SW
dam news
Claim your stake in microhydro With so many conflicting opinions about
microhydro, what’s a paddler to do? Many peo- ple see microhydro projects—often referred to as “run-of-river” because they don’t store water behind a dam—as environmentally friendly. Some paddling clubs, however, say that run-of- river is equivalent to no run at all and fear that their favourite runs are under attack. BC Hydro wants 10 per cent of its projected
increased energy to be from so-called green sources by 2010 and microhydro is a big part of that. Meanwhile, watch for microhydro pro- posals in other provinces. The Quebec govern- ment has opened 36 sites on 24 rivers to poten- tial development. Microhydro generally refers to anything with a generating capacity less than 25 megawatts. One megawatt can power 550 houses. Microhydro projects use a weir to back a pool of water into an intake pipe. The pipe runs downhill to a powerhouse where the energy is harnessed by a turbine. The water is then released into the tailrace where it returns to the river channel. The river keeps flowing, but vol- ume is substantially reduced between the intake and tailrace. Microhydro developments do not flood vast areas and the water doesn’t
have a chance to heat up as it would in a large reservoir, but microhydro can still have impacts, particularly on paddling. According to Stuart Smith of the Whitewater Kayaking Association of B.C., the section from the weir to the outflow is often unpaddleable. Smith is writing a guidebook to southwestern B.C. rivers and says that 90 percent of those rivers have been identified as potential hydro sites.
This may be bad news for paddlers who love steep creeks, but paddlers do have a voice when it comes to opposing hydro. For a hydro project in B.C. to be considered “green,” it can’t flood large areas of land, fish habitat can’t be disturbed and 20 percent of daily river flows have to stay in the river. Also, according to BC Hydro spokesman Jim Scouras, stake- holders have to be consulted before a project can go ahead. “The proponent must engage with the peo- ple to come up with solutions to any concerns the community has,” Scouras said. That means listening to paddlers. Smith and the WAFBC actively fought a 23 megawatt project on Rutherford Creek, a grade IV river north of Whistler, and proved that pad- dlers can make a difference. In the end, the
The intake plant and weir of a microhydro project on Hystad Creek near Valemount, B.C.Water is diverted to the intake pipe from behind the weir. The remaining water flows over the weir and down the original river channel. photo Ryan Stuart.
power company had to agree to build a white- water training facility to compensate for the loss of the whitewater run. “We traded the short term benefits of being able to paddle Rutherford for the long term benefits of a training facility,” Smith said. “But most importantly we were able to show we are not just freaks throwing ourselves off waterfalls. We are a legitimate user group.”
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