Bonneville Dam on the Columbia River spills water to benefit juvenile salmon and steelhead, April 11, 2023. After an agreement to stay the Columbia River Basin litigation for up to 10 years, federal water managers will begin spilling more water over basin dams this spring than in past years. Spill operations targeting juvenile salmon and steelhead generally start April 3 on the lower Snake River and April 10 on the lower Columbia River. USACE uses these operations to decrease the time it takes juvenile salmon and steelhead to move through the system of dams to the Pacific Ocean as well as provide another non-turbine passage route. Many of the dams also have alternative ways to move past the dams.