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Here_is_to_beer t1_j0ighhf wrote

The Columbia River drains right into the Pacific. Millions of gallons of freshwater pour right into the ocean water. While it seems what google is doing is awfully wasteful, the water wasn't being used anyway.

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Outlulz t1_j0iim3b wrote

The Columbia River is important for the salmon lifecycle. It already has it's own set of challenges because of the Bonneville Dam just downstream of The Dalles.

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weed_fart t1_j0iiph8 wrote

If you'd bother to read the article, you'd see that they don't use Columbia River water - they take it from the ground and local snowmelt, which is decreasing as the climate warms. They're using up all the local sources of water.

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JoeGoats t1_j0ii1wq wrote

Yes, no, maybe. The answer is it depends. It can affect water levels and flow rates down stream which may lead to the reduction of water rights or usage allotments down river. It can also be a huge problem if they're utilizing that much water for cooling and letting it flow back into the river at an increased temperature. Thermal pollution can have a big consequences on the river ecosystem.

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Xanthelei t1_j0iypdz wrote

You must not live here if you really think the Columbian is "wasted fresh water." We've taken decades and multiple laws to protect the ecology of our rivers because the majority of the people living up here enjoy our wildlife and ecosystems. The river is a major part of that.

Water that is sustaining life is not "wasted" unless you don't give a shit about the life being sustained.

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CmdrShepard831 t1_j0jmpe9 wrote

You're referring to people using it for farming and washing a bunch of fertilizer back into the river or dams blocking spawning flow. Some evaporative cooling isn't going to affect that much of the river (assuming they were pulling from it) and give the desert region some much needed moisture in the air.

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Xanthelei t1_j0jpytx wrote

Good job showing your lack of knowledge on the history of conservation in the PNW. Or just history if the area in general, since you're referencing dams that were constructed in the 1930s and 1940s. The last damn built on the entire Columbian waterway system was 1975, and they weren't on the Columbian itself.

You should do some VERY basic googling before commenting.

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CmdrShepard831 t1_j0jr9nh wrote

Literally nothing about this contradicts anything I've said, genius. You think you're the only person on reddit whose familiar with Oregon, the Columbia Gorge, or conservation efforts that have happened here? Who cares when the Bonneville dam was built? Are you really arguing that the only restoration acts or dam removals have been on the Columbia? Now who's being ignorant? 🙄

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Xanthelei t1_j0jxo85 wrote

The people in charge in the 1930s are not the people in charge now. Your first comment acts like the half century between when we were actively building dams and now doesn't exist.

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CmdrShepard831 t1_j0jz476 wrote

Anyone familiar with the situation would know in referring to the removal of previously built dams. When was the last time a damn even got built in the United States? Sorry I didn't know you needed every minute detail explained to you.

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