RADIUM HOT SPRINGS – The Spillimacheen Water Use Plan (WUP) Consultative Committee recently reached consensus on an operating regime for the Spillimacheen hydroelectric facility. BC Hydro has now submitted both the draft WUP and the Committee’s report to the provincial government for review and approval.
"Water use planning is a new approach to making decisions on how to allocate provincial water resources," said BC Hydro Spillimacheen WUP project manager, Vesta Filipchuk. "During the planning process, the Committee reviewed BC Hydro’s operations at Spillimacheen and explored ways to improve the balance between various water use interests such as fish, wildlife, recreation, traditional use and power generation."
The Spillimacheen WUP Committee followed the consultation process outlined in the provincial government's Water Use Plan Guidelines. Participants worked towards developing a plan on how to operate the Spillimacheen hydroelectric facility using a structured decision making approach.
The Spillimacheen WUP Consultative Committee comprised participants from a wide range of interests and included representatives from the Ktunaxa Kinbasket Tribal Council, Secwepemc Fisheries Commission, Columbia River Inter-tribal Fisheries Commission (CCRIFC), Parks Canada, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection and BC Hydro.
The plan will now be reviewed, under the Water Act, by the Comptroller of Water Rights, before any changes are made to BC Hydro’s operations.
If approved, the Committee recommends a formal review of the plan in ten years. At its final meeting, the Consultative Committee unanimously accepted implementation of an operating alternative representative of current operations and a monitoring program consisting of three studies to provide improved information on which to base future operating decisions.
The Spillimacheen River is located about 40 kilometres north of Radium Hot Springs. The 90-kilometre long river flows southeasterly from the Purcell Mountain range into the Rocky Mountain Trench, where it joins the Columbia River. The Spillimacheen facility is part of BC Hydro’s Columbia Basin Generation Area (CBGA). It is the smallest BC Hydro generating facility in the CBGA contributing less than one per cent to the area’s total hydroelectric capacity.
Contact:
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Diane Tammen |
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Community Relations Manager |
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Phone: (250) 489-6862 |