While most of our attention in the Pacific Northwest these days is on trade wars, tariffs and wildfires, there are critical talks underway between the U.S. and Canada over future allocations of the Columbia River system’s water.

The two countries are renegotiating the Columbia River Treaty, which went into effect in 1964. It is a 50-year agreement which both nations can redo, providing there is a 10-year advanced warning. That occurred, and negotiators are now busy meeting. A new agreement would begin in 2024.

At the time of its initial ratification, the Columbia River Treaty focused on t...