Columbia River Treaty

The Columbia River Treaty has played a crucial role in reducing flood damage and providing clean energy to millions of households, businesses and industries in both Canada and the United States. These remain important elements of the agreement-in-principle (AIP). Under the AIP, countries have agreed that a modernized Treaty will provide a reduced level of assured pre-planned flood risk management and continued cooperation on hydropower generation for the Columbia River.

The countries have also agreed to incorporate new provisions not considered in the original agreement, including those for increased unilateral flexibility for how B.C. operates its Treaty dams, ecosystem health and Indigenous cultural values, salmon population enhancement and reintroduction in the Canadian Upper Columbia Basin, adaptive management, new collaborative engagement on Kootenay river management, including Libby Dam operations and a Columbia River system-wide transboundary joint ecosystem and Indigenous and Tribal cultural values body.

These added provisions reflect the interests voiced by B.C. Columbia Basin First Nations, local governments, and residents over more than a decade of engagement with the Province of British Columbia.

The AIP supports a renewed approach to sharing benefits equitably between countries. It enables B.C. to continue receiving an equitable share of additional hydroelectric power potential in the U.S. as a result of how B.C. operates its Treaty dams, and includes new access to U.S. transmission infrastructure. It also provides annual indexed compensation from the U.S. for a reduced volume of reservoir space for flood risk management and for other benefits the U.S. receives, including benefits to irrigation, navigation, recreation, and fish population enhancements in the U.S. portion of the Columbia Basin.

It’s important to note that the agreement-in-principle is not the new Treaty and is not legally binding. It is a framework that provides a clear roadmap for the countries to draft a modernized Treaty.

In the AIP the combination of B.C. providing less assured flood risk management to the U.S., and gaining new flexibility for operating its Treaty dams, will give B.C. more control over Treaty flows and reservoir levels for B.C.’s domestic purposes in order to better support B.C. Basin ecosystems, Indigenous cultural values and socio-economic interests.

The goal in these negotiations has always been to modernize the Treaty in a way that leads to improvements and reduced impacts in the B.C. Basin, and the AIP outlines a path to achieving that goal.

The original Treaty’s main focus is limited to Flood Risk Management and hydropower coordination.  The AIP has expanded the scope of a modernized Treaty to include salmon population enhancement and salmon reintroduction, a transboundary joint ecosystem body to advise the countries on ecology health of the “One River” Columbia, an adaptive management framework, and a new collaborative committee on the management of the Kootenay system, including Libby Dam, to address common interests.

The presentation from the Province of B.C.’s virtual information session on September 17, 2024 compares the AIP with a scenario under which the original Treaty continues.  View the PowerPoint slides or watch a recording of the information session.

It is important to note that the agreement-in-principle is not a finalized modernized Treaty.  It provides an agreed upon roadmap for the negotiation teams to move forward on drafting a modernized Treaty and for B.C. to begin engaging with the Columbia River Basin residents to seek feedback on the AIP and on next steps.

At the outset of the negotiations, Canada and the U.S. concurred, as is usually done in international negotiations, that they would treat information developed and exchanged in the context of negotiations in confidence to preserve respective positions and strategies.  The AIP framework reached during negotiations is subject to this treatment.

That said, B.C. has provided a document containing the main elements of what is intended to become a modernized Columbia River Treaty.  Representatives from the Canadian negotiation delegation described these elements and answered questions during a virtual information session held on September 17, 2024.

B.C. has also released a backgrounder and a video describing these elements as further ways to learn about the AIP.

That is still to be determined.  Now that Canada and the U.S. have reached an AIP, there is still work to be done.  B.C.’s first priority was to engage with the Ktunaxa, Secwépemc and Syilx Okanagan Nations, Columbia Basin local governments and Basin residents about the agreement-in-principle and this process is still underway.

There are other processes that need to take place on both sides of the border, including drafting of the Treaty text, seeking First Nations’ consent, obtaining approval by the B.C. government, and ratification by the U.S. and Canadian federal governments.

There is no set date for when a modernized Treaty will come into effect.

While the AIP is a significant step towards a modernized Treaty and lays out the foundation for what a renewed Treaty will include, it does not mean river and reservoir management will change right away.  Until a modernized Treaty has been finalized and brought into law, the current Treaty remains in place.

Negotiations have taken time because there are many interests to consider in B.C., Canada and in the U.S.  Both countries have taken the time needed to improve on a 60-year-old Treaty in need of renewal.  There were several stages to this process: reaching a common understanding among each member of the negotiation delegations of the original Treaty, its operations and challenges; sharing each country’s goals and objectives; laying out specific interests across a range of topics; developing, introducing and revisiting respective positions; and exchanging more than a dozen proposals.

