ABSTRACT
This chapter describes impacts that water resource development has had on a broad spectrum of phenomena in the Columbia basin in the United States. It outlines gaps in knowledge that need to be addressed. The chapter identifies research efforts that have contributed to a better understanding of the interrelationships between water resource development and the phenomena considered. The Canadian portion of the study area has approximately 282,000 inhabitants, many of which are concentrated in the Kootenay and Okanagan valleys, and along the Columbia near the international border. Water resource development has encouraged rapid growth of waterborne traffic on extensive reaches of the Columbia system. Between 1930 and 1974 the volume of goods passing the Bonneville Locks grew from approximately 75,000 to 4 million MT. A variety of strategies have been employed in the Columbia basin to develop a full range of water-derived services, although flow uses are predominant.
