Nechako Reservoir | |
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Location | British Columbia |
Coordinates | 53°45′N126°0′W / 53.750°N 126.000°W |
Type | hydroelectric reservoir |
Primary inflows | Nechako River |
Primary outflows | penstock |
Basin countries | Canada |
Max. length | 140 mi (230 km) |
Surface area | 890 km2 (340 sq mi) |
Max. depth | 305 m (1,001 ft) |
Surface elevation | 2,790 ft (850 m) |
Sections/sub-basins | Northern arm (Ootsa Lake, Whitesail Lake, Whitesail Reach) and south arm (Eutsuk Lake, Natalkuz Lake, Chedakuz Arm, Knewstubb Lake, Tetachuck Lake) |
The Nechako Reservoir, sometimes called the Ootsa Lake Reservoir, is a hydroelectric reservoir in British Columbia, Canada that was formed by the Kenney Dam making a diversion of the Nechako River through a 16-km intake tunnel in the Kitimat Ranges of the Coast Mountains to the 890 MW Kemano Generating Station at sea level at Kemano to service the then-new Alcan aluminum smelter [1] at Kitimat. When it was constructed on the Nechako River in 1952, it resulted in the relocation of over 75 families. [1] It was one of the biggest reservoirs built in Canada until the completion of the Columbia Treaty Dams and the W.A.C. Bennett Dam that created Lake Williston. The water level may swing 10 feet between 2790 and 2800 feet.
The damming "linked the rivers and lakes of Ootsa, Intata, Whitesail, Chelaslie, Tetachuck, Tahtsa and Natalkuz into the reservoir with a surface area of over 90,000 hectares." [1] "The water of these lakes and rivers was diverted westward to the Pacific Ocean, instead of eastward to the Fraser River." [1]
The creation of the reservoir flooded the series of lakes which typified the upper Nechako basin and in the process rendered the Quanchus Range, which lies between the north and south arms of the reservoir, a virtual island. The names of lakes amalgamated into the reservoir are perpetuated as names for the various stretches of water. The north arm includes Ootsa Lake, Whitesail Lake, and Whitesail Reach, the south arm Eutsuk Lake, Natalkuz Lake, Chedakuz Arm, Knewstubb Lake, Tetachuck Lake and others. Because Ootsa Lake is the largest of the original lakes its name is sometimes used for the whole reservoir, though the official name remains Nechako Reservoir.
Tweedsmuir North Provincial Park and Protected Area and Entiako Provincial Park both border the reservoir.
For many generations, the shores of Ootsa Lake were home to the Cheslatta Carrier Nation. The flooding of Nechako Canyon destroyed their traditional hunting and fishing grounds and their homes. [1]
In the late 1940s, University of British Columbia professor Charles Edward Borden shifted his attention toward urgent salvage archaeology in the Nechako Canyon after learning that ALCAN planned on flooding the Nechako Canyon to supply power for their smelter in Kitimat (known as Kemano I Project). [2] In 1951 Borden and his protégé, anthropology student, Wilson Duff located over 130 sites of importance to Cheslatta T'en history. They conducted more intensive investigations prior to the flooding of the area. [2] The damming triggered "devastating changes for First Nations communities whose traditional territories lay in their path, including the destruction of Aboriginal gravesites, territories, livelihoods, and archaeological sites." [2] In 1957, Alcan opened the gate of the spillway to Skin's Lake desecrating Cheslatta graves, which came to public attention during the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples. [3]
In the 1970s, Alcan proposed expanding the generating capacity at their Kemano Powerhouse by diverting more water from the Nechako Reservoir. At that time, it was envisioned that no additional dams would be required, and there would be no additional flooding. However, the project faced challenges and was ultimately canceled by the Provincial Government in 1995 due to significant environmental concerns related to the Nechako River.
Recent developments indicate that efforts were made to address the energy needs while considering environmental impacts. A second power tunnel between the reservoir and the powerhouse was planned for this purpose. It was intended to serve as a backup to the original tunnel, enhancing the sustainability of the project. In December 2017, there was a significant development when the US-$473 million Kemano second tunnel project received the go-ahead, as reported by the Kitimat Northern Sentinel. This project likely aimed to improve the efficiency and reliability of power generation while mitigating environmental impacts, in line with contemporary environmental standards and regulations.
