Alcan (Rio Tinto) Controls Water In Nechako

By 250 News

The Director of Management & Standards for Water Stewardship in the Province, Glen Davidson says that while the flows that Alcan (Rio Tinto) has been releasing into the Nechako River while not the sole reason for flooding in this city, those flows certainly have contributed to them ``The more water you have in a river the bigger the problem you have to deal with”.  

Davidson says Alcan is spilling the maximum they are allowed, 85 cubic meters per second under their agreement, in an effort to reduce the level of the Kenny Dam. ``The company has said it will continue to spill that amount of water until mid February. The snow pack in the region is now at 100 % of normal and they (Alcan) are allowed to manage the reservoir as they see fit.``

"We at the water management branch looked at the big picture" said Davidson, "the province was faced with its input in deciding when to spill. There is always some risk to spill or not to spill water, they (Alcan) have been looking for an opportunity to spill more water from their reservoir all year and this was the best opportunity."

Alcan is unable to spill water through their generators without them being in operation manufacturing hydro electric power. The company lost one of its two main power lines heading to Kitimat last winter and was unable to use the water stored in the reservoir. The Kemano power facility actually takes the water from the Kenny dam and diverts it to the Pacific Ocean at Kemano as opposed to before the dam’s construction  when all of the water flowed down the Nechako.

"We have looked very carefully at what to do in this case,  we could order them to do certain things but remember that introduces liability."says Davidson.

No where in the Alcan water license does it says that the company must prevent flooding, or must release water to prevent flooding.

Glen Davidson says,”you almost always get flooding downstream of a dam”.

The only obligation that Alcan faces is to ensure that minimum flows are provided for spawning fish in the Nechako.

The company had been spilling 300 cubic meters per second up until they began repair work on their spillway. During that time flows were cut to 15 cubic meters per second and when the work was finished they were increased to 85 cubic meters per second.

This is the same occurrence that took place in 1997 when the Nechako River flooded in and around the city when the company began a major spill into the river during a cold snap, combined with increased flows. The result was flooding from Vanderhoof through to Prince George.

Davidson says in his mind the liability is very clear, no one is liable unless you can prove someone acted in bad faith.

A meeting has been called at Winton Global  Homes Division this afternoon at 1pm when businesses and other stake holders will sit down to form a group to see what can be done about the situation.

Over 300 people have been thrown out of work as a result of the flooding in the region and 13 homes that have been evacuated.

Some professional Hydrologists says to little is known about what the affects are in introducing a large amount of water into a river in which Frazzle ice is forming to risk the venture.

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