An Evaluation of the Feasibility of Developing
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AN EVALUATION OF THE FEASIBILITYOF DEVELOPING GRANULAR BORROW FROM THE BED OF THE MACKENZIE RIVER Submitted to: INDIAN AND NORTHERN AFFAIRS CANADA Prepared by: EBA ENGINEERING CONSULTANTS LTD. CALGARY,ALBERTA 0301-34288 APRIL, 1987 0301-34288 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page EXECUTIVESUMMARY 1.o INTRODUCTION 1 2 .o PROJECT DESCRIPTION 2 3 .O NORMAN WELLSEXPANSION PROJECT 3 3.1 RIVERREGIME 3 3.2 ESSO ' S DREDGED GRAVEL 4 3.3 SOURCE OF BORROW 5 3.3.1 Quaternary Geology 6 3.3.2 Recent A1 1 uviurn 7 3.4 BORROW EXPLORATION a 3.4.1 Sampling Methods 8 3.4.2 Geophysical Methods 10 4 .O GEOLOGIC FRAMEWORK - MACKENZIERIVER 11 4.1 RIVERZONES 11 4.2 MORPHOLOGICPROPERTIES OF THE RIVER 11 4.2.1 Channel Pattern 12 4.2.2 Islands 13 4.2.3 Channel CrossSection 13 4.3 VARIABLESAFFECTING RIVER REGIME 14 4.3.1 Channel Gradient 14 0301-34288 Page 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page 4.3.2 SedimentType and Quantity 15 4.3.3 Discharge 16 4.4 PHYSIOGRAPHY AND REGIONALGEOLOGY 16 4.4.1 Great Slave Plain (River Zones I to VI11 17 4.4.2 Mackenzi e P1ai n (River Zones VI11 - XIII) 17 4.4.3 Frankl in Mountai ns-Mackenzi e P1 ain (River Zone XIV) 19 4.4.4 PeelPlain-Anderson Plain (River Zones XV - XIX) 20 5 .O ECONOMIC CONSIDERATIONS 23 5.1 UPLANDGRANULAR RESOURCES DATA 23 5.2 GRANULAR RESOURCES DEMAND INFORMATION 24 5.2.1 Local Community Requirements 24 5.2.2 Highway Requi rements 24 5.2.3 Airport Requirements 25 5.2.4 PipelineRequirements 26 5.2.5 PotentialBorrow Demand 27 5.3 BORROW DEVELOPMENT COSTS 27 5.3.1 Up1 and Deposits 27 5.3.2 Riverbed Deposits 30 0301-34288 Page 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page 6 .O ENVIRONMENTALCONSIDERATIONS 33 6.1 HYDROLOGY 33 6.1.1 Hydro1 ogi c Regime 33 6.1.2 Suspended Sediments 34 6.1.3 River Morpho1 ogy 35 6.1.4 Hydrology Concerns Related to GranularMaterials Removal 37 6.2 WATER QUALITY 39 6.2.1 General Concerns 39 6.2.2 Hydrocarbons 40 6.2.3 TraceMetals 41 6.3 FISHERIES 42 6.3.1 DataBase 42 6.3.2 Species Present 43 6.3.3 Seasonal LifePatterns 44 6.3.4 Resource Harvesting 47 6.3.5 Habitat Uses 49 6.4 FISHERIESCONCERNS RELATED TO GRANULAR MATERIALS REMOVAL 50 6.4.1 PotentialSources of Disturbance 51 6.4.2 Suspended Sediments and Sedimentation 51 6.4.3 Resuspension of ContaminatedSediments 54 6.4.4 A1 teration of Habitat Characteristics 54 6.4.5 Interference With Mi gration/Spawni ng 55 6.4.6 Decreased Fi shi ng Success 55 6.4.7 Mortal i ty From Dredging Machinery 56 0301-34288 Page 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page 7 .O FEASIBILITY OF RIVERBED BORROW DEVELOPMENT 57 7.1 LIMITED DATA BASE 57 7.2 RATING THE RIVER 57 7.3 POTENTIAL AREAS FOR RIVERBED BORROW DEVELOPMENT 58 8 .O RECOMMENDATIONS FOR SUBSEQUENT EVALUATION WORK 59 8.1 RIVERBED INVENTORY 59 8.2 NORMANWELLS FIELD TRIALS 61 8.3 ENVIRONMENTAL DATA REQUIREMENTS 62 8.3.1 Water Quali ty 62 8.3.2 Hydro1 ogy 62 8.3.3 Fi sheri es 63 9 .o CLOSURE 64 REFERENCES TABLES FIGURES DRAWINGS APPENDIX A - Hydrology And SedimentCharacteristics Of Mainstem Reaches APPENDIX B - Summary Of FisheriesInformation For ReachZones APPENDIX C - Acknowledgements 0301-34288 ~ ~~~ EXECUTIVE SUMMARY On behalf of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, a review has been completed of thefeasibi 1 i ty of developing granular material s from the Mackenzie Riverbed for use as construction borrow. The project was completed for Supply and Services Canada by EBA EngineeringConsultants Ltd. who had submitted an unsolicited proposal forthe work. EBA were assisted by ESL Environmental Sciences Ltd. and GVM GeologicalConsultants Ltd. in theoffice study. River regime data, primarily channel morphologyand rivergradient/current data werecombined with geological and terrain evidence of granular alluvium to develop a rating system for 25 km reaches of theriver. Approximately 22 percent of theriverbed was interpretedto have a high potential to supplygranular borrow. The area betweenCamsell Bend and Fort Good Hope appears to have thegreatest potential; however, local areas between Fort Providence and Fort Simpsonhave a moderate to high potenti a1 . To develop an understanding of where riverbed borrow production might be required,data pertaining to upl and or conventional borrow deposits within 15 km of theriverbank was reviewed. Almost 66 percent of thelength of the Mackenzie Valleyappears to be deficient in upland borrow resources. In particular,the 500 km section upstream of Will owl ake River and the 175 km section immediatelyupstream of the Mackenzie Delta have noticeable shortages of upland granularresources. A cost comparison of conventionalversus dredge and barge haul borrow development demonstrated the economic feasi bi 1 i ty of ri veri ne borrow production. Although excavation and start-upcosts would morebe than twiceas high ($11.90/m3 versus $4.90/rn3) for dredge and barge methods, haul costs would be considerablyless for longerdistances. Evidence is presentedsuggesting that for hauls of greater than 7 km, riveroperations may morebe practical. For high production rates,the potential cost benefitsare even greater. Environmental