A recent letter described the four lower Snake River dams as offering a line of defense against flooding (“Preserve lower Snake dams,” Our Readers’ Views, Dec. 30). In fact, they do not. Congress did not authorize flood control as a purpose and the dams are “run of the river” dams, meaning they were not built to store water.
In fact, due to sediment buildup, Lower Granite Dam actually creates a flood risk to Lewiston, Idaho, and Clarkston. The next flood will put downtown Lewiston and Clarkston under six feet of water or more, because of the Lower Granite Dam.
The federal government recently entered into a plan to replace the dams’ services and breach the four lower Snake River dams. This was long overdue, but at last it is agreed that the dams must go, and soon. It is time for all to accept this and stop wasting energy and time trying to retain the illegal, old, polluting, deadly dams, and instead put that energy into replacing the dams’ services.
