• Improvements at Corps dams support fish migration
  • Report shows surface passage speeds travel time for juvenile fish
  • Video: Spill is an effective way to help young fish get past the dams.
  • Safe fish passage at the dams

    The federal dams in the Columbia River Basin (known as the Federal Columbia River Power System) provide nearly 40 percent of the region's electricity.  In addition to clean hydropower, they also provide flood risk management, irrigation, navigation and recreation. Like salmon and steelhead, these dams are treasured resources, vital to the region's culture and economy.

     

    Most salmon and steelhead in the Columbia River Basin encounter one or more hydroelectric dams as they migrate to and from the ocean. Many of the dams were originally built with fish passage. Federal agencies continue to research and implement improvements at the dams that increase survival for both adult fish and juvenile fish.

     

    The FCRPS BiOp sets high standards for juvenile fish passage - 96 percent average per dam survival for spring migrating fish and 93 percent for summer migrants.