MidnightWatcher's Blogspot

By CRAIG WELCH – “SEATTLE Grand Coulee Dam managers are spilling so much water to make room for massive late-season snowmelt that they’re unleashing deadly gas bubbles that are killing hundreds of thousands of fish in the Columbia River.

Virtually all of those fish have been farmed steelhead living in net pens owned by Pacific Aquaculture, a fish farm just outside Nespelem in Okanogan County. The company says it may lose $30 million worth in the next few weeks if dam managers don’t find a new way to handle spring runoff.

But wild river life, too, may be at risk, as dissolved nitrogen and other gases in the water rise to levels that can essentially cause aquatic creatures to get the bends.

‘They’re basically sterilizing this entire stretch of river,’ said John Bielka, Pacific Aquaculture manager. ‘That’s going to wipe out not only the fish in our farm, but also the bull trout, the lamprey, the sturgeon and every other wild thing.'” Read more.