Ecological issues: Fish
On a recent tour of the WAC Bennett Dam, visitors were told that no special compensation was made for fish. It was just too bad for any that happened to get caught up in the hydroelectric water system. When asked if the dams affected fish populations, the jovial response was that the pressure, turbulence and excessively high water speed gave them the ride of their life. According to the tour guides, the stunned fish that made it through the system were easy pickings for the increasing predatory bird populations that hung out below the dams.
The tour guides made no mention of the landlocked migratory fish species, including the bull trout, which is on provincial, national and American lists of threatened species and 'species of special concern'.
Nor did they breathe a word about the toxic levels of mercury found in fish trapped by dams, yet some of these fish contain mercury levels exceeding 0.5ppm (the Canadian Marketing Standard). Once mercury levels exceed the Canadian Standard for human consumption, fish consumption advisories are issued. Baker's (2002) 'Mercury in Fish' database report for BC Hydro clearly shows that Williston Lake's bull trout have levels closer to 0.6ppm. Part of the provincial table's caption reads, "(a)n advisory for Williston Lake is the result of dam impoundment." [To read more on this, check out State of Environment Reporting: Environment Indicators - Mean Mercury Concentration for Bull Trout and Lake Trout in British Columbia (parts per million wet weight).]
A report prepared for the World Commission on Dams by Goodwin, Falte and Betts (2000) states that:
"One of the most dramatic examples is the mercury problem associated with the James Bay hydroelectric project. The problem was anticipated, but the impact to local communities was not predicted during the design process. The soils of the Canadian Shield contain mercury that is normally in an insoluble and harmless form. Following inundation by the James Bay I project, the saturated conditions induced the growth of bacteria that converted the mercury to soluble methyl mercury (Rougerie, 1990). Once mobilized, the pollutant could be assimilated into the food chain and passed to fish, fish-eating animals (beavers and other marine mammals) and humans. The level of mercury in pike exceeded 2ppm. The consequences of this form of mercury include birth defects, and all fishing was banned in order to protect the community. Fishing is an important element of the traditional culture of the Cree, the indigenous tribe (Pearce, 1992). Other examples of mercury problems associated with reservoirs have been documented in Finland and tropical regions such as Thailand (Rosenburg et. al., 1995). The elevated levels of mercury in reservoir systems due to the inundation may persist for decades."
- Managing for Unforeseen Consequences of Large Dam Operations (2000): p.8.
Another detrimental effect discussed in this report is the loss of migratory fish and their carcasses, which provide ecosystem nutrients to sustain production of fish, avian and terrestrial species. Temperature increases in rivers due to reservoirs create temperature barriers and/or increased metabolic rates of fish, thus affecting their spawning and overall life cycle. Finally, reservoirs can pose risks to headwater streams if river species move up through a watershed, displacing local populations. (p.9)
The river-based ecosystem of the flooded Finlay, Parsnip and Peace Rivers, their headwaters and their tributaries has been replaced by the huge manmade reservoir, Williston Lake. Untold ecological devastation has occurred as human-introduced fish species and their habitat displaced the natural river environment. The Site C project ominously threatens the same, for its reservoir will not only flood 80.5km more of the Peace, but also approximately 14km of the Halfway River and 10km of the Moberly River. [BC Hydro Properties Division. (March, 1982). Proposed Peace River Site "C" Project BC Recreation Impact Report. BC Hydro: 28; Thurber, et. al. (1978a). Peace River Site C Hydroelectric Development, Physical Environment Impact Assessment. BC Hydro; BC Hydro (2007). Site C Feasibility Review: Stage 1 Completion Report: 6-46.]
Wanton destruction of any habitat is foolish. When megadams became in vogue fifty or sixty years ago, it was believed that there was an engineering solution to every problem. Today we are only beginning to grasp the full impact of ecological harm such projects incur. Poisoned fish, stunned fish, landlocked migratory fish, threatened extinction of species and human introduced species underline only one very small segment of the ecological disaster a megadam inflicts.
Recoiling from the after effects of other megadam projects such as the James Bay hydroelectric projects' Cree methyl mercury illnesses and deaths, the Canadian government initiated the formation of the World Commission on Dams in 1998. So why does BC Hydro's new Integrated Energy Plan continue to pursue Site C, even though BC's Minister of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources, Richard Neufeld has publicly stated numerous times that BC Hydro can provide Provincial electricity for the foreseeable future without building this megadam? (For example, in the March 9, 2007 edition of the Vancouver Sun, it states that, “Neufeld said there’s as much potential for power generation from wood fibre as a half-dozen major hydroelectric projects the size of the Site C dam proposed for the Peace River.” ) Others agree. "B.C. Hydro chief executive Bob Elton said the province can reach the self-sufficiency goal without constructing the controversial dam." (Sutherland, Scott. BC gets kudos on its energy plan. Winnepeg Sun Feb.27, 2007 Edition.)