However, the completion date for this project was scheduled for 2020, according to available information.[ citation needed ]
The "out-of-date" template remains in place to indicate the need for further updates and verification of the project's status beyond May 2023. [4]
Tahtsa Lake is at the far western end of Nechako Reservoir and has a subarctic climate (Köppen Dfc), with high levels of precipitation and snowfall.
Climate data for Tahtsa Lake West, BC (1981-2010):863m | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Record high °C (°F) | 10.5 (50.9) | 13.9 (57.0) | 14.0 (57.2) | 21.1 (70.0) | 30.0 (86.0) | 28.3 (82.9) | 31.7 (89.1) | 33.0 (91.4) | 27.8 (82.0) | 22.0 (71.6) | 12.8 (55.0) | 10.6 (51.1) | 33.0 (91.4) |
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | −2.3 (27.9) | −0.7 (30.7) | 3.4 (38.1) | 7.0 (44.6) | 11.1 (52.0) | 14.6 (58.3) | 17.6 (63.7) | 17.8 (64.0) | 13.9 (57.0) | 6.8 (44.2) | 0.7 (33.3) | −1.9 (28.6) | 7.3 (45.2) |
Daily mean °C (°F) | −5.5 (22.1) | −4.7 (23.5) | −1.5 (29.3) | 1.7 (35.1) | 5.2 (41.4) | 8.6 (47.5) | 11.8 (53.2) | 11.8 (53.2) | 8.4 (47.1) | 3.2 (37.8) | −2.2 (28.0) | −4.8 (23.4) | 2.7 (36.8) |
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −8.7 (16.3) | −8.8 (16.2) | −6.4 (20.5) | −3.5 (25.7) | −0.8 (30.6) | 2.6 (36.7) | 5.9 (42.6) | 5.8 (42.4) | 2.8 (37.0) | −0.5 (31.1) | −5.0 (23.0) | −7.7 (18.1) | −2.0 (28.4) |
Record low °C (°F) | −35.6 (−32.1) | −35.0 (−31.0) | −31.7 (−25.1) | −19.4 (−2.9) | −6.7 (19.9) | −2.0 (28.4) | −6.1 (21.0) | −6.1 (21.0) | −20.0 (−4.0) | −26.0 (−14.8) | −30.0 (−22.0) | −32.2 (−26.0) | −35.6 (−32.1) |
Average precipitation mm (inches) | 267.3 (10.52) | 202.4 (7.97) | 134.6 (5.30) | 94.1 (3.70) | 75.1 (2.96) | 64.9 (2.56) | 51.4 (2.02) | 74.4 (2.93) | 155.2 (6.11) | 281.9 (11.10) | 295.1 (11.62) | 288.3 (11.35) | 1,984.7 (78.14) |
Average snowfall cm (inches) | 200.9 (79.1) | 165.5 (65.2) | 101.8 (40.1) | 45.4 (17.9) | 9.0 (3.5) | 0.2 (0.1) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.6 (0.2) | 40.0 (15.7) | 186.5 (73.4) | 225.8 (88.9) | 975.7 (384.1) |
Source: Environment Canada [5] |
Wistaria is on the northern shore of Nechako Reservoir, about 85km east of Tahtsa Lake. Wistaria also has a subarctic climate (Köppen Dfc), but it receives far less precipitation and snowfall.