considerationsprimarily focused on thefish population and the impact of dredging on waterquality and suspended sediments. Generally it was concluded thatthe Mackenzie River'snaturally high flow rate and high suspended sedimentcontent during the open waterseason will maskany effects summer dredging might have. Similarlyresuspension of sorbed heavy metals and hydrocarbons is not expected to be a major concern. Some concern does exist, however, for theinterference dredging may have on the migration of fish alongthe Mackenzie and spawning areas could be impacted. Therefore sitespecific evaluation will be required before major borrow operations are initiated. The shortage of data uponwhich to base this studyaffected both the geotechnical and environmental components. Sitespecific information of theriverbed materials and fishpopulations is virtuallynon-existent, except for the Norman Wells area and tributarystreams and rivers. Therefore,considerable effort will be requiredbefore the potential value of theriverbed a1 luvium as a resourcematerial canbe established. 0301-34288 Page 1 1.o INTRODUCTION In September1986, Indian andNorthern Affairs Canada (INAC)through Supplyand Services Canada (SSC) retained EBA EngineeringConsultants Ltd. (EBA) toevaluate the feasibility of recovering granular borrow resources fromthe main channel of theMackenzie River. This project which was awardedas a resultof an unsolicitedproposal was conductedunder SSC Contract No. A7134-6-0017/01-ST. Mr. BobGowan was INAC'S Scientific Authorityfor the project. Inthe mid '70'5, therewere several studies ofthe granular borrow prospects inthe MackenzieValley, excluding the river. Indian Affairs andNorthern Devel oprnent sponsored a broadinventory of the Val 1 ey 's resourcesincluding studies by EBA (1973), Pemcan (19721,and the GeologicalSurvey of Canada (1972,1973). Subsequently studies for a MackenzieValley gas pipeline andthe Mackenzie and Dempster highways examinedgranular borrow supplies in more detail,but along much narrower corridors. None ofthese studies appears to have considered the riverbed as a potentialsource ofgranular borrow. The conceptofrecovering borrowmaterials from the riverbed was, atthat time, considered to be environmental ly unacceptable. Geotechnicalinvestigations for the Norman WellsExpansion Project (NWEP) completedbetween 1978 and 1983 by ESSO Resources Canada Ltd. (ESSO f encounteredsignificant thicknesses of granular riverbed alluvium. ESSO recognizedthe economic value of this material inpart because ofits experiencewith constructing Beaufort Sea islands by dredging.Almost 1.8 million cu.m. ofriverbed sandand gravel was used forconstruction of sixislands in the river by the NWEP. On thebasis of ESSO's successfuldevelopment of granular borrow resources fromthe riverbed and with the knowledge that some sectionsof the river 0301-34288 Page 2 Val leyare deficient in up1and granular borrow resources, it was appropriateto investigate the potential for other reaches of the river to supplygranular borrow. The projectcan best be described as a studyof thepotential for finding granular resources along separate reaches of the river and of thefeasibility for developing suchdeposits if they do exist.Environmental, andeconomic factors havebeen included in assessing the general feasi bi 1 ity of riverbed borrow development. 2 .o PROJECT DESCRIPTION The studyarea was restrictedto the main river channeland didnot considerthe tributary streams and rivers except as sedimentsources. The upstreamend ofthe study was atGreat Slave Lake (km 0.0 onthe hydrographic(navigation) charts). The downstreamend was atPoint Separation (km 1475 where theMackenzi e Deltabegins. The basicobjective of the study was toidentify where thedevelopment of riverbedalluvium as a source of granularborrow materials would be feasible. The primaryquestions to answer were: a)where do geologicand hydrologic evidence suggest that coarse granular a1 luvium will befound in the riverbed? b)where might these deposits satisfy local shortages inconventional (up1 and) borrow materi a1 suppl ies? c) how do the economics ofdredging and transportingriverbed a1 1 uvium compare with conventi onal borrow pit development? d)what environmental constraints might affect riverbed dredging? A rating system was developedcombining geologic and hydrologic data in orderto identify the potential for granular material in various parts of 0301-34288 Page 3 theriver. In addition,theavailable upland borrow resources were identified for variousparts of theriver. Another major component of theoverall study was a review of theriverbed borrow development undertaken forthe Norman Wells Expansion Project. The informationacquired prior to and duringthe NWEP is by far the most detailedavailable assessment of any part of theriverbed and theeffects of dredging on the Mackenzie River. The finalrequirement of this study was to out1 inesubsequent work needed to develop an inventory of riverbed granular resources.Suggestions for both geotechnical and environmental fieldstudies are provided. 3 .O NORMAN WELLS EXPANSIONPROJECT 3.1 RIVER REGIME The channel in the middle part of the Mackenzie River is described by Northwest Hydraul ics (1979) asbeing irregul ar and sl i ghtlysinuous.