The resident of Nakusp on the shores of the reservoir in British Columbia’s southern Interior says she’s seen thousands of dead fish on the shore, and the receding waterline means boat access has been cut to waterfront properties. Instead of lapping waters, some homes now face an expanse of sucking quicksand.
“Its significance was really that it provided for the co-operative development of the Columbia River — the co-operative development of storage for flood control and power purposes, and for a sharing of the benefits associated with those developments.” The 230-kilometre-long Arrow Lakes Reservoir — made up of Upper Arrow Lake and Lower Arrow Lake — was created when the Hugh Keenleyside Dam was built in 1968 under the treaty.
She says the low water levels are hampering tourism and recreation on the lake, located about 600 km east of Vancouver. The latest round of negotiations, which were the 19th since talks began in 2018, concluded in Portland on Oct. 13. “Currently, as I understand it, the dam operators start thinking about flood control operations in February,” Bankes said. “So, you need long lead-ups to be able to achieve target flows down in Washington and Oregon. “That, I think, is the biggest issue, and obviously it should be a huge driver for the United States. What amazes me is that they haven’t got it figured out now, because 11 months is not a long time.
Speaking to West Kootenay residents with Conroy, Canadian treaty negotiator Stephen Gluck said while an ad hoc regime will give Canada more control over waterflow “in theory,” it also introduces uncertainty.