlife affected by hydroelectric development in the Columbia River Basin, 

and make annual funding recommendations to 

the Bonneville Power Administration for projects 

to implement the program.

Provide for broad public participation in 

these processes and inform the public 

about regional issues.

Public Responsibilities
 4

Council Organization

The Council was initiated by Congress 

through enactment of the 1980 Northwest 

Power Act (Public Law 96-501), and approved 

by a vote of the legislatures of all four states. 

The governor of each state appoints two members to serve on the Council.

The Council is funded by wholesale power 

revenues from the Bonneville Power 

Administration, the federal agency that markets 

the electricity generated at federal dams on the 

Columbia River.

The plans the Council develops and 

approves are implemented by numerous 

agencies, including: The Bonneville Power 

Administration; The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; The Bureau of Reclamation; and The 

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
5

State, tribal and local governments often 

work closely with the Council as it develops 

its power and fish and wildlife plans, and these 

entities also implement measures in those 

plans. The power and fish and wildlife programs 

are updated at least every five years.

Contact Information

Northwest Power and Conservation Council

851 SW Sixth Avenue Suite 1100

Portland, OR 97204-1348 

Telephone: 503-222-5161 

Toll free: 800-452-5161

Fax: 503-820-2370

Web site: www.nwcouncil.org
 6

Project Priorities

The Council directs on average $140 million 

annually in federal electricity revenues to 

more than 250 projects to improve fish and wildlife survival in the Columbia River Basin.

The Council uses independent scientific 

review to improve and discipline the region’s 

efforts to protect and restore fish and wildlife.

The Council provides analysis and information about electricity demand, new technologies and how the hydropower system affects fish 

and wildlife.
7

The Columbia River Basin is a region that 

includes parts of Washington, Oregon, 

Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada and 

British Columbia–an area larger than France.

The river and its tributaries are the dominant water system in the Pacific Northwest.

The Columbia River is 1,214 miles long.

The Columbia River originates at Columbia 

Lake in British Columbia, and about 25 percent of the river flow comes from Canada.

The largest major tributary is the Snake 

River, which is 1,036 miles long.

Columbia River Basin 
 8

The Columbia River is a snow-charged river 

that fluctuates seasonally in volume.

Average annual runoff at its mouth is about 

198 million acre-feet.

The highest volumes are between April and 

September. The lowest volumes are from 

December to February.

From its source at 2,650 feet above sea 

level, the river falls an average of more than 

2 feet per mile before reaching the ocean.

Humans have lived along the river for more 

than 10,000 years, with a large increase 

in population when the Euro-American settlers 

arrived in the 1800s.

COLUMBIA RIVER BASIN 
9

Fish and Wildlife

Five species of Pacific salmon–pink, chum, 

sockeye, coho and chinook; and two anadromous trout–steelhead and sea-run cutthroat–

are found in the Columbia River Basin.

Historic annual runs of adult salmon and 

steelhead were believed to have measured 

between 11 and 16 million fish, but declined to 

about one million by the 1990s.

In 1988, the Council designated 44,000 

miles of river reaches in the basin as “protected areas” where hydroelectric development 

is prohibited in order to protect fish and wildlife 

and their habitat.

Since 2000, above average returns of adult 

salmon and steelhead have occurred, setting 

records for many different populations.
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Map of the Columbia River Basin 
11

Of the original salmon and 

steelhead habitat available 

in the Columbia River Basin, 

55 percent of the area, and 

31 percent of the stream 

miles, have been blocked by 

dam construction.
 12

Columbia River Basin resident fish spend 

their entire life cycle in freshwater and 

include: warm water species, bass and walleye; 

and coldwater species, cutthroat, bull trout and 

kokanee. Other wildlife includes song birds, 

deer, elk, moose, caribou, squirrels and rabbits. 

The Council’s program is intended to mitigate 

the impact of hydropower on these species, as 

well as on anadromous fish such as salmon and 

steelhead that migrate to the ocean and return 

to the river to spawn.

Salmon and steelhead have existed in the 

river for about 12 million years.