For the Canadian team, that means negotiating an agreement that reflects the interests and values of the Ktunaxa, Secwépemc and Syilx Okanagan Nations, local governments and residents, which are captured in the agreement-in-principle reached in July 2024.  There have been comprehensive technical studies, computerized river management modelling, and over a decade of engagement that has informed this process.

Canada, B.C. and the Ktunaxa, Secwépemc and Syilx Okanagan Nations have been clear with the U.S. that a modernized Treaty must reduce the impacts that B.C. Basin communities and ecosystems have been experiencing since the Treaty came into force in 1964.  B.C. is not willing to accept an agreement unless it allows for improvements in the B.C. Basin.

It is important to note that the agreement-in-principle is not a finalized modernized Treaty.  It provides an agreed upon roadmap for the negotiation teams to move forward on drafting a renewed Treaty and for B.C. to engage with the Columbia River Basin residents to seek feedback on the AIP and on next steps.  Until a modernized Treaty is ratified, the existing Treaty remains in effect.

If the Treaty is modernized in a way that reflects the agreement-in-principle, the combination of reduced pre-planned flood risk management and new Canadian flexibility would give B.C. more control over its Treaty dam operations and resulting river flows and reservoir levels to address impacts to ecosystems and communities.

Following the modernized Treaty’s entry into force, Canada will provide the United States with 3.6 million acre-feet (MAF) of pre-planned flood risk management (FRM), a 60% reduction from the current 8.95 MAF.  Arrow Lakes Reservoir would continue to provide the 3.6 MAF of FRM storage as it is the closest reservoir to the border and therefore the most effective in responding to the Columbia freshet; however, Kinbasket and Duncan Reservoirs would no longer need to be operated to meet planned U.S. FRM requirements.

The new Canadian flexibility under the AIP would allow Canada to unilaterally decide to reduce the current coordinated power storage of 15.5 MAF by up to 5 MAF, or almost a third of the Treaty storage space, for B.C.’s own domestic purposes.  Domestic flexibility may be used to address impacts resulting from the Treaty to ecosystems, Indigenous cultural values and socio-economic interests.

There is significant research and river management scenario modelling underway that is informing how B.C. can best manage this new flexibility.  Part of that process includes looking at different flows and elevations throughout the year on Treaty reservoirs and river sections.  Research to determine objectives and operational scenarios for the modelling process is being led by the Ktunaxa, Secwépemc and Syilx Okanagan Nations in collaboration with federal and provincial governments, the Columbia River Treaty Local Governments Committee, and environmental non-governmental scientists and technical consultants.

Once options for changes in Treaty hydrosystem operations using the new flexibility are identified, B.C. will hold a separate public engagement process with Basin communities to get their feedback.

Legal drafting of a modernized Treaty will take time.  We have been clear with the U.S. about our commitment to engage with Basin First Nations, local governments and residents so they can provide feedback on an AIP before a modernized Treaty is finalized.  This commitment has been underway since the AIP was achieved as the B.C. CRT Team has been accepting input since September 2024.  The feedback received is being considered by the Canadian negotiation delegation during the drafting process to modernize the Treaty.

People were invited to share their thoughts through an online feedback form and by formal written submissions until March 31, 2025.  That process is now closed; however, comments and questions about the Treaty and the AIP are welcomed by email to columbiarivertreaty@gov.bc.ca.

In-person community meetings will be scheduled in the B.C. Columbia Basin to seek further feedback from residents.  Those sessions, originally planned for early in 2025, will be confirmed once there is more clarity about next steps on the path to modernizing the Treaty.  Negotiations between Canada and the U.S. to modernize the Treaty are currently paused, as the U.S. administration conducts a broad review of its international engagements.

The Province of B.C. has been engaging with First Nations, local governments and residents in the Basin since 2012 to learn what interests matter to them, and what they want to see changed in the Treaty.

The B.C. CRT Team has been connecting with people through virtual and in-person meetings, social media, newsletters, emails, letters and one-on-one phone calls with interested citizens.  Members of the Canadian negotiating delegation, including Canada’s Chief Negotiator and representatives from the Province of B.C. and Basin First Nations, attend public meetings to provide insight into the process for modernizing the Treaty, answer questions and hear from residents firsthand.

