High in the Candian Rockies, a trickle of water emerges from the blue underbelly of an ancient glacier.  

It moves slowly at first, nosing its way through mountain scree, tugged along by the downward pull of gravity. Gradually, momentum builds.  

Joined by snowmelt from neighboring peaks, the trickle becomes a creek and then a stream. By the time the water reaches the valley floor, it has grown into one of the region’s largest and most important rivers. 

The watershed of the Kootenai River (known as the Kootenay in Canada) encompasses some 19,300 square miles in British Columbia, Montana and Idaho. The river crosses international borders two times, first at Koocanusa Reservoir and again northwest of Bonners Ferry, Idaho. Residents on both sides of the border have long shared the water’s many uses. 

“Rivers don’t care about political borders, and so rivers that cross political borders are often in a unique position where resources need to be shared,” said Meryl Storb, a hydrologist at the United States Geological Survey who studies water quality in the U.S. portion of the Kootenai River Basin. 

Another aspect of the watershed that is shared is pollution, Storb said. 

This summer, researchers are slated to begin a new $4.9 million transboundary study aimed at promoting “a common understanding” of longstanding pollution concerns in the Kootenai River system.

The International Joint Commission, the entity charged with resolving transboundary water disputes between the U.S. and Canada, ordered the study in March 2024 amid rising concerns about the effect that British Columbia mining operations are having on regional water quality. Runoff from the mines flows into the Elk River, a major tributary of the Kootenai River. 

OF ESPECIAL concern for many researchers is increasing concentrations of selenium in portions of the watershed downstream from the mines. A naturally occurring metalloid, selenium is harmless in small amounts, but fish have been known to develop neurological defects and experience reproductive failure when exposed to large amounts of selenium. In humans, excess levels of selenium can cause gastrointestinal distress, organ failure and, in rare cases, death. 

In many parts of the watershed, Storb said that concentrations of selenium have increased by more than 550% over the past 40 years. Several of the fish tissue samples that her team tests each year have selenium concentrations above recommended levels.  

The main culprit of the toxic pollution is likely "waste rock" piles near open pit mining operations in British Columbia. Rainwater and runoff flush selenium from the waste piles into nearby streams, and the metalloid is then carried downstream, into Montana and Idaho. 

The Elk River meets the Kootenai River just upstream of the manmade Koocanusa Reservoir. The reservoir, which was created by the Libby Dam, spans the Montana-British Columbia border. After exiting the reservoir, the Kootenai River travels west and into Idaho before crossing the international border again northwest of Bonners Ferry. The river then flows into the Kootenay Lake in British Columbia before finally joining with the Columbia River. 

While the study commissioned by the International Joint Commission does not directly target the mining operations, the results will likely serve as a guide for any government action. In September 2024, the International Joint Commission convened a study board to oversee the project. Three of the board's members are from the U.S., three are from Canada, one is a member of the Ktunaxa Nation and one is a member of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes. 

The goal, said U.S. co-chair Tom Bansak, is to produce a detailed report on water pollution in the watershed by September 2026. 

“Basically, we gather all the information out there, compile a team of experts to assess it, and come out with a report of what we have found and, ultimately, recommendations that we will turn over to the to the governments and the stakeholders,” said Bansak. 

According to the plan for the study released last month, the board will accomplish this task by appointing technical working groups to gather information on four topics of study: water quality status and trends; impacts to human health and wellbeing; impacts to ecosystems including cumulative effects; and mitigation. 

While traditional scientific studies will likely form the bedrock of the final report, the plan of study also includes forums for local community members to share anecdotal knowledge of the Kootenai River system. A Council of Indigenous Knowledge Holders composed of tribal members from the Transboundary Ktunaxa Nation will also be consulted regularly with the goal of incorporating Indigenous knowledge practices into the final report. 

“We certainly understand that there are many sources of information and data, lots of unbelievable work already being done, and we are grateful to receive any additional data, information and insights,” said Oliver Brandes, the study board’s Canadian co-chair, during a presentation on the plan of study. 

The price tag for the work is estimated at $4.9 million, to be split evenly between the governments of the U.S. and Canada. 

“We are still waiting to hear if our proposed budget will be funded by the two governments,” said Bansak at the May 28 meeting of the Western Montana Conservation Commission. 

But he added that the board’s work would “continue onward until someone tells us to stop,” with funds from the International Joint Commission. The board is currently appointing experts to serve on the four technical advisory groups and planning upcoming events for public engagement. Researchers held an in-person listening session in Fernie, British Columbia, a virtual session is scheduled for July 8, and an in-person session is set for Aug. 6 in Bonners Ferry.  

THE PROJECT'S forward momentum is a departure from ongoing tensions between the Canadian government and the Trump administration, which have stymied other collaborative approaches to water management.  

Earlier this year, the Trump administration paused negotiations to update the Columbia River Treaty. The international agreement, which was first signed in 1961, establishes terms for both countries to manage flood risk and generate power along the Columbia River and its tributaries. Among the provisions included in the original treaty was the construction of the Libby Dam and the Koocanusa Reservoir. 

Talks to revamp the treaty began in 2018 during President Donald Trump’s first term in office. Former President Joe Biden announced that the two countries had reached an agreement in principle in July 2024, just a few months before some of the treaty’s flood control provisions were set to automatically expire, but the final treaty has yet to be ratified. 

“It’s not not normal for a new administration to pause international negotiations,” said Kate Wilson, the Montana-British Columbia liaison for the Bonneville Power Administration. 

But Trump’s talk of making Canada the 51st state and his ongoing tariff war have rubbed some Canadian politicians the wrong way. During his campaign, Trump referenced the Columbia River as “a large faucet” that could be used to redirect water to California, drawing spurn from hydrologists on both sides of the border. 

Wilson noted several safety guards built into the original 1961 treaty, including a provision that requires a 10-year notice before either country can pull out of the treaty. She also said that, while not legally binding, the preliminary measures laid out in the agreement in principle provide the organization with “operational certainty” until 2028. 

Reporter Hailey Smalley may be reached at 758-4433 or [email protected].