Revelstoke Reservoir Macrophyte Assessment

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Revelstoke Reservoir Macrophyte Assessment Columbia River Project Water Use Plan Kinbasket Reservoir Fish & Wildlife Information Plan Revelstoke Reservoir Macrophyte Assessment Implementation Year 2 Reference: CLBMON-55 Revelstoke Reservoir Macrophyte Assessment – Phase 2 Study Period: September 2014 to October 2014 G3 Consulting Ltd. 206-8501 162nd Street Surrey, BC CANADA V4N 1B2 September 2015 Revelstoke Reservoir Macrophyte Assessment Program Phase 2 (Year 5) Prepared for: BC Hydro and Power Authority 6911 Southpoint Drive Burnaby, BC Canada, V3N 4X8 Prepared by: G3 Consulting Ltd. 206-8501 162nd Street Surrey, BC Canada V4N 1B2 www.g3consulting.com September 2015 Suggested Citation: G3 Consulting Ltd. 2015. CLBMON-55: Revelstoke Reservoir Macrophyte Assessment Program, Phase 2 (2014). Prepared for BC Hydro and Power Authority, Castlegar, BC by G3 Consulting Ltd., Surrey, BC. 50 pages + Appendices. © 2015 BC Hydro No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission from BC Hydro, Castlegar, B.C. Revelstoke Reservoir Macrophyte Assessment Phase 2 BC Hydro and Power Authority Table of Contents Contents Executive Summary ____________________________________________________ iii 1.0 Introduction ________________________________________________________ 1 1.1 Study Objectives __________________________________________________ 1 1.2 Background & Project Rationale ______________________________________ 2 1.2.1 Reservoir Characteristics ______________________________________________ 3 1.2.2 Reservoirs & Macrophyte Ecology _______________________________________ 4 1.3 Study Area _______________________________________________________ 6 1.3.1 Watershed Land Use _________________________________________________ 6 1.3.2 Fisheries __________________________________________________________ 7 1.4 Summary of Phase 1 (2009) _________________________________________ 8 2.0 Study Design & Methods ______________________________________________ 9 2.1 Start-up Meeting & Communications ___________________________________ 9 2.2 Pre-Field_________________________________________________________ 9 2.2.1 Summary of Existing Information _______________________________________ 10 2.3 Field Work ______________________________________________________ 10 2.3.1 Research Vessel ___________________________________________________ 10 2.3.2 Revelstoke Reservoir Safety Management Plan ___________________________ 10 2.3.3 Study Sites ________________________________________________________ 11 2.3.4 Site Layout ________________________________________________________ 11 2.3.5 Drop Camera Macrophyte Boundary Assessments _________________________ 12 2.3.6 Bathymetry ________________________________________________________ 13 2.3.7 Collection of Biological & Physical Data _________________________________ 13 2.3.8 Site Photos, Data & Observations ______________________________________ 15 2.4 Post Field _______________________________________________________ 15 2.4.1 Taxonomy ________________________________________________________ 15 2.4.2 Photographic Database ______________________________________________ 15 2.5 SPOT 6 Technology & Data Acquisition _______________________________ 16 2.5.1 Spot Technology ___________________________________________________ 16 2.5.2 Vegetation Indices __________________________________________________ 17 2.5.3 Acquisition of SPOT Imagery __________________________________________ 18 2.5.4 Image Processing & Basemap Creation ________________________________ 19 2.5.5 Post-field Calibration ________________________________________________ 19 2.5.6 NDVI versus In Situ Polygons _________________________________________ 20 2.5.7 NDVI Classification _________________________________________________ 21 2.6 Data Analysis for Macrophyte Community ______________________________ 21 2.7 QA/QC & Data Management ________________________________________ 22 3.0 Results ___________________________________________________________ 23 3.1 Basemap Comparison of Entire Reservoir (Phase 1 & Phase 2) _____________ 23 3.2 Long-Term Study Site Macrophyte Observations ________________________ 24 3.2.1 Study Sites ________________________________________________________ 24 3.2.2 Macrophyte Community Size (Phase 1 & Phase 2) _________________________ 24 3.2.3 Macrophyte Coverage (Phase 1 & Phase 2) ______________________________ 26 3.2.4 Macrophyte Bed Elevations (Phase 1 & Phase 2) __________________________ 29 3.2.5 Macrophyte Community Structure (Phase 1 & Phase 2) _____________________ 31 3.3 Biophysical Observations ___________________________________________ 33 3.3.1 Water Quality (Phase 1 & Phase 2) _____________________________________ 33 3.3.2 Substrate Characteristics (Phase 