Cheakamus River Water Use Plan Report of the Consultative Committee

Cheakamus River Water Use Plan Report of the Consultative Committee May 2002 Prepared by: David R. Marmorek Ian Parnell ESSA Technologies Ltd. National Library of Canada Cataloguing in Publication Data Cheakamus River Water Use Plan Consultative Committee (Canada) Cheakamus River water use plan : report of the Consultative Committee Running title: Cheakamus WUP Consultative Committee report. ISBN 0-7726-4813-1 1. Water use - British Columbia - Cheakamus River. 2. Water use - British Columbia - Squamish-Lillooet - Planning. 3. Water resources development - British Columbia - Cheakamus River. 3. Hydroelectric power plants - British Columbia - Squamish-Lillooet. 4. Dams - British Columbia - Cheakamus River. I. Marmorek,A Project David R., 1952- of . II. Parnell, BC Ian. Hydro III. B.C. Hydro. IV. Title. V. Title: Cheakamus WUP Consultative Committee report. TD227.B7C43 2002 333.91’17’0971131 C2002-960163-0 Cheakamus River Water Use Plan Report of the Consultative Committee Prepared on behalf of the Cheakamus River Water Use Plan Consultative Committee Prepared by David R. Marmorek and Ian Parnell ESSA Technologies Ltd. 1765 West 8th Avenue, Suite 300 Vancouver, BC V6J 5C6 May 24, 2002 For copies of this report, or more information about this Water Use Planning process please contact: Barry Wilkinson Community Relations Coordinator Metro/Coastal Region BC Hydro 6911 Southpoint Drive (E07) Burnaby, BC V3N 4X8 Phone: 604 528-2353 Fax: 604 528-2362 Email: [email protected] ______________________________________________ This report was prepared for and by the Cheakamus Water Use Plan Consultative Committee, in accordance with the provincial government's Water Use Plan Guidelines. The report expresses the interests, values and recommendations of the Committee and is a supporting document to BC Hydro's Cheakamus Water Use Plan that will be submitted to the Comptroller of Water Rights for review under the Water Act. The technical data contained within the Report was gathered solely for the purposes of developing the aforementioned recommendations, and should not be relied upon other than for the purposes intended. Cheakamus WUP Consultative Committee Report Acknowledgements The Cheakamus Water Use Planning consultation process lasted nearly three years and involved the active participation of over 40 people. In a project of this scope it is difficult to recall all those who contributed to its outcome and we apologize in advance to anyone not mentioned below. There are, however, several groups and individuals that we interacted with most often and would like to clearly acknowledge here. As the authors of their report and their facilitators we would first and foremost like to thank the Cheakamus Consultative Committee for the opportunity to work with them during 25 meetings and nearly three years of hard work. The process thrived on their active participation, creativity and stimulating debate. The latter, in particular, ensured that the many concerns and viewpoints associated with this multi- stakeholder, multiple-objective decision process received fair representation, both in the process and in this report. We think it is important to emphasize that many Consultative Committee members made significant commitments of personal time on a purely voluntary basis. This commitment is greatly appreciated by us, as it is this sort of dedication that makes a public process work well. Secondly, we would like to thank the members of the Hydro Operations and Power Systems (HOPSC) and Fisheries (FTC) Technical Committees who provided much of the underlying data and analyses upon which to base performance measure calculations and evaluations. This information was often provided under tight deadlines made more pressing because many committee members also worked on other WUPs concurrently. The FTC in particular, worked hard to overcome gaps in our scientific understanding of the Cheakamus River and to prepare the most practical and useful performance measures for decision making within the time and budget available for the WUP process. Thirdly, we thank the BC Hydro Project Team for their unflagging support of an open and fair process. In particular, we thank Gordon Boyd and Al Geisler (project managers) Michael Harstone (Resource Valuation, replacing Kristy Mcleod), Barry Wilkinson (Community Relations), Cam Matheson (Aboriginal Relations ), Dave Wilson (FTC Chair) and Kathy Groves (HOPSC, operations modelling). Andrew Coupe deserves special mention. He provided stellar communication and coordination services for the Cheakamus WUP for more than two years before moving on within BC Hydro to another position. Finally we thank the staff of ESSA who contributed to the process: David Bernard, the original facilitator for the Consultative Committee; Christine