Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) and other US federal agencies decided on 1 June 2001 to continue the current level of limited spill operations for fish passage at Bonneville, Dalles, John Day and McNary dams on the Columbia river.
The spill has been limited this year due to the combined effects of the second worst drought year on record and an ongoing power emergency in California. US federal agencies have been targeting spill operations to provide maximum benefit for most species while maintaining power system reliability. The primary benefit of the spill is for juvenile steelhead and chinook that originate in the mid and lower Columbia river and associated tributaries. Many of these fish do not get barge transportation past the dams.