There are also two committees the B.C. CRT Team engages with regularly – the Columbia River Treaty Local Governments Committee and the Columbia Basin Regional Advisory Committee.  These groups have members from across the Basin and are providing suggestions, feedback and advice on what an improved Treaty could look like.

Engagement has continued since the AIP was reached. Resources have been provided that explain the AIP in various ways, including an overview video, backgrounder, and a more detailed document containing the content of the AIP.

B.C. hosted a series of virtual information sessions for the public to learn more about the AIP and ask questions.  Recordings of those sessions are available on the B.C. Columbia River Treaty website.

The CRT Team looks forward to returning to the Basin for in-person community meetings.  Those sessions, originally planned for early in 2025, will be confirmed once there is more clarity about next steps on the path to modernizing the Treaty.  Negotiations between Canada and the U.S. to modernize the Treaty are currently paused, as the U.S. administration conducts a broad review of its international engagements.

Questions and comments are encouraged and can be sent to columbiarivertreaty@gov.bc.ca.

Throughout the Province’s public engagement, Basin residents and local governments have consistently voiced that they want a modernized Treaty that:

• continues to protect communities from damaging floods and enable the generation of clean renewable hydroelectricity;
• supports ecosystem health throughout the Basin;
• includes salmon restoration in the upper Columbia River;
• respects Indigenous knowledge and cultural values;
• considers social and economic interests such as recreation and transportation;
• reduces Treaty reservoir fluctuations;
• is able to adapt to future unknowns, such as the effects of climate change; and
• includes transboundary coordination of Libby Dam operations.

Residents have also voiced the need for First Nations’ participation in Treaty modernization, and the need for a modernized Treaty to reflect an equitable sharing of Treaty benefits, including benefits to U.S. irrigation, navigation, recreation and fisheries.

These interests are all reflected in the AIP.

The Ktunaxa, Secwépemc and Syilx Okanagan Nations are full participants in the Canadian negotiating team.  Since 2018, when negotiations began, representatives of the three Nations have been working closely with the governments of Canada and B.C. to develop and refine Canadian negotiating positions, strategies and proposals.  That partnership became more formalized when, in April 2019, then Minister of Foreign Affairs Chrystia Freeland invited representatives from the Ktunaxa, Secwépemc, and Syilx Okanagan Nations, to join the Canadian delegation as observers.

The three Nations have also been instrumental in leading domestic efforts to integrate Indigenous and Tribal cultural values and ecosystem health into the modernized Treaty, and restore salmon to the B.C. portion of the Columbia Basin.

The close partnership between Canada, B.C. and the Ktunaxa, Secwépemc and Syilx Okanagan Nations throughout the past six years of negotiations with the U.S. has made it possible to reach this AIP.  The three Nations’ direct involvement has made negotiations with the U.S. stronger and will ensure a modernized Treaty will reflect a broader range of interests and perspectives.

The participation of the Ktunaxa, Secwépemc, and Syilx Okanagan Nations as partners in the Columbia River Treaty modernization process is an important example of Canada’s and B.C.’s commitments to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and to our journey towards reconciliation.

While the AIP is a significant step towards a modernized Treaty and lays out the foundation for what a renewed Treaty may include, it does not mean river and reservoir management will change right away.  Until a modernized Treaty has been finalized and brought into law, the current Treaty remains in place, with the addition of the reduced FRM in the AIP for a period of 3 years.

The Province is aware of the significant impacts that drought conditions have had on B.C. Treaty reservoirs in recent years, in addition to requirements to meet obligations under the Treaty.  These impacts have been especially prevalent in Arrow Lakes Reservoir, affecting the area’s communities and ecosystems.

While the AIP does not include specific provisions for holding water in B.C. during drought years, it does  include additional unilateral flexibility for how B.C.’s Treaty dams are operated, which will allow B.C. to adjust operations to support ecosystems, Indigenous cultural values, and socio-economic interests, such as recreation and tourism, without agreement from the U.S.

There is significant research and river management scenario modelling underway that is informing how best to use any new flexibility.  Part of that process includes looking at different elevations throughout the year on Treaty reservoirs.  Research to determine objectives for the modelling process is being led by the Ktunaxa, Secwépemc and Syilx Okanagan Nations in collaboration with federal and provincial governments, the Columbia River Treaty Local Governments Committee, and environmental non-governmental scientists and technical consultants.

While the AIP is a significant step towards a modernized Treaty and lays out the foundation for what a renewed Treaty may include, it does not mean river and reservoir management will change right away.  Until a modernized Treaty has been finalized and brought into law, the current Treaty remains in place, with the addition of the reduced pre-planned flood risk management in the AIP for a period of 3 years.

