Grohman Narrows Channel Improvement Project Update/Brilliant Head-Pond Reservoir Resident Concerns

Mary Ann et al,

Thank you for your update.

Your Grohman Narrows Channel “improvement” Project update clearly delineates the upstream benefits and the potential to increase power generation but is silent about the potential adverse downstream impacts.

Residents in the Brilliant Head-Pond Reservoir(BHPR) area have expressed an interest in holding local stakeholder meetings with your project team to address their questions about the potential impact of increased flows on the BHPR.

In particular, the concerns raised to date include the potential adverse impacts of what relieving this “hydraulic constriction” and the resultant increased flows may have on the BHPR ecosystem and on:

1. Glade Ferry operational safety.

2. Recreational use and safety.

3. Increased riparian zone erosion and safety.

4. Conservation covenant implementation.

5. Additional, extreme daily level fluctuation impacts due to daily power-generation “load-shaping”.

6. Impact on property values by increased industrial commodification of the BHPR.

These are already some of the significant BHPR issues that have been raised in our submission to the Columbia River Treaty Process(CRTP) which is reproduced below for your ease of reference.

Residents are now concerned that each of these issues may be exacerbated by the proposed project.

It is critical that the environmental and other impacts on the BHPR be comprehensively investigated before any river channel work is contemplated and the residents of the BHPR are involved as stakeholders in any such investigations.

We understand that a Kootenay River “Water Use ‘like’ Plan”, including the BHPR, is finally being recommended as an action item by the CRTP and we believe this; a review of the Canal Plant Agreement(which controls daily power generation “load-shaping” and level fluctuations); and, the studies suggested in our submission need to be completed as part of the potential impact study of this project.

We would appreciate your advise as to when you and your representatives would be available to meet with our residents.

We have community halls in Shoreacres, Glade, Tarrys and Brilliant that could be utilized for local meetings.

Thank you for your anticipated timely response to this affected community request.

Respectfully submitted,

Andy Davidoff

RDCK Director Area “I”

adavidoff@telus.blackberry.net 

Brilliant Head-Pond Reservoir Issues

Submission to the Columbia River Treaty Review Process & BC Columbia River Treaty Local Governments’ Committee

RDCK Area I Advisory Planning Commission

December 30, 2012

Introduction

The Brilliant Head-Pond Reservoir (“BHPR”) was created by the damming of the Kootenay River at the Brilliant Canyon for the construction of the Brilliant Dam hydroelectric project in 1944.

The BHPR area extends from Columbia Power Corporation’s Brilliant Dam and Brilliant Expansion Project (2007) upstream to the Slocan Pool area just below BC Hydro’s Kootenay Canal (1975) and Fortis’s South Slocan (1928) dams.

The BHPR is located within RDCK Area “I” which has a population of 2570 people and its creation and utilization for hydro-electric generation purposes

has and continues to profoundly impact the residents of the Shoreacres, Glade, Tarrys and Thrums communities and Kootenay River ecosystems.

The original decisions regarding the construction of the Brilliant Dam and the subsequent creation of the BHPR were based on enhanced production of strategic war materials and the development of a heavy water plant in Warfield and ever since then the BHPR has been considered an industrial power-generation commodity.

These and subsequent decisions regarding the construction of the Kootenay Canal and Brilliant Expansion Project did not adequately incorporate the views of BHPR residents or fully recognize or adequately compensate for the full socio-economic , recreation, land and aquatic ecosystem, conservation covenant implementation, access, flooding, erosion, and other impacts.

Some issues were addressed by socio-economic monitoring during the construction of the Brilliant Expansion Project but the BHPR area has never been deemed worthy of a Water Use Plan Study or considered for ongoing “Affected Area Funding” by any of the current operators.

It is appropriate and timely for the following issues to be addressed as part of the Columbia River Treaty Review or separate provincial, operational or planning processes.

Respectfully submitted,

RDCK Area “I” Advisory Planning Commission

c/o Andy Davidoff,

RDCK Area “I” Director adavidoff@telus.blackberry.net

Issues

A. Current Operations

∙Rapid, daily level fluctuation impacts–

The Canal Plant Agreement allows BC Hydro to control water levels in the BHPR to maximize power generation and the resultant, daily water level fluctuation, locally referred to as the “Shoreacres Tide”, profoundly impact riparian areas, safe use of and access to the reservoir, property values and recreational opportunities.

A public review process on the impact of placing restrictions on BHPR fluctuations is important to determine the potential benefits and off-setting impacts on operations such as the loss of flexibility, energy value and revenue.

Enhanced signage and notices of such rapid fluctuations are also required to improve the safety of residents.