Climate data for Wistaria, BC (1981-2010): 863m | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Record high °C (°F) | 11.1 (52.0) | 12.8 (55.0) | 18.3 (64.9) | 26.7 (80.1) | 35.6 (96.1) | 32.8 (91.0) | 36.1 (97.0) | 35.6 (96.1) | 33.9 (93.0) | 24.4 (75.9) | 18.0 (64.4) | 11.5 (52.7) | 36.1 (97.0) |
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | −4.1 (24.6) | −1.4 (29.5) | 3.3 (37.9) | 8.5 (47.3) | 13.2 (55.8) | 17.2 (63.0) | 19.6 (67.3) | 19.8 (67.6) | 15.6 (60.1) | 8.3 (46.9) | 1.0 (33.8) | −3.0 (26.6) | 8.2 (46.7) |
Daily mean °C (°F) | −7.9 (17.8) | −6.2 (20.8) | −2.1 (28.2) | 2.7 (36.9) | 7.2 (45.0) | 11.2 (52.2) | 13.5 (56.3) | 13.4 (56.1) | 9.5 (49.1) | 4.0 (39.2) | −2.1 (28.2) | −6.3 (20.7) | 3.1 (37.5) |
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −11.6 (11.1) | −11.1 (12.0) | −7.6 (18.3) | −3.1 (26.4) | 1.1 (34.0) | 5.2 (41.4) | 7.4 (45.3) | 6.9 (44.4) | 3.5 (38.3) | −0.4 (31.3) | −5.2 (22.6) | −9.5 (14.9) | −2.0 (28.3) |
Record low °C (°F) | −43.9 (−47.0) | −40.6 (−41.1) | −36.1 (−33.0) | −25.6 (−14.1) | −9.4 (15.1) | −4.4 (24.1) | −2.8 (27.0) | −3.3 (26.1) | −10.0 (14.0) | −23.5 (−10.3) | −35.5 (−31.9) | −41.7 (−43.1) | −43.9 (−47.0) |
Average precipitation mm (inches) | 38.5 (1.52) | 25.5 (1.00) | 20.5 (0.81) | 16.7 (0.66) | 32.3 (1.27) | 54.0 (2.13) | 42.3 (1.67) | 38.0 (1.50) | 41.4 (1.63) | 40.3 (1.59) | 43.7 (1.72) | 39.5 (1.56) | 432.7 (17.06) |
Average snowfall cm (inches) | 32.5 (12.8) | 23.0 (9.1) | 18.8 (7.4) | 6.1 (2.4) | 2.5 (1.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.0 (0.0) | 0.1 (0.0) | 9.4 (3.7) | 30.2 (11.9) | 34.8 (13.7) | 157.4 (62) |
Source: Environment Canada [6] |
The Dakelh or Carrier are the indigenous people of a large portion of the Central Interior of British Columbia, Canada. Another name the Dakelh/Carrier call themselves is Yinka Dene, the Babine-Witsuwitʼen-speaking bands prefer the equivalent Yinka Whut'en.
Kitimat is a district municipality in the North Coast region of British Columbia, Canada. It is a member municipality of the Regional District of Kitimat–Stikine regional government. The Kitimat Valley is part of the most populous urban district in northwest British Columbia, which includes Terrace to the north along the Skeena River Valley. The city was planned and built by the Aluminum Company of Canada (Alcan) during the 1950s. Its post office was approved on 6 June 1952.
The Nechako River arises on the Nechako Plateau east of the Kitimat Ranges of the Coast Mountains of British Columbia, Canada, and flows north toward Fort Fraser, then east to Prince George where it enters the Fraser River. "Nechako" is an anglicization of netʃa koh, its name in the indigenous Carrier language which means "big river".
The Gardner Canal is one of the principal inlets of the British Columbia Coast. Technically a side-inlet of the larger Douglas Channel, the Gardner Canal is still 90 km (56 mi) in length in its own right; total length of the waterways converging on the Douglas Channel is 320 km (200 mi) making it one of the largest fjord-complexes in the world.
Wistaria Provincial Park is a provincial park in the Canadian province of British Columbia, located 60 km southwest of Burns Lake and approximately 80 km southeast of Houston, BC.
The Hazelton Mountains are a grouping of mountain ranges on the inland lee of the Kitimat Ranges of the Coast Mountains in northwestern British Columbia, Canada, spanning the area of Hazelton south to the Nechako Reservoir. Defined by the British Columbia geographic names office, they span from the Nass River to the Nechako Plateau, and between the Coast Mountains and the Bulkley River, they are considered by geographers to be part of the Interior Mountains complex, though in local perspective they are considered to be part of the Coast Mountains. They are neighboured on the west by the Kitimat Ranges and on the east by the southernmost section of the Skeena Mountains; beyond the Nass River, which is their northern boundary, are the Boundary Ranges of the Coast Mountains. To their southeast is the Nechako Plateau, including the Quanchus Range on the near-island between Ootsa and Eutsuk Lakes of the Nechako Reservoir.
The Nechako Plateau is the northernmost subdivision of the Interior Plateau, one of the main geographic regions of the Canadian province of British Columbia. It spans the basin of the Nechako River and its tributaries the Stuart River and Endako Rivers, and is bounded on the south by the West Road River, south of which is the Chilcotin Plateau and on the north by the Nation River and the valleys of Babine and Takla Lakes, beyond which are the Omineca Mountains (N) and Skeena Mountains (NW). To the west, it abuts the various ranges of the Hazelton Mountains while on its east it is bounded by the pass between Prince George, British Columbia and the Parsnip Arm of Williston Lake, beyond which is the McGregor Plateau, which skirts the Northern Rockies. Some classification systems include the plateau area on the east bank of the Fraser River beyond the city of Prince George; this area neighbours the northernmost reaches of the Quesnel Highland and Cariboo Mountains.
