Columbia River Treaty Has Big Impact On Washington Agriculture

Earlier this month, Representatives Dan Newhouse and Oregon’s Kurt Schrader led a bipartisan letter urging President Trump to commence negotiations with Canada over the Columbia River Treaty.  The 53 year old treaty has not been revised since it was ratified in 1964.  Newhouse told the Washington Ag Network many Northwest farmers don’t realized the impact the CRT has on agriculture.  He said under the Treaty, many dams in Canada are used to stave off flooding in the U.S.  However, if the Treaty were to disappear, Newhouse says the focus of our dams would move to flood control, which would have a direct and negative impact on irrigation.

“That would have a huge impact on our dependence on irrigation water that we have right now.”

Newhouse said maintaining flood control north of the 49^th is important for Washington ag now and into the future.

“So we can not only maintain the level of irrigation, but as you know we’re looking to expand and increase the Columbia River Project coverage and that’s going to require us to keep things the way they are.”

Click Here to read that letter penned by Newhouse and Schrader.

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