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Further , they report it would take at least four decades to put the replacement power in place .
“ The dams really can ’ t be replaced given current technology ,” say Kurt Miller , executive director of Northwest RiverPartners , an association of not-for-profit , community-owned electric utilities .
Navigation . The dams currently enable low cost barging of Northwest agricultural products , principally wheat . The EIS estimates the cost of replacement infrastructure — rails , roads and dredging — at $ 1.3 billion . Michelle Hennings , executive director of the Washington Association of Wheat Growers , says farmers use all three transportation modes — barge , rail , trucks — but that 60 % of Washington wheat is barged .
“ We just feel like they didn ’ t spend enough time on how this could affect agriculture ,” she says . With the Russian invasion of Ukraine , the reliability of Washington agricultural production is particularly important .
“ Washington state feeds the world . Ninety percent of our wheat is exported overseas ,” she says . High costs and undependable transportation channels would place global trade relationships at risk . “ We could lose our competitiveness ,” she says . Irrigation . If the dams were breached , “ 48,000 acres would no longer be irrigated ,” reports the EIS . The lost crop production would reduce labor income by $ 232 million , sales by $ 450 million annually , and cost 4,800 jobs .
According to the Murray-Inslee draft , the dams provide two important benefits : a reliable source of water and the energy to operate the pumps . The draft says , “ Irrigated farmland contributes
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