2001 Triple Bottom Line Report - BC Hydro

SEIP
P E A C E- W I L L I S T O N F I S H A N D W I L D L I F E C O M P E N S A T I O N P R O G R A M
The Peace-Williston Fish and Wildlife Compensation Program
(PWFWCP), launched in 1988, compensates for fish and wildlife
impacts resulting from construction of our W.A.C. Bennett and
Peace Canyon dams in north-central B.C.
The PWFWCP directed $1.56 million towards projects in 2000/2001,
including $360,000 in special expenditures over and above
regular budget levels. We directed a total of nearly $939,000
towards fisheries work, and almost $573,000 to wildlife projects.
Nine wildlife projects were undertaken last year. For example,
we investigated the extent and cause of winter tick infestation
on Stone’s sheep wintering at low elevation along the north side
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of the Peace Arm of the Williston Reservoir. We also attached
radio collars to ten sheep and three elk and are monitoring
their movements by aerial telemetry.
Among our twelve fish projects, we collected Pygmy, mountain and
lake whitefish samples to determine if there were physiological
differences that could distinguish the species in the field.
Work included collecting about 75 pre-spawning fish in October
and recording biological data. We captured four mature Pygmy
whitefish in Dina Lake and held them in an aquarium in Prince
George to determine the approximate spawning date. Eggs from
the aquarium are now being incubated to determine if they are
viable for the project’s next stage.
C O L U M B I A B A S I N F I S H A N D W I L D L I F E C O M P E N S A T I O N P R O G R A M
The Columbia Basin Fish and Wildlife Compensation Program
(CBFWCP) allocates $3.2 million a year for projects to address
habitat impacts resulting from construction of our dams on
the Columbia and Duncan rivers in southeastern B.C.
CBFWCP was established in 1994 and operates in partnership
with local conservation groups and First Nations to deliver projects
that benefit resident fish and wildlife. Since the program’s
inception approximately $20 million has been invested in over
400 projects involving over 400 interest groups in the region.
Last year CBFWCP produced a handbook for stakeholders
describing each project by geographical area and providing
information for local community groups interested in submitting
fish or wildlife project proposals for funding.
P H O S P H A T E R E C O V E R Y R E S E A R C H
BC Hydro’s Strategic Environmental Initiatives Program (SEIP)
donated $120,000 to the University of B.C. to develop a system
to recover phosphates from municipal and agricultural waste
treatment facilities.
The phosphates could be an alternative source of a crucial
fertilizer for aquatic and terrestrial systems. The world’s current
supply is derived from mined phosphate rock, a finite resource.
The program delivered 59 fish and wildlife projects with
123 partners in 2000/2001, including 16 projects directed at
species at risk in the region. Of that total, 21 projects involved
fish and 38 were directed at wildlife.
Fisheries work is dominated by experimental fertilization projects
at Arrow Lakes Reservoir and Kootenay Lake, which account for
over 60 per cent of the $1.6 million in the program’s fish budget.
The projects address impacts on fish stocks attributed to nutrient
deficiency caused by the trapping of nitrogen and phosphorus
behind upstream dams. Kokanee populations have increased by
about 800 per cent in Kootenay Lake since fertilization began there
in 1992 to boost production of phytoplankton at the bottom of the
food chain. And the abundance of kokanee has more than tripled in
the Arrow Lakes Reservoir, where fertilization began in 1999.
BC Hydro believes recovering phosphates from waste will provide
reservoir renewal and stream fertilization opportunities, and
improve our productivity and efficiency by lowering fertilizer costs.