∙Lack of formalized Erosion Control and Management Plan-

There is no formalized, comprehensive Erosion Control and Management Plan and impacted BHPR residents are encouraged to individually negotiate and enter into one-off agreements that are not transparent and result in perceptions of inequity by other BHPR residents.

∙Involvement of local residents in reservoir management and dam operation discussions-

There is no formal mechanism for knowledgeable BHPR residents to provide input to BHPR management and dam operation discussions.

∙Lack of a BHPR or Kootenay River Water Use Plan-

There is no comprehensive Water Use Plan (WUP) for the BHPR or the Kootenay River to ensure water management decisions reflect changing public values and environmental priorities.

A comprehensive WUP utilizing a  multi-stakeholder consultative process designed to consider environmental, social and economic values could help to find a sustainable balance between competing uses and  maximizing learning about the impacts of operations on non-power values and/or objectives; wildlife abundance and diversity; community benefits from quality and diversity of recreation; water health and quality; and archeological site conservation.

∙Lack of an Invasive Aquatic Plant Management Plan-

There is no Invasive Aquatic Plant Management Plan for the BHPR system.

∙Lack of  “Affected Area Funding”-

The BHPR is in RDCK Area “I” but Area “I” does not receive any ongoing “Affected Area Funding” by any of the operators of the 4 dams profoundly affecting the over 2000 residents of Shoreacres, Glade, Tarrys and Thrums.

∙Recreational access to BHPR-

There is no public boat or road access to the BHPR in Shoreacres or Thrums and private docks and accesses are being threatened due to changes in legislation and operator policies.

This is occurring as the demand for recreational access to the BHPR is rapidly increasing and BHPR waterfront land is being marketed as prime water-based recreational property.

A Recreational Use and/or Boat Ramp Demand Study could assist in addressing outstanding operator liability issues and identifying options to address recreational demand.

∙Glade Ferry navigation safety-

Rapid daily fluctuations, debris and ice flows present potential hazards such as ferry grounding and the destruction of ferry cables.

∙BHPR navigation safety and erosion management-

Markers are required for safe navigation throughout the BHPR and “No Wake” policies and information programs are required to be implemented to minimize erosion issues.

∙Grohman Narrows dredging-

The Grohman Narrows river channel has been deepened, widened and dredged in the past to increase water flow from Kootenay Lake .

There has been a general re-contouring of the channel below the Narrows to improve the flow of the river to the Corra Linn Dam and for better performance of all the Kootenay River plants during low-water periods. (Volovsek, 2005-2012)

There is discussion of dredging the Narrows again to allow for a deeper drawdown and the passage of a greater volume of water to minimize flooding of Kootenay Lake properties.

It is critical that the environmental and other impacts on the BHPR be comprehensively investigated before any river channel work is contemplated and the residents of the BHPR are involved as stakeholders in any such investigations.

B. Historical/Footprint

∙Industrial power-generation “commodification”.

The original decisions regarding the construction of the Brilliant Dam and the subsequent creation of the BHPR were based on enhanced production of strategic war materials and the development of a heavy water plant in Warfield and ever since then the BHPR has been considered  an industrial power-generation commodity.

These and subsequent decisions regarding the construction of the Kootenay Canal  and Brilliant Expansion Project did not adequately incorporate the views of BHPR residents or fully recognize or adequately compensate for  the full socio-economic , recreation, land and aquatic ecosystem, conservation covenant implementation, access, flooding, erosion,  and other impacts.

Update on the Grohman Narrows Channel Improvement Project, which summarizes the information presented at the June 17^th public information meeting in Nelson.

 

ABOUT GROHMAN NARROWS

Grohman Narrows is a narrow and comparatively shallow section of the Kootenay River – known as a hydraulic constriction – located approximately three kilometres downstream of the City of Nelson. During periods of high inflow into Kootenay Lake, the hydraulic constriction at Grohman Narrows can restrict outflows from Kootenay Lake and back up water, result in unavoidably high lake levels and flooding. Other impacts of the Grohman Narrows constriction include reduced generation at downstream generating stations and reduced operational flexibility for Kootenay Lake.

GROHMAN NARROWS CHANNEL IMPROVEMENT PROJECT

In response to local government and community concerns, BC Hydro is exploring potential improvements to Grohman Narrows. If viable, the improvements at Grohman Narrows would provide greater flood control, improve the operating flexibility for the Kootenay Lake system and provide power benefits to downstream generating stations on the Kootenay River. This project would also result in generation benefits and improved flood protection in the U.S.

