{"query_echo":{"q":"","filters":{"geography":["Snake River"]},"warnings":[{"code":"facet_value_not_in_vocabulary","message":"Value 'Snake River' for facet 'geography' is not in the controlled vocabulary."}]},"total":{"value":2,"relation":"eq"},"page":1,"page_size":20,"self":"https://climateinsightsdirectory.org/api/v1/search?geography=Snake+River","stability":"beta","ai_marking":{"digital_source_type":{"uri":"http://cv.iptc.org/newscodes/digitalsourcetype/trainedAlgorithmicMedia","name":"Created using Generative AI"},"notice":"Summary and key insights are generated using artificial intelligence."},"results":[{"id":"sei-002011","url":"https://climateinsightsdirectory.org/document/sei-002011","title":"Water lost to evaporation from lower Snake River reservoirs","publisher":{"name":"Stockholm Environment Institute","organization":"stockholm-environment-institute"},"document_type":"briefing","language":"en","date_published":"2025-01","source_url":"https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/water-lost-evaporation-lower-snake-river-reservoirs-1.pdf","generator":"Climate Insights Directory","generated_fields":["summary","key_insights","climate_tags","geography_discussed","analysis_type"],"summary":{"text":"The four lower Snake River dams cause an average additional water loss of approximately 30,000 acre-feet per year due to evaporation compared to free-flowing conditions. This loss is valued at roughly $110 million as a water right and is equivalent to the water needed to grow 8,000 acres of apples or supply the household needs of 240,000 people. Future projections (2025–2055) suggest these losses will persist or slightly increase, ranging from 30,100 to 32,800 acre-feet per year across eight global climate models.","ai_generated":true,"unit":"sei-002011#summary","date_modified":"2026-10-23"},"key_insights":[{"text":"Between 1990 and 2020, the four lower Snake River reservoirs lost an average of 30,400 additional acre-feet of water annually to evaporation when compared to predicted free-flowing conditions.","ai_generated":true,"unit":"sei-002011#insight-1","date_modified":"2026-10-23"},{"text":"Future projections for 2025–2055 estimate an average additional loss of 31,400 acre-feet per year, with estimates from eight global climate models ranging between 30,100 and 32,800 acre-feet per year, assuming storage volumes remain consistent with 1990–2020 levels.","ai_generated":true,"unit":"sei-002011#insight-2","date_modified":"2026-10-23"},{"text":"The additional evaporation loss of approximately 30,000 acre-feet per year has a calculated economic value of about $110 million as a water right, based on a 2024 estimated price of $3,680 per acre-foot.","ai_generated":true,"unit":"sei-002011#insight-3","date_modified":"2026-10-23"},{"text":"The volume of water lost to additional evaporation is equivalent to the amount required to support the residential needs of 240,000 people or to irrigate approximately 8,000 acres of apples.","ai_generated":true,"unit":"sei-002011#insight-4","date_modified":"2026-10-23"},{"text":"The increased evaporation is driven by the difference in surface area; the reservoirs cover roughly 25,000 acres, whereas the estimated surface area of the free-flowing river is around 11,000 acres.","ai_generated":true,"unit":"sei-002011#insight-5","date_modified":"2026-10-23"}],"climate_tags":["agricultural irrigation","hydropower"],"geography_discussed":["Columbia River","Idaho"],"frame_perspective":[],"analysis_type":["quantitative assessment","comparative analysis","predictive modelling"]},{"id":"earjust-002336","url":"https://climateinsightsdirectory.org/document/earjust-002336","title":"The Government Just Took a Big Step Toward Breaching Salmon-Killing Dams","publisher":{"name":"Earthjustice","organization":"earthjustice"},"document_type":"briefing","language":"en","date_published":"2023-12-14","source_url":"https://earthjustice.org/brief/2023/the-government-just-took-a-big-step-toward-breaching-salmon-killing-dams","generator":"Climate Insights Directory","generated_fields":["summary","key_insights","climate_tags","geography_discussed","analysis_type"],"summary":{"text":"The Biden administration has announced a plan to restore endangered salmon and steelhead in the Pacific Northwest, committing over $500 million in federal funding and support for clean energy projects to replace the services of four dams on the lower Snake River. This plan aligns with the Columbia Basin Restoration Initiative (CBRI), which calls for breaching the dams within two fish generations. Earthjustice and several Native tribes and states have paused litigation against the government to allow for the implementation of these commitments, though final dam breaching will require Congressional action.","ai_generated":true,"unit":"earjust-002336#summary","date_modified":"2026-10-23"},"key_insights":[{"text":"The Biden administration's plan for restoring endangered salmon and steelhead in the Pacific Northwest includes more than $500 million in new federal funding and commitments to help Native tribes develop 1,000-3,000 megawatts of clean, renewable power to replace energy provided by the lower Snake River dams.","ai_generated":true,"unit":"earjust-002336#insight-1","date_modified":"2026-10-23"},{"text":"The Columbia Basin Restoration Initiative (CBRI), developed by the states of Washington and Oregon and the Nez Perce, Yakama, Warm Springs, and Umatilla Tribes, explicitly calls for the breaching of the Snake River dams within two fish generations.","ai_generated":true,"unit":"earjust-002336#insight-2","date_modified":"2026-10-23"},{"text":"Four dams located in Washington block salmon passage along the lower Snake River, which is a critical migration route connecting spawning habitat in central Idaho to the Columbia River and the Pacific Ocean.","ai_generated":true,"unit":"earjust-002336#insight-3","date_modified":"2026-10-23"},{"text":"While the Biden administration can provide planning and funding to replace dam services, the actual breaching of the dams will require action from Congress.","ai_generated":true,"unit":"earjust-002336#insight-4","date_modified":"2026-10-23"},{"text":"Earthjustice, the states of Oregon and Washington, and the Nez Perce, Yakama, Warm Springs, and Umatilla Tribes have agreed to pause litigation provided the administration's plan is implemented.","ai_generated":true,"unit":"earjust-002336#insight-5","date_modified":"2026-10-23"}],"climate_tags":["clean energy","renewable energy"],"geography_discussed":["Washington","Idaho","Oregon","Columbia River"],"frame_perspective":[],"analysis_type":["policy analysis","legal briefing"]}]}