Columbia-Pacific Northwest Region

Lower Snake River Water Supply Replacement Study

The Bureau of Reclamation and the Washington State Department of Ecology are seeking comments on the draft lower Snake River Water Supply Replacement Study.

The goals of the study are to:

• Obtain a detailed understanding of current water supply and irrigation, municipal and industrial uses near the four lower Snake River dams (Ice Harbor, Lower Monumental, Little Goose, Lower Granite) in Washington and Idaho;
• Evaluate impacts to water delivery in the event Congress were to authorize breach of the dams;
• Analyze potential solutions for water supply replacement and identify implementation considerations.

A contractor team led by Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. is conducting the study in coordination with and at the direction of Reclamation and Ecology. This study is one of several federal studies committed to by the U.S. government as part of the December 14, 2023, Resilient Columbia Basin Agreement. Concurrent with the public comment period, the study is undergoing an independent peer review process.

Comments can be made via this web form.

Comments can also be submitted via email to bor-sha-lsrwsrscomments@usbr.gov or mailed to

Jarrett Redman
Bureau of Reclamation
Columbia–Pacific Northwest Regional Office
1150 Curtis Road
Boise, ID, 83706-1234

All comments must be submitted or postmarked by Mar. 1, 2025.

Open Houses:

The agencies will host two open houses to update the public on the study and provide an opportunity to engage with key project team members from the Bureau of Reclamation, the Washington Department of Ecology, and Jacobs Engineering Group.

Feb. 4 from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m
Pasco, Washington
Holiday Inn Express & Suites
4525 Convention Place

Feb. 5. from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m.
Lewiston, Idaho
Lewiston Library
411 D St.

Documents

12/2024	Lower Snake River Water Supply Replacement Study Draft Report PDF 72.3 MB
10/2024	Lower Snake River Water Supply Replacement Study Update Presentation PDF 1.93 MB
06/2024	Lower Snake River Water Supply Replacement Study Presentation PDF 1.69 MB
08/2024	Lower Snake River Water Supply Replacement Study Fact Sheet PDF 914 KB

Related Links

News Release - Agencies provide progress update on lower Snake River study HTML

News Release - Agencies initiate lower Snake River study HTML

Lower Snake River Water Supply Study Public Meeting - Session 1 Recording HTML

Lower Snake River Water Supply Study Public Meeting - Session 2 Recording HTML

Lower Snake River Water Supply Study Progress Update Recording HTML