Dams
Kathie Durbin, Bridging a Great Divide: The Battle for the Columbia River Gorge
The construction of two enormous federal hydroelectric dams on the Columbia transformed the lower river and ushered in a new era in the gorge. The United States Army Corps of Engineers completed Bonneville Dam in 1938. The Dalles Dam came nineteen years later, in 1957. More dams followed -- some public, some private -- along the main stem of the Columbia all the way to the Canadian border and beyond. Of the river's 1,200 miles from source to mouth, only 57 river miles remain free-flowing today.
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The Dalles Dam and John Day and McNary dams to the east, built between 1955 and 1968, drowned at least forty-five archaeological sites.
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Page Index
NW Power & Conservation Council, Dams: history and purpose
In 1925, Congress authorized the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Federal Power Commission to jointly:
...prepare and submit to Congress an estimate of the cost of making such examinations, surveys or other investigations ... of those navigable streams of the United States and their tributaries ... with a view t othe formulation of general plans for the most effective improvement of such streams for the purposes of navigation and prosecution of such improvement in combination with the most efficient development of the potential water power, the control of floods and the needs of irrigation.
The response, printed as House Document 308 on April 12, 1926, featured the Columbia prominently, This and subsequent "308 reports" were the basic planning documents for the development of navigation, flood control, irrigation and hydropower in the Columbia River Basin.
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Old Man River running wild to the sea bows to the march of progress, or so The Oregonian newspaper of Portland gushed on Sunday, October 1, 1933. Beneath a page-wide aerial photo of the lower Columbia River Gorge and a headline that read, “Bonneville Dam Calls for Impressive Changes in Columbia Gorge,” the newspaper reported: “All eyes turn toward Bonneville, chosen site for a $31,000,000 dam for development of power and navigation in the mighty Columbia.”
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And so it did, not only at Bonneville, but at 13 other sites on the mainstem Columbia from Bonneville at river mile 146 to Mica in British Columbia at river mile 1,018. Today there are 281 hydropower dams larger than one-tenth megawatt in size in the Columbia River Basin and about 200 more dams built for other purposes, such as irrigation and flood control. The prescient observation of The Oregonian in 1933, that the river would be transformed at the hands of man, came true.
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The history of hydropower dams in the Columbia Basin, like the history of hydropower elsewhere in the nation, is notable for the battle between advocates of public control of waterways and advocates of private control. The battle over water power legislation lasted 15 years in Congress, from 1905 through the passage of the Federal Water Power Act in 1920.
Privately owned electric utilities and their parent corporations fiercely opposed federal control of water power developments. Private businesses already controlled the generation and distribution of electricity, and they wanted to expand their holdings to include dams. Others warned about the dangers of monopoly businesses that could control access to electricity and set its cost. In many areas of the country, electricity largely was unavailable outside of urban areas because it was not cost-effective for utilities to extend their lines to rural areas for the benefit of small numbers of customers.
In this important battle, the anti-monopolists had two formidable advocates: Theodore Roosevelt, president of the United States from 1901-1909, and Gifford Pinchot, chief forester of the U.S. Forest Service at that time. Neither was an advocate of public power, but both opposed monopolies and advocated conservation of natural resources. Pinchot, for whom a national forest in southwest Washington is named, was president of the National Conservation Association from 1910, when he left the Forest Service, to 1923 when he was elected governor of Pennsylvania.
Roosevelt, a Republican, embraced the concept of multiple-purpose dams that would create slackwater for navigation, provide flood control, and generate hydropower. In 1906, and again in 1910 after he left office, the General Dam Acts authorized the federal government to license water power dams on navigable rivers. Water power became a national issue under Roosevelt. In 1907 he created the Inland Waterways Commission to study development of the nation’s rivers, and in February 1908 the Commission delivered its preliminary report to Congress. The report declared rivers are assets of the people, warned about monopolies taking over river development, and endorsed multiple-purpose development of rivers. In the report, Roosevelt wrote:
Our river systems are better adapted to the needs of the people than those of any other country . . . Yet the rivers of no other civilized country are so poorly developed, so little used, or play so small a part in the industrial life of the nation as those of the United States. It is poor business to develop a river for navigation in such a way as to prevent its use for power, when by a little foresight it could be made to serve both purposes. We can not afford needlessly to sacrifice power to irrigation, or irrigation to domestic water supply, when by taking thought we may have all three. Every stream should be used to the utmost.
Among members of the Commission, only the Army Corps of Engineers disagreed with Roosevelt’s view that rivers should be developed for multiple purposes. The Corps believed that navigation was the primary purpose of river development.
Like his cousin Theodore, Franklin D. Roosevelt later supported conservation of natural resources and development of water power on the nation’s rivers. In 1920 when he was campaigning for the vice presidency, Franklin Roosevelt, a Democrat, arrived in Portland after traveling down the Columbia River Gorge. The river made an impression, as he noted in a speech:
When you cross the Mountain States and that portion of the Coast States that lies well back from the ocean, you are impressed by those great stretches of physical territory now practically unused but destined some day to contain the homes of thousands and hundreds of thousands of citizens like us, a territory to be developed by the Nation and for the Nation. As we were coming down the river today, I could not help thinking, as everyone does, of all that water running unchecked down to the sea.