By the early 20th century, spring and summer 

runs of Chinook salmon had been depleted 

through overharvest and habitat degradation.

POWER
13

50,700 MW Total.

Excludes capacity operating under temporary permits.

Pacific Northwest Resource Mix: Capacity Basis

Hydro

Coal

Natural Gas

Nuclear

Other

Wind

65% 15%

14%

3%

2%

1%

The regional energy system includes about 

50,700 megawatts of generating capacity. 

Under normal precipitation, it can provide about 

31,000 average megawatts of electricity.

About 65 percent (approximately 33,000 

megawatts) of the region’s generating 

capacity comes from hydroelectric dams. Under 

normal precipitation, they produce about three 

quarters (16,200 average megawatts) of the 

region’s electricity.

POWER Regional Power System
 14

About 20,200 megawatts of this hydroelectric capacity is from the Federal Columbia 

River Power System. This system consists of 

31 dams, producing 6,985 average megawatts 

of firm energy.

The Bonneville Power Administration markets 

the output of the FCRPS, along with the 

output of the Columbia Generating Station, a 

1,200 megawatt nuclear plant.

Approximately 95 percent of the region’s 

hydroelectric power supply comes from 

Columbia River Basin dams.

It takes about 1,200 average megawatts of 

energy to power a city the size of Seattle.

In good water years, the Columbia River 

Basin hydrosystem can produce about 18,000 

average megawatts of electricity, and in poor water 

years, as little as 11,700 average megawatts.
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The Grand Coulee Dam (1941) has the 

greatest generating capacity of any dam 

on the system at 6,494 megawatts, followed by 

Chief Joseph Dam (1955) at 2,457 and the John 

Day Dam (1968) at 2,160.

Winds channeled through the Columbia River 

Gorge create one of the best wind resource 

areas in North America. Windmills account for 541 

megawatts of capacity, producing 175 average 

megawatts of energy.

The Bonneville Power Administration owns 

and operates more than three-fourths of 

the high-voltage transmission grid in the Pacific 

Northwest. 

The total transmission system in circuit 

miles is 15,328.
 16

Since 1980, the region has reduced 

electricity demand by about 2,700 average megawatts through energy conservation 

measures.

During the 1990s, conservation met over 25 

percent of the average annual increase in 

the region’s electricity demand.

The average cost of conservation is about 

1/2 the cost of new generating resources.

2,500 average megawatts of new costeffective conservation potential is expected to 

be available over the next 20 years—enough to 

meet about 40 percent of forecasted demand 

growth over this period.

Energy Conservation
17

Agriculture

Idaho has the most irrigated acreage in 

the Northwest with over 3 million acres 

under irrigation at any given time, while Oregon 

irrigates 1.9 million acres and Washington 1.8 

million acres.

Food processing is the largest manufacturing employment sector in the state of Idaho. 

It is the second largest in Washington and the 

third largest in Oregon.
18

The Columbia River system is a unified 

transportation system with 36 deep and 

shallow water ports.

A 40-foot deep river channel for oceangoing vessels extends 106 miles from the 

ocean to Portland, Oregon and Vancouver, 

Washington. In 2003, waterborne cargo value 

totaled $15 billion.

37 percent of all U.S. wheat exports were 

shipped on the Columbia River in 2003. 

Navigation
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Flood Control

In 1948, the importance of flood control 

became a priority after Vanport, Oregon, was 

destroyed by a flood. The Army Corps of Engineers responded by developing a multiple-use reservoir storage plan for the Columbia River Basin.

In February 1996, the region was reminded 

of the importance of flood control. Government agencies and non-federal hydro operators 

worked together to reduce flood damage by an 

estimated $3.2 billion.

Major flood control projects are Mica, 

Arrow, and Duncan dams in Canada; Libby, 

Hungry Horse, Grand Coulee, and Dworshak in 

the U.S.
Telephone: 503-222-5161

Toll Free: 800-452-5161

Fax: 503-820-2370

Web Site: www.nwcouncil.org

Northwest

Power

Conservation

Council

and

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