Water fight leads to spill damage

Libby Dam delivered a surprise this year - to the dismay of people who own land along the Kootenai River and also to those who value the river's fisheries.

But in some ways it's not a surprise that the U.S. Army of Corps of Engineers was forced to release water over the dam's spillways for 20 days last month. The spill contributed to flooding and crop damage near Bonners Ferry, Idaho, and it raised dissolved gas levels in the Kootenai River well above state water-quality standards, causing widespread "gas bubble" trauma in fish below the dam.

The Corps did indeed come up short in forecasting a runoff that included several spikes, largely due to heavy rain, that caused the rapid refill of Lake Koocanusa and the forced spill.

But it would be wrong to pin blame for this year's unexpected spill on the Corps alone.

For years, the Corps has been at the center of a long-running tug-of-war for water from Libby Dam, arguably the most complicated federal hydroelectric project in the country. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, NOAA Fisheries, American Indian tribes, the Bonneville Power Administration, four states, multiple special-interest groups and even Canadians vie for the water that flows from Libby Dam.

They want "flow augmentation" water for salmon in the lower Columbia River Basin, they want water for white sturgeon in the Kootenai, they want water for power, they want water for recreation.

Gov. Brian Schweitzer and his representatives on the Northwest Power and Conservation Council have asserted that this year's spill is partly the result of ongoing pressure on the Corps to keep Lake Koocanusa higher than it should have been late in spring. When flows into the reservoir exceeded forecasts, Lake Koocanusa was overwhelmed, forcing the spill.

Ironically, it was all preceded by a biological opinion from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that emphasized the need for spilling as a way to provide better spawning conditions for Kootenai River sturgeon. The state of Montana rightly resisted, citing the harm that spilling causes to other fish, including threatened bull trout.

Now that harm has been demonstrated. Perhaps that proof is the only good thing to come out of Libby Dam this year.