Learn More About the Columbia River
Superfund Projects in the Columbia Basin
Protecting A Critical Resource
The magnificent Columbia River Basin covers a major portion of the landscape of North America, including parts of seven states and British Columbia. The basin provides drainage for hundreds of tributaries over an area of more than 260,000 square miles into a river near 1,200 miles in length. The Columbia River Basin has been and will continue to provide an important North American backdrop for urban settlement and development, agriculture, transportation, recreation, fisheries and hydropower.
The Columbia River Basin also serves as a unique and special ecosystem, home to many important plants and animals. Columbia River salmon and steelhead runs were once the largest runs in the world. The tribal people of the Columbia River have depended on these salmon for thousands of years for human, spiritual, and cultural sustenance.
These anadromous fish have a unique life cycle returning thousands of miles to their native streams to spawn and die. The many uses of the Columbia River have caused significant constraints and declines in the salmon population.
EPA studies and state monitoring programs have found significant levels of toxins in fish and the waters they inhabit within the basin. Accumulation of toxics in fish threatens the survival of fish species, and human consumption of these fish can lead to health problems. Many governments, communities and citizens have rallied to launch a long term and intense recovery effort to restore these remarkable fish.
Water quality is also an important factor in the survival of other wildlife and plants that grow in the Columbia River Basin. The states, tribes and federal government are all engaged in efforts to restore and improve the water, land and air quality of the Columbia River Basin and have committed to work together to enhance and accomplish critical ecosystem restoration efforts. A number of important ongoing Superfund work efforts are also currently underway (see sidebox).