The tour guides made no mention of the landlocked migratory fish species, including the bull trout, which is on provincial, national and American lists of threatened species and 'species of special concern'.
Nor did they breathe a word about the toxic levels of mercury found in fish trapped by dams, yet some of these fish contain mercury levels exceeding 0.5ppm (the Canadian Marketing Standard). Once mercury levels exceed the Canadian Standard for human consumption, fish consumption advisories are issued. Baker's (2002) 'Mercury in Fish' database report for BC Hydro clearly shows that Williston Lake's bull trout have levels closer to 0.6ppm. Part of the provincial table's caption reads, "(a)n advisory for Williston Lake is the result of dam impoundment." [To read more on this, check out State of Environment Reporting: Environment Indicators - Mean Mercury Concentration for Bull Trout and Lake Trout in British Columbia (parts per million wet weight).]
A report prepared for the World Commission on Dams by Goodwin, Falte and Betts (2000) states that:
"One of the most dramatic examples is the mercury problem associated with the James Bay hydroelectric project. The problem was anticipated, but the impact to local communities was not predicted during the design process. The soils of the Canadian Shield contain mercury that is normally in an insoluble and harmless form. Following inundation by the James Bay I project, the saturated conditions induced the growth of bacteria that converted the mercury to soluble methyl mercury (Rougerie, 1990). Once mobilized, the pollutant could be assimilated into the food chain and passed to fish, fish-eating animals (beavers and other marine mammals) and humans. The level of mercury in pike exceeded 2ppm. The consequences of this form of mercury include birth defects, and all fishing was banned in order to protect the community. Fishing is an important element of the traditional culture of the Cree, the indigenous tribe (Pearce, 1992). Other examples of mercury problems associated with reservoirs have been documented in Finland and tropical regions such as Thailand (Rosenburg et. al., 1995). The elevated levels of mercury in reservoir systems due to the inundation may persist for decades."
- Managing for Unforeseen Consequences of Large Dam Operations (2000): p.8.
Another detrimental effect discussed in this report is the loss of migratory fish and their carcasses, which provide ecosystem nutrients to sustain production of fish, avian and terrestrial species. Temperature increases in rivers due to reservoirs create temperature barriers and/or increased metabolic rates of fish, thus affecting their spawning and overall life cycle. Finally, reservoirs can pose risks to headwater streams if river species move up through a watershed, displacing local populations. (p.9)
The river-based ecosystem of the flooded Finlay, Parsnip and Peace Rivers, their headwaters and their tributaries has been replaced by the huge manmade reservoir, Williston Lake. Untold ecological devastation has occurred as human-introduced fish species and their habitat displaced the natural river environment. The Site C project ominously threatens the same, for its reservoir will not only flood 80.5km more of the Peace, but also approximately 14km of the Halfway River and 10km of the Moberly River. [BC Hydro Properties Division. (March, 1982). Proposed Peace River Site "C" Project BC Recreation Impact Report. BC Hydro: 28; Thurber, et. al. (1978a). Peace River Site C Hydroelectric Development, Physical Environment Impact Assessment. BC Hydro; BC Hydro (2007). Site C Feasibility Review: Stage 1 Completion Report: 6-46.]
Wanton destruction of any habitat is foolish. When megadams became in vogue fifty or sixty years ago, it was believed that there was an engineering solution to every problem. Today we are only beginning to grasp the full impact of ecological harm such projects incur. Poisoned fish, stunned fish, landlocked migratory fish, threatened extinction of species and human introduced species underline only one very small segment of the ecological disaster a megadam inflicts.
Recoiling from the after effects of other megadam projects such as the James Bay hydroelectric projects' Cree methyl mercury illnesses and deaths, the Canadian government initiated the formation of the World Commission on Dams in 1998. So why does BC Hydro's new Integrated Energy Plan continue to pursue Site C, even though BC's Minister of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources, Richard Neufeld has publicly stated numerous times that BC Hydro can provide Provincial electricity for the foreseeable future without building this megadam? (For example, in the March 9, 2007 edition of the Vancouver Sun, it states that, “Neufeld said there’s as much potential for power generation from wood fibre as a half-dozen major hydroelectric projects the size of the Site C dam proposed for the Peace River.” ) Others agree. "B.C. Hydro chief executive Bob Elton said the province can reach the self-sufficiency goal without constructing the controversial dam." (Sutherland, Scott. BC gets kudos on its energy plan. Winnepeg Sun Feb.27, 2007 Edition.)