We're currently experiencing issues with the https://www.nwd-wc.usace.army.mil website and apologize for the inconvenience.

Columbia River Forecast Data Issues? Email us at NWD-RWCDS@usace.army.mil, and we'll send it to you.

Columbia River Basin Water Management

This is the home page for the Columbia Basin Water Management Division, Northwestern Division, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. We are responsible for the Corps' river and reservoir regulation activities in the Columbia River Basin. Please click the icons on the map to learn more about the various projects in the Columbia Basin.

Columbia River

Contact us

Call: 503-808-3929

Water Management Brochure

Basin Map

Full-Screen Map

Pacific lamprey returns eclipsing other years

Northwestern Division Published Sept. 25, 2023
*Our initial news release referenced adult Pacific Lamprey returns were 170 percent higher than the 10-year-average and then referenced the 10-year-average being 41,414 which is actually closer to 154 percent. The 170 percent number came from using the 2022 Annual Fish Passage Report, which references completed counts over ten years from 2013-2022. This average is 37,425. This has been updated online and addressed in other forums. Please excuse this mistake. Adult returns are indeed 252 percent higher than the four-year-average. Also, note these counts are daytime counts and lamprey passage numbers are still probably closer to 165,314 total fish. Pacific lamprey, an ancient, eel-like fish species, are seeing returns 170 percent higher than the 10-year average (2013-2022) at Bonneville Lock and Dam this year. Lamprey numbers are also 252 percent higher than the four-year average, according to biologists responsible for reporting the number of fish counted as they migrate upstream past mainstem Columbia and Snake River dams.
Federal water managers announce public information sessions about post-September 2024 Columbia River Treaty operations

Northwestern Division, USACE Published Sept. 20, 2023
How the United States uses reservoir space in Canada changes on September 16, 2024, from the high degree of structure and control of flows coming across the border from Canada experienced over the last 60 years under the Columbia River Treaty, to an operation that increases the uncertainty of those flows. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) will hold four virtual public information sessions in September and October to begin informing the public about the potential changes.
Drastic difference between air and water temperature could kill

Northwestern Division, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Published Aug. 15, 2023
With the onset of record-breaking heat across much of the Pacific Northwest, it’s imperative that people wear life jackets while swimming, boating and fishing. While air temperatures may be high, water temperatures can be much lower and can be deadly, according to water safety statistics.
Juvenile salmon benefit from spring spill

Northwestern Division Published May 8, 2023
In April, the Northwestern Division, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers started spilling water on the Snake and Columbia rivers to help juvenile salmon migrate downstream. We met up with Julie Ammann, Reservoir Control Center chief at Bonneville Lock & Dam to check it out.
Water managers begin spring spill to benefit juvenile salmon

Northwestern Division Published April 3, 2023
Federal water managers will begin spilling hundreds of thousands of gallons of water over spillways instead of through turbines during annual “spring spill” operations at U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ dams on the lower Snake and Columbia rivers.
A step towards navigable waters: A history of McNary Lock and Dam

By Hannah Mitchell WALLA WALLA DISTRICT CORPS OF ENGINEERS Published March 20, 2023
As people moved into the Pacific Northwest, communities grew around the rivers, especially the Columbia and Snake. Back then, the rivers were temperamental and hard to navigate. However, there was a vision to create a river highway, one that would allow barges to carry cargo from the Pacific Ocean to the confluence of the Snake and Clearwater rivers, 465 miles inland.
Frigid temps increase power demand while Army dams balance needs

Northwestern Division Published March 15, 2023
With frigid temperatures and near record-setting snow accumulation in some areas of the Pacific Northwest, Army dams responded by producing power to keep the lights and heat on. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has 21 dams in the Columbia and Willamette river basins that ramp up power production to keep the grid stable during high demands.