Kristen Villebrun and Wendy Bush hoped they wouldn't have to pray for Chedoke Creek, but four years after they first raised alarm about the water's condition, they were part of an Indigenous full moon ceremony to do just that. About 50 people showed up near Princess Point on the dark and frigid Monday evening for the monthly ceremony, which was particularly special as it focused on Chedoke Creek. The body of water that runs into Cootes Paradise had about 24 billion litres of sewage and storm water runoff leak into it due to a gate being left open.
Today, the Honourable Joyce Murray, Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard; the Honourable Josie Osborne, B.C. Minister of Energy, Mines, and Low Carbon Innovation; and Chris O’Riley, President and CEO of BC Hydro, announced a joint investment of $32.7 million to support three decarbonization projects in British Columbia.
Heavy rain over Saturday and Sunday brought a helpful boost to the Comox Valley’s water system as levels remain below normal. According to BC Hydro stakeholder engagement advisor Stephen Watson, the February to September water supply forecast has come down since their initial forecast of 96 per cent normal. This is because of the very dry February and March that saw about half normal rainfall, according to Environment Canada. However, last weekend’s rain did provide a nice boost to help bring levels back up a bit.
BC Hydro and the Site C dam’s main civil works contractor have been charged under the federal Fisheries Act for failing to immediately report the discharge of four million litres of potentially contaminated acid rock drainage water into the fish-bearing Peace River. The contractor, Peace River Hydro Partners, was also charged with depositing a harmful substance into the Peace River, according to BC Hydro’s latest quarterly Site C dam report. The report, released in late December, says the public utility learned of the charges in late October following an investigation by Environment and Climate Change Canada.
Aecon-EBC General Partnership (AEGP), a consortium led by Aecon (60%) and including EBC (40%), has been awarded the first phase of a $245 million two-phase civil construction contract for the John Hart Dam Seismic Upgrade project on the Campbell River in British Columbia, Canada. The scope of work involves upgrading earth stabilizing infrastructure to improve the seismic resiliency of the existing John Hart Dam.
The construction phase of the KSM mining project in British Columbia, Canada, is set to be powered by hydropower following the signing of a Facilities Agreement between Seabridge Gold's wholly owned subsidiary, KSM Mining ULC and British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority (BC Hydro). KSM will connect to BC Hydro's existing Northwest Transmission Line (NTL) at Treaty Creek Switching Station (TCT). This TCT is scheduled to be completed before the end of 2024. KSM Mining has completed its design for a 30km long 287 KV transmission line to interconnect the TCT and the KSM plant site. This KSM transmission line is scheduled to be constructed in 2023 with completion and commissioning planned for late 2024 to be ready for connection to the TCT.
The death of potentially thousands of pink salmon in the Cheakamus River has prompted questions about how BC Hydro manages water levels in some of its reservoirs. It happened Thursday night and into Friday morning, when the Crown corporation reduced the spill release from the Daisy Lake Reservoir into the river, stranding fish who had moved closer to the banks. “I was taken aback, I couldn’t believe what I saw,” professional angling guide Clint Goyette told Global News. “The amount of dead and dying fish was something I’d never seen before in the adult phase of life of these pink salmon.”
BC Hydro has updated its water supply forecast for the summer. There’s continued dry weather conditions within the Puntledge River watershed, though the ongoing snowmelt is helping to move the Comox Lake Reservoir water level upward, and achieve its goal of a full reservoir in June. The amount of precipitation in the upper Puntledge watershed for February was 38 per cent of normal, March 97 per cent, April was at a very low 30 per cent, and May to date, 44 per cent of normal. The snowmelt is providing a major part of the recent water inflows into the watershed.
The Columbia River Treaty, an international agreement governing the flow of water between British Columbia and six U.S. states, will be 55 years old this year. It has not aged well. The river springs from the Columbia Icefield in the Rocky Mountains of B.C. and winds 1,930 kilometres through the Northwestern United States – Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Nevada and Wyoming. No other river in North America spills more water into the Pacific Ocean.