Kemano was a settlement situated 75 km (47 mi) southeast of Kitimat in the province of British Columbia in Canada. It was built to service a hydroelectric power station, built to provide energy for Alcan to smelt aluminum from its ore. The Kemano Generating Station is built 427 m (1,400 ft) inside the base of Mt Dubose in a blasted cavern. It produces 896 MW of power from its eight generators, each of which has a capacity of 112MW.
The Nechako Country, also referred to as the Nechako District or simply "the Nechako" is one of the historical geographic regions of the Canadian province of British Columbia, located southwest of the city of Prince George and south of Hwy 16 on the inland side of the Hazelton Mountains, and comprising the basin of the Nechako River and its tributaries. "Nechako" is an anglicization of netʃa koh, its name in the indigenous Carrier language which means "big river".
The Kenney Dam is a rock-fill embankment dam on the Nechako River in northwestern British Columbia, built in the early 1950s. The impoundment of water behind the dam forms the Nechako Reservoir, which is also commonly known as the Ootsa Lake Reservoir. The dam was constructed to power an aluminum smelter in Kitimat, British Columbia by Alcan, although in the late 1980s the company increased their economic activity by selling excess electricity across North America. The development of the dam caused various environmental problems along with the displacement of the Cheslatta T'En First Nation, whose traditional land was flooded.
The Tahtsa Ranges are a mountain range in northern British Columbia, Canada. It has an area of 7531 km2 and is a subrange of the Hazelton Mountains which in turn form part of the Interior Mountains. Their general location is between the eastern flank of the Kitimat Ranges of the Coast Mountains and the Nechako Reservoir.
The Kitimat River is a river in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It originates in the Kitimat Ranges, near the sources of the Dala River, Kemano River, Atna River, and Clore River. It flows in a curve north, then west, then south, emptying into Kitimat Arm at the head of Douglas Channel, at the town of Kitimat.
Knewstubb Lake is an arm or stretch of the Ootsa Lake Reservoir in the Nechako Country of the western Central Interior of British Columbia, Canada. It forms part of the south arm of the reservoir, which includes adjoining stretches such as Eutsuk Lake and Natalkuz Lake, which are "upstream" to the southwest. Ootsa Lake was formed by the damming and diversion of the flow of the Nechako River, the bulk of which is now drained beneath the spine of the Coast Mountains to the west to the Kemano Powerhouse, which is the power supply for the aluminum smelter at Kitimat, to the southeast of Terrace.
The Nechako Canyon, also known as the Grand Canyon of the Nechako, is a canyon on the Nechako River in the Central Interior of British Columbia, Canada, located between Cheslatta Falls and Knewstubb Lake, which lies immediately above the Kenny Dam, which forms the Nechako Reservoir. Cheslatta Falls, 18 m in height, is the final leg of the Cheslatta River and cascades into the Nechako at its confluence. The river-bed in the canyon is mostly dry due to the Nechako's diversion. The canyon is carved into a lava plateau and features erosive formations such as rock walls, overhanging cliffs, pinnacles and other formations, and is protected by the Nechako Canyon Protected Area, which includes Cheslatta Falls.
The Cheslatta Carrier Nation or Cheslatta T'En, of the Dakelh or Carrier people (Ta-cullies, meaning "people who go upon water" is a First Nation of the Nechako River at the headwaters of the Fraser River.
The Cheslatta River is a tributary of the Nechako River, one of the main tributaries of the Fraser River, in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It flows through the Nechako Plateau. Before the construction of Kenney Dam in the early 1950s the Cheslatta was a minor tributary of the Nechako. Today the Nechako River is dry above the Cheslatta, which provides all its source water.
Cheslatta Lake is a large freshwater lake located between François Lake and the western end of the Nechako Reservoir, Range 4 Coast Land District. It is in the Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako, British Columbia.
The Kemano Generating Station is situated 75 km (47 mi) southeast of Kitimat in the province of British Columbia, Canada. It was completed in 1954, providing hydroelectricity for Alcan's Kitimat Aluminum smelter. The powerhouse is built in a cavern created 427 m (1,400 ft) inside the base of Mt Dubose. It produces 896 MW of power from its eight generator units, each of which has a capacity of 112 MW. It was the largest producer in the province when it was built, and is now the fifth largest electrical plant in British Columbia.