Resource: Tamed Rivers: A Guide to River Diversion Hydropower in British Columbia
Authors / Publisher: Gower, T., A. Rosenberger, A. Peatt, and A. Hill, for Watershed Watch Salmon Society
Date: October 2012
PDF: Tamed Rivers: A Guide to River Diversion Hydropower in British Columbia
Summary:
This report released by Watershed Watch Salmon Society is the first of its kind in BC, providing extensive details on the environmental effects and planning of river diversion projects. It is a scientifically-referenced and peer-reviewed document that will assist decision makers and citizens alike and goes through the known impacts of river diversion hydropower on fish and wildlife populations, and identifies several areas that require further study. The authors also propose solutions to deal with the litany of shortcomings in how hydropower projects are planned, assessed, and monitored in BC. While over 1,000 streams and rivers in BC have been staked for hydropower development, the province has no planning process in place to ensure that only the most appropriate projects are considered for development.
Watershed Watch Salmon Society prepared this document with funding from the Vancouver Foundation, the Orange County Community Foundation, the Liber Ero Foundation and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. It was authored by Tanis Gower, Andrew Rosenberger, Alison Peatt, and Aaron Hill with assistance from Craig Orr. We wish to thank peer reviewers Dr. Jack Stanford (aquatic effects), Dr. Paul Paquet (terrestrial effects) and Dr. Viorel Popescu (cumulative effects). John Kelson provided expertise on eulachon and Dr. Alan Burger provided expertise on marbled murrelet. Dr. Jim Pojar and Patrick Williston provided expertise on rare plants in spray zones.
The recommended citation for this document is as follows:
Gower, T., A. Rosenberger, A. Peatt, and A. Hill. 2012. Tamed Rivers: A guide to river diversion hydropower in British Columbia. Prepared for Watershed Watch Salmon Society. 64 pages.
