The Nordic ski tracks winding through the braided creeks near the headwaters of the Salmo River south of Nelson are testimony to the abundant, powdery snowfalls that are a trademark of the Upper Columbia Basin region. Kicking through the drifts this winter, I have marveled several times at the abundant piles of the white stuff. This snow provides a feast of natural beauty. Flakes suspend on branch tips, gather in lacy patterns on the surface of iced-over bogs and mound up on rocks and fallen logs. The beauty also means big business for hydro-power and agriculture in the Columbia Basin.

The Columbia River is known as a “snow-charged” stream, meaning that a great deal of its flow comes from spring run-off falling out of the complex mountain system north of the border. In fact, approximately 40% of the Columbia River’s entire hydro-power potential comes from mountains that form only 15% of the entire watershed. The key to the river’s power is the stored energy in accumulated snowflakes.

Before dams were constructed on the Canadian portion of the Columbia Basin beginning in the 1960s, the descending snowmelt was largely uncontrolled and unpredictable. Flooding was more common both above and below the border. From the American perspective, the dams already in place on the Columbia south of the border could not capture to the greatest extent possible the potential power racing each spring down to the sea.

The flooding cycles of a snow-charged river system were for millennia a functioning part of the natural ecosystem that supported spawning fish, especially ocean salmon, kokanee, bull trout and sturgeon. The boom and bust water cycles also re-charged wetlands and flushed silt from the landscape into the rivers at a time when small fish fry needed disguise from predators. The annual flush also placed nutrients in the water systems.

Canada’s development of storage dams on the river in the 1960s, followed by further development of power-producing dams in the 1970s and 80s, dramatically altered the natural mountain hydrology patterns and transformed the deep snows into a stored commodity. Measuring snowfall and developing forecasts for how much water might eventually flow into reservoirs has developed over the years into a detailed science.

High in the Canadian mountains of the Columbia Basin sit a number of “automatic snow pillow stations” where snow accumulation is measured and the data beamed up to a satellite receiver. Both the hydro-power companies and the B.C. Government maintain snow pillow stations so that they can attempt to forecast how much water will be available for use – in the warmer months for agriculture and in the colder months for power production.

The snow pillow device was developed in the early 1960s by Seattle meteorologist Robert Beaumont, initially in order to predict availability of water for irrigation. The device consists of a “pillow” of anti-freeze solution about 9 feet in diameter. As snow accumulates on this pillow, the weight of the snow pushes an equal weight of antifreeze up a standpipe in the station’s instrument house. The weight of the water content is the “snow water equivalent.”

This year so far, snow levels are at about 116% of normal for the Columbia Basin in Canada, with more accumulation in the northern part of the Canadian Basin than the south. These levels are good news for power producers and for agriculture. Come spring, there will likely be lots of water in the system. The snow-water forecasts made possible by the snow pillow stations will help scientists stay on top of the melting process and be ready to advise about potential flooding, should that become a threat.

While 2008 appears to be shaping up into a year of relative abundance, a longer view warns that the effects of climate change might make meager snow packs the future norm. In Water, Weather and the Mountain West (Rocky Mountain Books, 2007), Robert Sandford argues that climate change will challenge the long-time Canadian assumption that snow and water are always abundant in the west. Sandford’s warnings are worthy of note, as is a report on climate change by Ian Bruce for the David Suzuki foundation. Bruce points out that the Canadian portion of the vast Columbia Basin has experienced two to three times the global average in temperature increase over the past century. This magnified effect has, year by year, reduced legendary snow depths. Less snow means less water. And less water might alter Canadian willingness to participate in trans-border water treaties.

If you’re interested in tracking the accumulation of snow in the upper Columbia Basin this winter, you can go to the River Forecast center at www.env.gov.bc.ca/rfc//river_forcast and measure for yourself the weight of the landscape’s head as it settles onto a soft pillow of snow.

The North Columbia Monthly provides news, views, humor and a calendar of events for an area that stretches from Nelson in British Columbia south to Spokane in Washington State and covers all points in between. A free (and free-thinking, progressive) magazine, The Monthly is available at several hundred spots throughout the region and now is also available on-line at www.ncmonthly.com. Published once a month since 1994, The Monthly is an independent magazine that often challenges contemporary wisdom by encouraging critical thinking about issues and attitudes in the region and beyond.

Featuring our one-of-a-kind "What's Happening" department, The Monthly provides the region's only all-inclusive, free listing of community events and is the first place many people check to find out about area arts, crafts, music, fairs, services and events of all kinds. Our open listing policy for the "What's Happening" department promotes diversity, cultural interaction, and the exchange of ideas and free expression. Also featured in the magazine are people, food, health, humor, and feature articles that keep readers coming back for more each month.

We can be reached by mail at The North Columbia Monthly, PO Box 541, Colville, WA 99114; by phone or fax at 509-684-3109; by email at editor@ncmonthly.com; and on the Web at www.ncmonthly.com.

©2008. All rights reserved. Reproduction of the contents or use in whole or part without written permission from the publishers is strictly prohibited. Views and opinions expressed herein are not necessarily those of the publishers.

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