Pinkham, our research assistant; and Gwen Diaz and Kelly Robson who provided word processing and computer technical support. May 23, 2002 David Marmorek and Ian Parnell i Prepared by ESSA Technologies Ltd. Cheakamus WUP Consultative Committee Report Prepared by ESSA Technologies Ltd. ii Cheakamus WUP Consultative Committee Report Executive Summary Water Use Planning was introduced by the Minister of Employment and Investment (MEI)1 and the Minister of Environment, Lands and Parks (MELP)2 in 1998 as an approach to ensuring provincial water management decisions reflect changing public values and environmental priorities. A Water Use Plan (WUP) is a technical document that, once reviewed by provincial and federal agencies and approved by the provincial Comptroller of Water Rights defines how water control facilities will be operated. The purpose of water use planning is to understand public values and develop recommendations defining a preferred operating strategy using a consultative process. As such it involves the licensee, government agencies, First Nations, other key interested parties, and the general public. BC Hydro initiated a Water Use Planning process for the Cheakamus Generating facility in May 1999. This report describes the results of the consultative process (Steps 2-8). The Cheakamus generating system consists of the Daisy Lake Dam and Reservoir and the Cheakamus Powerhouse in the Squamish Valley connected by a tunnel through Cloudburst Mountain. The Daisy Lake Dam and Reservoir are located on the Cheakamus River about 40 km north of Squamish. The generating station is located about 40 km north of Squamish along the upper Squamish River. Its twin turbines have a generating capacity of 157 megawatts. Power production has varied with both climate and regulation. The Cheakamus plant produced approximately 790 GWh per year prior to implementation of the Interim Flow Agreement (IFA) in 1998. After implementation of the IFA, the Cheakamus plant produced approximately 590 GWh per year. The Cheakamus watershed is in the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District and borders the community of Whistler to the north and the communities of Squamish and Brackendale to the South. The watershed is a major transportation corridor being bisected by both the Sea-to-Sky Highway and the BC Rail line to the interior. The Cheakamus River is productive by coastal standards providing spawning and rearing habitat for several salmon species that in turn support other wildlife, such as the large fall/winter congregations of bald eagles that feed on salmon carcasses. The river is a popular recreational destination that provides rafting, kayaking, and sportfishing opportunities. A portion of the watershed is within the Barrier Civil Defense Zone and is off-limits for recreational and domestic use. The Cheakamus watershed is entirely within the traditional territory of the Squamish Nation whose members have traditionally relied on the river and its watershed for food, transportation and cultural practices. In June 1999, the Cheakamus Consultative Committee (CC) was created in accordance with Step 3 of the Provincial Water Use Planning guidelines and in conjunction with the announcement of the Cheakamus WUP. Its 20 members represented Federal, Provincial, Regional, and Municipal governments; the Squamish Nation; BC Hydro; environmental and recreational interests; and local stakeholders (Table ES.1). The CC agreed to a broad consultation process leading to identification of hydro operations that recognize multiple water uses in the Cheakamus and Squamish River systems, and competing interests and needs. Consultation was supplemented by field trips, expert presentations, a Fisheries Technical Committee and a Power Studies Technical Committee. A Facilitator was hired to assist the CC through the consultative process. The consultative process extended from June 1999 to January 2002 and 1 The Ministry of Employment and Investment was renamed in 2001 to the Ministry of Energy and Mines. 2 The Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks was reorganised in 2001 into the Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection and the Ministry of Sustainable Resource Management. iii Prepared by ESSA Technologies Ltd. Cheakamus WUP Consultative Committee Report included 25 meetings to work through the WUP steps outlined in the provincial Water Use Plan Guidelines. The length of the process was partially due to FTC needs; there was only one CC meeting between June 2000 and April 2001 while the FTC completed the field studies necessary to support development of the fisheries models for calculating performance measures. Table ES.1: Cheakamus WUP Consultative Committee composition. Group Representatives Fisheries and Oceans, Coast Guard

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