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In the 1926 report, the Secretary of War provided cost estimates and recommended surveys of potential dam sites, which were authorized the following year in the River and Harbor Act of 1927. The subsequent surveys were completed in 1932 and presented to Congress on March 29 of that year. Entitled, “Columbia River and Minor Tributaries,” the survey and report totaled 1,845 pages. The report, known also as House Document 103, proposed a plan for building eight dams on the Columbia, including Grand Coulee and Bonneville, and also storage projects farther upstream at the site of present-day Hungry Horse Dam and in Pend Oreille and Flathead lakes by raising their levels. The Board of Engineers of the U.S. Army expanded the plan to 10 dams. All of these, consistent with congressional direction in 1925, were to be built for the purpose of “improving the Columbia River and minor tributaries for the purposes of navigation and efficient development of water-power, the control of floods and the needs of irrigation.”
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In 1932, when campaigning for the presidency, Roosevelt made his vision for the Columbia clear in a speech in Portland on September 21. The future of the Columbia and the people of the Northwest, in the future president’s mind, was tied to hydropower. Roosevelt said, in part:
We have, as all of you in this section of the country know, the vast possibilities of power development on the Columbia River. And I state, in definite and certain terms, that the next great hydroelectric development to be undertaken by the federal government must be that on the Columbia River. This vast water power can be of incalculable value to this whole section of the country. It means cheap manufacturing production, economy and comfort on the farm and in the household.
Roosevelt won the election in 1932 and became president on March 4, 1933. For Roosevelt, the huge public works projects that would put people to work and raise America from the Depression were projects of opportunity — opportunity for a better nation and opportunity for individuals to improve their lives.
Hydropower development began quickly. Puget Sound Power and Light Company completed Rock Island Dam in 1933 a short distance downstream from Wenatchee. It was the first dam on the mainstem Columbia River, and it was not a multiple-purpose dam. Its sole purpose was to generate electricity.
Construction began at Grand Coulee and Bonneville, both multiple-purpose dams, in 1933; Bonneville was completed in 1938 and Grand Coulee in 1941. The last major dams completed in the Columbia system were Lower Granite on the Snake River and Libby on the Kootenai, both in 1975. Many more dams were finished later, but they were smaller.
Of the 274 hydroelectric dams in the Columbia River Basin today, 19 are in British Columbia. There are 14 dams on the mainstem Columbia from Mica to Bonneville, and five on the lower Snake from Hells Canyon Dam to Ice Harbor Dam.
NW Power & Conservation Council, "Dams: history and purpose"https://www.nwcouncil.org/reports/Columbia-river-history/damshistory Accessed July 19, 2020
Cheri Dohnal, Columbia River Gorge: Natural Treasure on the Old Oregon Trail
...the dams have caused more controversy in these parts than just about anything else in history.
Things started out well, The federal government's now-infamous "308 Report" provided recommendations for "improved water infrastructure" along the Columbia River. After Grand Coulee Dam was completed for flood control, the report turned its attention to proposed site of the Bonneville Dam. Area farmers were most interested in the irrigation possibilities on the horizon if a dam was built on the lower Columbia, but they were experts on the subject of upsetting the balance of nature. Many local citizens were just excited about the potential for lower electricity bills. Their current power generation facilities left much to be desired, but would a dam on the Columbia really be the answer to their problems?
When the idea was "sold" to them, it sounded enticing: even river navigation would become easier due to the navigation locks that would be built into the dam. And the project would employ many local workers, not to mention pumping a large amount of money into the community in other ways. Since most residents had virtually no knowledge of or experience with the requirements and implications of a massive hydroelectric project, not many hard questions were asked. One segment of the local population, however, was visibly upset about the project and voiced their concerns. Members of the Native American tribes who had fought hard to retain their valuable salmon fishery were more than a little bit concerned, and rightfully so.
Water levels behind the first dam would be increased by about 27 feet, effectively flooding every fishing platform and every fishing hole east to Hood River that had been used for centuries by the Indians. Salmon was the single most important resource the tribes had. By flooding the rapids behind the dam, the government would deprive the Indians of part of their established salmon fishery. The tribes were assured that they would still be able to fish in the Columbia. Fish ladders would also be installed to allow the fish to safely navigate upstream each year to the spawning grounds.
One big problem created by the second dam was that Memaloose Island (literally "Island of the Dead" in Chinook trade jargon), a sacred, ancient Indian burial ground, would be submerged. There was but one solution to the problem, since the government was determined to have its dam. The ancient remains were unearthed as much as possible prior to allowing the reservoir to fill, and reburied nearby. The most visible loss of all, though was Celilo Falls. This historic fishery was completely destroyed in 1957, although every effort was made to preserve the ancient petroglyphs and other items of historic and archaeological significance to the cultural trade center at the falls. The loss of the historic fishing grounds is still mourned by local tribes.
Once the first dam was built, BPA needed to do some public relations work to encourage people to view dams as positive things. Their PR campaign included creating two movies, as well as numerous public service announcements for radio. They also paid Woody Guthrie to write some songs about the river and the dam. He moved to the area briefly in 1941 so he could receive inspiration from the Columbia River itself, churning out a total of 26 songs and creating several radio spots in one month's time. One of those tunes, "Roll On, Columbia, Roll On," was played on the radio for many years after. This was apparently a donation on Guthrie's part, as at least one source says he was paid just $266 for his efforts. From "Roll on, Columbia, Roll On":
[excerpt from lyrics mentioning ships in the locks at Bonneville]
The man-made Bridge of the Gods spans the Columbia River at the approximate location of the legendary natural bridge near Cascade Locks, a short distance upriver from Bonneville Dam. In fact, the northern pilings are secured in remnants of the natural bridge. Many of the boulders that made up part of the once-dreaded rapids on the Columbia were blasted into much smaller pieces with dynamite when the new dam and locks were constructed. Although most of the river's original features were lost to the rising waters, the stone masonry of the old canal at Cascade Locks can still be seen.