U.S. and Canada update the Columbia River Treaty after 60 years, giving more hydropower to America

The U.S. would pay Canada for reservoir capacity to hold back water during flood seasons, protecting downstream communities, at a rate that would begin at $37.6 million per year and increase with inflation.

The U.S. and Canada said Thursday they have agreed to update a six-decade-old treaty that governs the use of one of North America’s largest rivers, the Columbia, with provisions that officials said would provide for effective flood control, irrigation, and hydropower generation and sharing between the countries.