But residents of the Northwest can still do something about it. Conservation now allows water in the reservoir to stay in the reservoir. Every bit of power saved now will have a lasting impact. Few want to say that we've outgrown the Columbia, but many concede that we have pushed it to its very limits. The fact is, in the Pacific Northwest, water is power.
Every ripple carries force.
Every wave has power. Multiply the energy stored in every drop of a river 1,200 miles long, add a healthy dose of human audacity and you have a recipe to change the face of the Columbia River forever. Bottling up and harnessing the power of a dynamic river like the Columbia holds enormous impact, according to Columbia River historian Bill Lang. Human creations like concrete and steel redirect the river by force and put it to work. His dam alone produces more than 2000 megawatts of electricity each hour.