Climate change has been interwoven throughout Canada-U.S. negotiations.

Before negotiations started, two documents set the stage for the current discussions – the B.C. Decision and the U.S. Regional Recommendation on the Future of the Columbia River Treaty.  Both documents addressed the need to consider climate change impacts in the Basin, so that has been a key consideration for negotiators from both countries.

Climate change is also an important part of research and modelling being led by First Nations, in collaboration with federal and provincial agencies and consultants, to explore ecosystem improvements in the B.C. Treaty reservoirs and along the Columbia River.

A key goal for the Canadian delegation throughout negotiations has been to incorporate adaptive management into the Treaty, allowing both countries to adjust to the effects of climate change (including droughts and floods), evolving Indigenous and scientific knowledge, and other future unknowns.  This is reflected in the agreement-in-principle.

The AIP outlines how Canada would provide 1 million acre-feet (MAF) of water flows in all years, and an additional 0.5 MAF in dry years, to support downstream salmon survival and migration.  This will assist efforts in both countries to maintain and enhance salmon populations in the mid and lower Columbia, including the Okanagan salmon stocks.

First Nations in Canada and Tribes in the U.S. will coordinate their respective salmon reintroduction studies to prevent duplication of effort.  The goal is to maximize synergies from efforts on both sides of the border and to facilitate information sharing.

B.C. First Nations, the Province and Canada, under the Columbia River Salmon Reintroduction Initiative, have been collaborating on salmon reintroduction for a number of years.  For more information visit the Initiative’s website at www.columbiariversalmon.ca.

Canada and the U.S. will form an Indigenous-led advisory body that will provide recommendations on how Treaty and other hydro-system operations can better support ecosystems along the entire Columbia River, which will also serve as a forum for collaborating on salmon restoration.

Annual payments will be made to Canada under the AIP:

1. Pre-planned flood risk management (FRM) payments would be US$37.6 million annually indexed to inflation using the consumer price index (CPI), through 2044. These payments began in 2024 under an interim agreement reached between Canada and U.S. under the current Treaty, which brought into effect the FRM operations outlined in the AIP and corresponding payments to Canada for a period of three years.  The original payment for flood control in 1964 was US$64.4 million for 60 years, which expired September 16, 2024.
2. The United States also recognizes that they receive additional benefits from the operation of Canadian Treaty reservoirs and will provide an additional US$16.6 million to Canada annually once the modernized agreement enters into force, indexed to inflation using the CPI, through 2044. The additional benefits include irrigation, recreation, navigation and fisheries.  This additional compensation does not exist in the current Treaty.

Canadian Entitlement (CE):

This is B.C.’s share of the incremental power generation potential in the U.S. resulting from the management of Treaty reservoirs and is in the form of electricity delivered to the border.  The CE is sold either domestically to BC Hydro or on the U.S. energy market, and revenues go to the Province’s Consolidated Revenue Fund.

The schedule in the AIP that reduces the CE at the beginning of the 2024-2025 operating year (beginning Aug. 1, 2024), starts from 660 megawatts (MW) capacity and 305 average megawatts (aMW) of energy, stabilizing in 2033-2034 at 550 MW of capacity and 225 aMW of energy, and ending in 2044.  The reduction of the CE takes into account the decrease expected when the Treaty was originally entered into due to a reduced contribution of Canadian Treaty dam operations to the Pacific Northwest power system capability.  The schedule is available in the document containing the content of the AIP, posted to this website.  Coordination on hydropower operations and the delivery of the Canadian Entitlement outlined in the AIP was secured until 2044 through an interim agreement between Canada and the U.S. reached under the existing Treaty in the fall of 2024.

Transmission benefits:

1. Existing transmission: BC Hydro will have access, through its trading subsidiary Powerex, to an unreduced 1,120 MW of transmission that is currently used to deliver the CE to the Canada-U.S. border.  This maintains BC Hydro’s ability to buy power in the U.S. market when prices are low to supplement BC Hydro’s energy portfolio.  This is particularly important for system stability and energy security during drought periods.  This transmission access was secured until 2044 through an interim agreement reached between the Canadian and U.S. Entities in the fall of 2024.
2. New transmission: Powerex and the Bonneville Power Administration are to conduct a study on expansion of new transmission in the south-east of B.C.   If, as a result of the study, the U.S. pursues the development of the additional transmission, BC Hydro will have further access to U.S. markets to enhance trading and supplement domestic energy resources.