1 & Phase 2) ____________________________ 36 3.4 Climate Characteristics ____________________________________________ 37 i G3 Consulting Ltd. Revelstoke Reservoir Macrophyte Assessment Phase 2 BC Hydro and Power Authority Table of Contents 4.0 Discussion ________________________________________________________ 39 4.1 Influence of REV5 Operations (Overview) ______________________________ 39 4.2 NDVI Model _____________________________________________________ 40 4.3 Assessment of Macrophyte Communities at Long-term Study Sites __________ 41 4.3.1 Macrophyte Assessment Methodology __________________________________ 41 4.3.2 Macrophyte Community Structure ______________________________________ 42 4.3.3 Macrophyte Community Extent ________________________________________ 44 4.4 Environmental Parameters __________________________________________ 45 4.4.1 Substrate Characteristics _____________________________________________ 45 4.4.2 Water Quality ______________________________________________________ 45 5.0 Summary __________________________________________________________ 47 5.1 Program Summary ________________________________________________ 47 5.2 Recommendations ________________________________________________ 50 6.0 References ________________________________________________________ 51 Taxonomy References: _______________________________________________ 56 List of Tables Executive Summary: Summary of Objectives and Results Table 1-1: Revelstoke Reservoir Fisheries Resources Table 1-2: Phase 1 Macrophyte Taxa Table 2-1: Quadrat Distribution Table 2-2: Bands, Wavelengths & Resolutions of SPOT 5 & SPOT 6 Table 2-3: Typical NDVI values for various cover types; Holben, Brent (1986) Table 2-4: Acquisition Dates of SPOT 5 Imagery Table 2-5: Range of NDVI Digital Numbers Across Assessment Sites Table 3-1: Predicted Macrophyte Communities (Full Reservoir) Table 3-2: NDVI Predicted Polygons vs. In Situ Observations Table 3-3: In Situ Area Observations (Phase 1 & Phase 2) Table 3-4: Phase 1 & Phase 2 Macrophyte Taxa Table 3-5: Macrophyte Quadrat Occurrences & Percent Cover (Phase 1 & Phase 2) Table 3-6: In situ Macrophyte Community Elevations at Near-shore & Far-shore Edge Table 3-7: Observed Species Dominance (Phase 1 & Phase 2) Table 3-8: Macrophyte Quadrat Abundance Table 3-9: Overall Mean Macrophyte Abundance Table 5-1: Summary of Objectives and Results List of Figures Figure 1-1: Reservoir Zonation (adapted from Thornton et al., 1981) Figure 1-2: Environmental Parameters Influencing Macrophyte Growth (Adapted from Stevenson; 1996) Figure 1-3: Water Zonation within a Reservoir Figure 2-1: Example Layout Schematic for Macrophyte Site Surveys Figure 2-2: Chlorophyll Absorption Spectra (adapted from Aushulz, 2008; GNU Commons) Appendices APPENDIX 1: Figures APPENDIX 2: Photographs APPENDIX 3: Charts APPENDIX 4: Tables APPENDIX 5: Macrophyte Ecology APPENDIX 6: OHS & Site Specific Safety Plan APPENDIX 7: Sample Field Forms ii G3 Consulting Ltd. Revelstoke Reservoir Macrophyte Assessment Phase 2 BC Hydro and Power Authority Executive Summary EXECUTIVE SUMMARY On behalf of the British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority (BC Hydro), G3 Consulting Ltd. (G3) was retained to complete a macrophyte monitoring program to evaluate potential incremental impacts of operating a fifth generating unit (REV5) at the Revelstoke Dam, located 5 km north of Revelstoke, BC. The overall program was comprised of two phases. Phase 1 was a baseline investigation, completed in 2009, prior to REV5 operation and Phase 2 (2014) involved follow-up field assessments (post REV5 start- up). High resolution SPOT satellite imagery and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) algorithms were used in conjunction with ground-truthing at ten long-term monitoring sites to map and compare (pre- and post) macrophyte community size, composition and spatial locations in Phase 1 and Phase 2. In December 2010, REV5 became operational. Average monthly water elevation in Revelstoke Reservoir was 572.55 m prior to operation while average post REV5 operation levels were lower by 19 cm (572.36 m). In general, the observed macrophyte species in Revelstoke Reservoir were similar between Phase 1 and Phase 2. Reduced water elevations in the reservoir appear to have influenced relative abundance of those macrophytes more tolerant to lower water levels and those capable of improved growth under such conditions (e.g. E. acicularis). As such, the ability of macrophytes to adapt to changes in water level suggests that the overall macrophyte communities observed in Revelstoke Reservoir were not notably impacted by REV5 operation. iii G3 Consulting Ltd. Revelstoke Reservoir Macrophyte Assessment Phase 2 BC Hydro and Power Authority
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