Water Powers the Economy
The Columbia River is the most hydroelectrically developed river system in the world (along its length and among its tributaries - over 400 dams; on the main stem - 13), powering a substantial portion of British Columbia in an international system operating within the 60-year Columbia River Treaty finalized between the United States and Canada in 1964. In Canada, 4 storage dams were constructed in the upper Columbia River Basin - Duncan Dam (1967), Keenlyside Dam (1968), Mica Dam (1973) - under the terms of the treaty, devised to increase power generation (coordinated water release facilitates power production in the state of Washington) and to provide flood control. Construction resulted in many economic benefits through employment and power revenue, though the ecosystem was permanently altered. BC Hydro and the Columbia Basin Trust (CBT), in partnership with Columbia Power Corporation (CPC), invest in power projects in the Basin. CBT uses revenue from power to fund many projects that attempt to lessen environmental damage

The 1964 Columbia Treaty Dams
• Duncan Dam - built in 1967, located 10 km north of the north end of Kootenay Lake, storage size: 1.7 billion cubic metres.

• Hugh L. Keenlyside Dam - built in 1968, located 8 km west of Castlegar, reservoir storage size: 8.8 billion cubic metres, capacity: 185 MW, on Lower Arrow Lake, increased lake height dramatically.

• Mica Dam - built in 1973, located 135 km north of Revelstoke, storage size: 14,800 million cubic metres, capacity 1,805 MW, 4 generators, free tours from late June to early September.

• Libby Dam - not constructed as part of the treaty, but built during the same time period - 1973 - located 130 km south of Eureka, in northwestern Montana (U.S.) on the Kootenay River (merges with the Columbia at Castlegar), formed 200 km long Lake Koocanusa that reaches north into British Columbia.

How To Build a Nation: Natural Resources
The original Columbia Valley inhabitant shared a land of plenty - salmon, migrating and regional birds and animals, forests, rivers and sheltering mountains. The Eastern section Kutxani ranged east across the Rockies into the northern plains, the Lower region natives traded with Pacific Coast nations, travelling the river valley during the hunting and gathering seasons, and settling into pit house villages in the winter. The Europeans arrived to change much of the native way of life in the early 1700s. While on expeditions to establish well-armed trading posts and to locate a route from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean, both the Hudson Bay and North West Companies established forts, working with the native population; the native culture was altered using European tools, weapons, food and clothing, and many of the native people perished when exposed to European illnesses and economic influences. Over the years, these trading posts and British forts became regional centres, when settlers, traders, adventurers and labourers inevitably followed. The economy remained resource based, with logging, fishing, mining and tourism developments flowing from a national railroad system and other industrial changes during the years from the mid-1800s to the turn of the century. The eastern section of the Columbia River that flows north to Kinbasket Lake remains relatively wild, with a few small urban areas and limited industrial development. The western section that flows south from Mica Dam (north of Revelstoke) to the American border crosses a wide fertile valley that supports small urban centres, agriculture and tourism.

Power and Money
The Columbia's many dams, having flooded wide sections of the valley, altering forever a substantial portion of the original ecosystem, have been major economic contributors to the region. Also, the CBT works with many local organizations and individuals to provide financial and development support to communities in all areas - social, educational, cultural, environmental and private business. In addition, another unique organization was created to contribute to the health and well-being of the Basin - the Columbia Basin Fish & Wildlife Compensation Program (CBFWCP), a joint initiative between BC Hydro and the Government of British Columbia to benefit fish and wildlife populations affected by the construction of the dams.

Under the 1961, Columbia River Treaty between Canada and the United States, in return for building power-generating and flood-controlling dams along the Columbia River, the Province of British Columbia received "downstream benefits", a portion of the power created in American power plants below the border; B.C. sold this power to a U.S. utilities group over a 30-year period for revenues exceeding $250 million. As the terms expired late in the 1900's, the Province maintains sales revenues for the remaining 30 years of the Treaty. Consequences to the region included: over 2,300 people lost their homes; First Nations traditional spiritual, hunting and gathering areas were submerged; productive, fertile forest and valley bottom land was lost; growth, development and employment potential in recreation and tourism was adversely affected.

CBFWCP has invested over $25 million in more than 400 projects with over 600 partners since 1996, including assistance to purchase and protect 7,500 hectares of ecologically valuable land. CBFWCP is funded with $3.2 million annually in perpetuity by BC Hydro. CBT and CBFWCP serve an area that is 88,000 square kilometers and supports several communities with a total population of approximately 170,000 people. (Statistics and information courtesy of Columbia Basin Trust and Columbia Basin Fish & Wildlife Compensation Program.)

Columbia Power Corporation (CPC)
A Crown corporation wholly owned and controlled by the Province of British Columbia under the Columbia Basin Accord signed in 1995, wherein The Province commits $500 million to CPC and CBT as equity funding to finance joint venture power projects; core projects include 3 new generating and expansion projects. The funds are combined with commercial debt financing by private sector lenders to invest over $1 billion in power projects in the Columbia Basin.

Electric Financing
The Columbia Basin Trust has invested in non-power investments in the region, including:

Castle Wood Village - $1.3 million towards a senior's housing project in Castlegar that opened in late 2001, part of an $8 million partnership;

Columbia Basin Building - $4 million development in Castlegar, opened in 2001 and houses the Columbia Basin Trust, the Columbia Power Corporation and the City of Castlegar's Council Chambers, these offices are close to the CBT's and CPC's power projects, the Arrow Lakes Generating Station and Brilliant Dam;

Kicking Horse Mountain Resort - $5 million loan to the biggest resort development in recent years, located south of Golden.

Healing Waters of the Columbia Valley
Halcyon Hot Springs - located near Nakusp in the mountains along the Upper Arrow Lakes, popular as a health retreat and a party place from the turn of the century until the 1950's, original destroyed by fire, today a thriving tourist attraction;
Fairmont Hot Springs - at the base of the Rocky Mountains, overlooking Columbia Lake (the Columbia River's headwaters), near Canal Flats, includes residential real estate development near the natural mineral pool resort.

Where do Hot Springs Come From?
When the Rocky Mountains were created 65 million years ago by a "continental" plate collision, fissures extending far below the earth's surface developed during the tectonic shift. Rain and snow melt run off into these chasms to the deep, warmed rocks, heating the water that re-emerges containing rock minerals including calcium, iron and phosphorous.