The Columbia River Treaty is an evergreen agreement; it has no end date.  However, either country can unilaterally terminate the Treaty if it issues a 10-year termination notice.

The AIP sets a time limit to certain elements of the modernized Treaty, such as power coordination and flood risk management and associated compensation, to 20 years.  Modifications, amendments and extensions can be made if agreed to by both countries.

These are collaborative committees that are intended to enhance the ecological health of the Columbia and Kootenay rivers, as well as, for the Kootenay, address other objectives such as recreation and tourism, flood control and power generation.  These bodies are in the early forming stages, pending the ratification of a modernized Treaty, and more information will be provided as they evolve.

The purpose of gaining up to 5 million acre-feet of flexibility is to enhance ecosystems, Indigenous cultural values, and socio-economic objectives.  There is significant research and river management scenario modelling underway that is informing how best to use this new flexibility.  Part of that process includes looking at different Treaty reservoir elevations and flows throughout the year.

Research to determine objectives for the modelling process is being led by the Ktunaxa, Secwépemc and Syilx Okanagan Nations in collaboration with federal and provincial governments, the Columbia River Treaty Local Governments Committee, and environmental non-governmental scientists and technical consultants.

While the work is progressing well, alternative hydro system operations, known as Specified Operations (SO), are not yet fully developed.  Once this work is further advanced, there will be a separate engagement process in the Basin to explain what improvements are being planned in which areas, and to receive feedback.  Once the SO is determined, it will be integrated into Columbia River Treaty operation planning and must be implemented under the modernized Treaty.

The Canadian Entitlement (CE) volume is determined under formulas imbedded in the 1964 Treaty.  It is the half-share of the increased power generating potential of the U.S. power system with and without Canadian storage.  The impact of Canadian storage has always been forecast to decline over time as demand grows in the Pacific Northwest and new generation is added to meet that demand, therefore diminishing the proportional contribution of the Treaty dams to the Pacific Northwest power grid.  Depending on the assumptions used in the Treaty calculations, the CE could decline to zero at the end of the 2020s, or persist over the longer term at a lower level.

In the AIP, the CE volume is initially less than B.C. has received in recent years, but higher than expected in the outer years.  The Entitlement calculations and the CE volumes included in the AIP are independent of how the U.S. chooses to operate its system (for example spilling water rather than generating power to assist in juvenile salmon migration).

The revenue B.C. receives from the CE is a function of the volume and prices in the Pacific Northwest power market, which vary seasonally and from year to year.

The maximum amount of flood risk management (FRM) storage has been reduced from 8.95 million acre-feet (MAF) in all three dams to 3.6 MAF in Arrow, so less than what it was previously.  In addition, the full 3.6 MAF will not be required every year.  In the original Treaty, the FRM volume in Arrow Lakes Reservoir was 5.1 MAF.  In recent years this storage allocation was reduced to 3.6 MAF as part of what is called the Arrow-Mica swap.  This reduced FRM storage requirement for Arrow Lakes Reservoir has been preserved in the AIP.

Arrow Lakes Reservoir is closest to the Canada-U.S. border and the most effective in reducing flood risk, as opposed to storage in Kinbasket Reservoir, which is higher up in the Columbia River, or Duncan Dam, which has significantly less storage available.  Half of the inflow into Arrow Lakes Reservoir comes from the Arrow Lakes watershed downstream of Mica dam.

To bridge the gap between the AIP and a modernized Treaty, the Canadian Entity (BC Hydro) and U.S. Entity (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Bonneville Power Administration) entered into interim arrangements under the existing Treaty through exchanges of diplomatic notes between Canada and the U.S. to allow continued operations and implement some components of the AIP.

Under the interim agreements:

• Coordination on hydropower operations and the delivery of the Canadian Entitlement outlined in the AIP will continue until 2044, or until the agreement is superseded by a modernized Treaty entering into force, as will rights to transmission in the U.S.

• The pre-planned flood risk management operations outlined in the AIP will be implemented for a three-year period and B.C. will be compensated as set out in the AIP.  After the three-year period, unless a modernized Treaty is reached or the interim agreement is extended, flood risk management operations revert to a ‘Called Upon’ regime, which would require the U.S. to make effective use of their reservoirs to manage flood risk, drafting them more deeply and frequently, before “calling upon” Canada for additional storage to prevent flooding.  The U.S. would be required to compensate Canada for financial impacts and economic losses linked to the foregone use of reservoir space during the flood period.