Total impact of hydro projects on B.C.'s rivers unknown, experts say

Scott Simpson
Vancouver Sun
November 4, 2009

Run-of-river projects damage fish stocks, U.S. researcher tells conference

British Columbia is decades behind other North American jurisdictions when it comes to confronting the impacts that hydroelectric development may have on the environment, a green energy conference heard Tuesday in Vancouver.

Simon Fraser University energy economist Mark Jaccard told the conference that neighbouring U.S. jurisdictions have for decades studied hydro development on an ecosystem scale.

Jaccard, one of hundreds of academics who shared a Nobel Peace Prize for research on climate change, said he was surprised to learn that B.C.
doesn't take the same approach.

A representative of independent power producers defended B.C.'s environmental assessment process as "rigorous," but welcomed public input on what he described as "higher standards" for assessing his industry.

A veteran U.S. researcher offered compelling evidence for closer examination of run-of-river power projects, showing long-term declines in native fish populations on streams occupied by either large-scale hydroelectric dams or small-scale penstock equipment to generate power.

The conference was organized by SFU as a dialogue titled Building a Vision for Green Energy in British Columbia, and attracted virtually all of the strongest critics of private-sector power development in B.C., as well as several members of the Independent Power Producers Association of B.C.

Jaccard recalled that when he was teaching at SFU in the 1990s, the Northwest Power Planning Council -- an entity covering Montana, Washington, Idaho, and Oregon -- did river basin-scale studies as part of its policy.

"I am surprised that we haven't seen that we are doing that here. We have to pay a lot more attention to cumulative effects. In the case of greenhouse gas emissions, this is easy.

"But in the case of river basin usage, it's much more difficult. Although I haven't studied the system closely in British Columbia right now, my impression is that we need a much better river basin planning system. And it needs to be tied in to our energy planning and our larger environmental goals as well."

Harvie Campbell, chairman of Independent Power Producers Association of B.C., indicated his industry's willingness to discuss the issue.

"We want to step up to see what the communities need in addition to the standard environmental assessment to make sure this works for everybody."

Jack Stanford, a professor at the University of Montana, has been researching the impact of hydro power on aquatic environments since 1971
-- principally at a biological station on Flathead Lake reservoir.

He has also studied hydro systems in Norway that are comparable to small-hydro operations in B.C.

One of his conclusions is that both plant and fish species decline on water courses used to generate electricity -- and that those declines defy efforts to artificially restore the streams to their former productivity.

He described the effects of the facilities as "pervasive" -- including injections of water coming via penstock from upstream intakes where stream temperatures are colder and thus less productive for aquatic life.

"It's really hard to replace this kind of thing once it's been regulated [with hydro development]."

Whether it's Atlantic salmon in Norway or the giant minnows that once teemed in the Flathead, the fish get smaller and their abundance declines, he said.

Stanford noted that Norway enjoys one of the world's highest standards of living, but cannot restore its salmon despite well-funded efforts.

"They have traded their salmon culture for Easy Street," he said.

ssimpson@vancouversun.com
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