On the evening of August 14, BC Hydro provided another update on Columbia and Duncan operations.
Mary Anne Coules, Stakeholder Engagement Advisor for the Lower Columbia, opened with some good news.
“We know you all have concerns about this year’s reservoir levels and the ongoing drought that we’ve been experiencing across the province,” she said. “But as of today, Arrow Lakes Reservoir is currently 12.5 feet [3.8 metres] higher compared to this time last year.”
Based on the latest forecast, she said, they expect Arrow will be between five and ten feet higher at the end of this summer than it was in 2023.
On Labour Day last year, it was at 426.72 metres (1,400 feet). This year, it is projected to be between 428.24 metres (1,405 feet) and 429.77 metres (1,410 feet).
The rate of water level decline over the month of August is expected to be more gradual than last year, said Coules. This is due to increased generation at Mica dam in early August. As well, flows out of Arrow are scheduled to decrease beginning on August 17.
Fish
Rian Hill, Manager of Environmental Field Services with BC Hydro, gave an update on how reservoir levels are affecting fish populations.
“We hadn’t seen [levels] that low either,” he said of 2023 levels. “It was a great chance for us and our partners, consultants, and biologists to get out in the field and take a look at what was going on.”
Some good news – the 2023 kokanee spawner run in Arrow Lakes was the second highest in the last decade.
“The fish were getting into [the tributaries], and an added plus was [the fish] were bigger than what we’ve seen in the past,” he said.
Bigger fish usually means more eggs.
Kokanee were unable to access some tributaries, but that’s common for any reservoir level, said Hill. But low stream flows did restrict or prevent access to some of the smaller tributaries.
In 2023, Hill and his team monitored and documented all reports of fish stranding on Arrow Lakes. Crews were also deployed to assess stranding sites and salvage fish when possible.
“The majority of fish encountered were small or young redside shiner, suckers, northern pikeminnow, and sculpins,” he said. “Fewer than 0.25% were salmonids, like kokanee or bull trout.”
This year, the team continues to monitor reservoir conditions, including stranding risks and tributary access. Depending on reservoir levels in late summer and early fall, they may do more fish salvage work. However, water levels are a bit higher and water is not declining as steeply, compared to last year, so Hill said they think this will have a positive effect for the fish.
Recreation
Don Reid, Manager of BC Hydro’s Water Program, provided an update on recreation and boat access.
Reid said that BC Hydro, through the Columbia River Water Use Plan (WUP), has specific objectives set to guide operational decisions each year. This includes target water levels during the recreation period – 437.4 metres (1435 feet) to 439 metres (1440 feet).
“We do recognize that because of the ongoing drought and the need to move water, that we’re not going to meet those recreation targets this year,” he said.
To mitigate the effects of low reservoir levels, Reid said that BC Hydro has constructed or upgraded ramps on Arrow to provide access at lower water levels.
Reid provided a list of boat ramps on Arrow Lake, their lowest operational elevation, and the projected reservoir level on September 15. The eight ramps’ lowest operational levels range between 421.5 metres (1,382.87 feet) and 427 metres (1,400.92 feet). The expected level of Arrow mid-September is 428.2 metres (1,405 feet).
“It’s definitely a much better picture than it was last year,” he said.
As for maintenance, Reid said there is some deterioration of the breakwaters that protect the ramps. This past spring, they conducted a comprehensive engineering review, and are now developing a structural maintenance program to replace breakwaters, which have been in place for about 10 years.
Columbia River Treaty
Though it was not the focus of the evening’s presentation, Coules announced that on July 11, Canada and the United States announced that they have reached an agreement-in-principle (AIP) to modernize the Columbia River Treaty.
Under the AIP, the countries agreed to incorporate new provisions, such as the need for increased unilateral flexibility for how BC operates its treaty dams, ecosystem health, restoring and strengthening salmon populations, Indigenous cultural values, adaptive management, and new collaborative engagement on Libby Dam operations.
For more information about the CRT, visit engage.gov.bc.ca/columbiarivertreaty.