HISTORICAL IMPROVEMENTS

In 1890, an estimated 18,000 cubic yards of blasted rock, boulder and gravel material were removed from the riverbed by Kootenay Company Ltd. In 1939, West Kootenay Power and Light removed over 330,000 cubic yards of gravel and nearly 18,000 cubic yards of rock from the Narrows, the latter including material blasted from the bluffs on the south side of the river.

PROJECT SCHEDULE

The first phase of the project, which is underway and will run until October 2013, will look at the potential costs and benefits of the project and determine the feasibility of moving ahead with channel improvements at this time.

From the results of the work completed to date and planned for the remainder of 2013, we will determine whether the project will advance to a next phase of work in early 2014.

The next phase would involve additional investigations and planning for the potential improvements. The additional investigations and planning, which would include more detailed studies of potential system-wide effects of modified operations as well as further public engagement, could take up to two years, after which a decision could be made regarding whether or not to proceed.

HYDRAULIC AND GEOTECHNICAL STUDY RESULTS TO-DATE

 

BATHYMETRIC SURVEY

In October 2012, BC Hydro completed a detailed survey of the river bed through and in the vicinity of the Grohman Narrows reach.

HYDRAULIC MODELLING

The purpose of the hydraulic modelling completed to date is to compare various improvement scenarios with existing conditions. The preliminary sensitivity scenarios examined include excavation to bed elevations of 526 metres (1726 feet) and 527 metres (1729 feet), within an approximately 2 kilmometre long reach from start of the Narrows. The approximate volume of material in this area is in the range of 600,000 cubic meters (785,000 cubic yards). The majority of this volume is located in the gravel bars upstream and downstream of the wooded island.

 

GEOPHYSICS SURVEYS AND RESULTS

The geophysics surveys were completed in March 2013 and entailed overwater acoustic profiling, side-scan sonar surveys and shoreline-based seismic refraction surveying.

From the results of this work, BC Hydro has determined that bedrock elevation is relatively deep across most of the Grohman Narrows area and would not significantly influence dredging operations. The surficial bed materials generally consist of a well graded mix of sand, rounded gravels and cobbles. There is also some evidence of larger boulder material, especially along the south bank.

PRELIMINARY RESULTS AND OBSERVATIONS

REDUCTION IN PEAK LEVELS

For average conditions and existing operating regimes, improvements would result in a reduction in peak flood levels in the range of 0.5 – 0.8 metres (1.5 – 2.5 feet), as well as a reduction in the number of years and duration of time at higher lake levels.

GENERAL LAKE LEVELS

There would be little, if any, change in lake levels compared to existing seasonal levels during the summer months, and through fall and winter. Rather, the project will allow BC Hydro to redistribute and better control water flows downstream during the spring freshet period, resulting in a reduction in freshet peak and duration. It is during this period that current operations are most constrained by the Narrows.  An improved Grohman Narrows would reduce this seasonal constraint, while operations at Corra Linn dam would still remain the ultimate control of lake levels as they are today for most of the rest of the year. Dredging of the Narrows would not lead to an unavoidable reduction in lake levels.

POTENTIAL DISCHARGE CAPACITY INCREASE

The range of potential discharge capacity increases would be approximately 90 – 350 cubic metres per second (m³/s) or 3,000 to 12,000 cubic feet per second (cfs), which would account for a 10 to 50 per cent increase in discharge capacity depending on the time of year. The highest potential discharge capacity increases, in terms of flow rates, would be during March through July.

POTENTIAL INCREASE IN GENERATION

The range for potential increased generation for the BC Hydro Kootenay Canal Generating Station, the four FortisBC Kootenay River Plants and Columbia Power’s Brilliant Dam combined is in the order of 1 – 1.5% per year.

 

ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS

All environmental considerations will be carefully managed. As the project progresses we will be undertaking studies and assessments to understand the effects of this project on the environment, including fish and their habitat.

KEEPING YOU INFORMED

On Monday, June 17, BC Hydro hosted a public information meeting to provide an update on the Grohman Narrows Channel Improvement Project.  Information presented included the project background and drivers, findings of hydraulic and geotechnical studies completed to date, project timeline and next steps.

BC Hydro will continue to keep the public informed throughout the project, and will share the results and next steps as they are available.

QUESTIONS OR INQUIRIES

For general inquiries, please contact Mary Anne Coules, Stakeholder Engagement Advisor at 250 365 4565.

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Mary Anne Coules

Stakeholder Engagement Advisor, Community Relations

BC Hydro
601 – 18th Street

Castlegar, B.C.  V1N 3A3

Office:     250.365.4565

Mobile:    250.608.1885

Fax:         250.365-4559

Email:      maryanne.coules@bchydro.com

bchydro.com
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