Columbia River Project Water Use Plan - BC Hydro

CLBMON-3 Kinbasket and Revelstoke Reservoirs Ecological Productivity Monitoring
2009 Progress Report
1.0 Introduction
This report summarises the Year 2 (2009) implementation of CLBMON-3 Kinbasket and Revelstoke
Reservoirs Ecological Productivity Monitoring project (“the study”). This report contains preliminary
data and conclusions are subject to change. Any citations of this report or the data contained herein
must note this status.
The Columbia River Water Use Plan (WUP) (BC Hydro 2007a) was concluded in 2004 following four
years of public consultation (BC Hydro 2005). Water Use Plans were developed for each of BC
Hydro’s facilities to achieve optimal balance among operations and environmental and social values.
A lack of basic ecological data and information on Kinbasket and Revelstoke Reservoirs impeded
informed decisions for any operational changes in the upper Columbia River system. The WUP
Consultative Committee acknowledged the importance of understanding reservoir limnology and the
influence of current operations on ecosystem processes for planning future water management
activities. Therefore, a monitoring program was recommended to provide long-term data on reservoir
limnology and the productivity of pelagic communities. This study is conducted in conjunction with
CLBMON-2 Kinbasket and Revelstoke Reservoirs Kokanee Population Monitoring and is scheduled
for implementation over twelve years (2008-2019).
1.1 Management Questions
A Terms of Reference (TOR) (BC Hydro 2007b) for this study outlines the rationale, approach, and
primary management questions to be addressed. The TOR also provides a framework for
implementation. The study is to focus on:
i) Reservoir trophic web mechanisms and dynamics;
ii) Obtaining measurements of aquatic productivity that can be used as parameters for
system modeling; and
iii) Determining key indicators of change in pelagic production that would ultimately affect
food availability and, thus, growth of kokanee.
The management questions to be addressed by this study are as follows:
i) What are the long-terms trends in nutrient availability and how are lower trophic levels
affected by these trends?
ii) What are the interactions between nutrient availability, productivity at lower trophic levels
and reservoir operations?
iii) Is pelagic productivity, as measured by primary production, changing significantly over
the course of the monitoring period?
iv) If changes in pelagic productivity are detected, are the changes affecting kokanee
populations?
v) Is there a link between reservoir operation and pelagic productivity? What are the best
predictive tools for forecasting reservoir productivity?
vi) How do pelagic productivity trends in Kinbasket and Revelstoke reservoirs compare with
similar large reservoir/lake systems (e.g., Arrow Lakes Reservoir, Kootenay Lake,
Okanagan Lake, Williston Reservoir)?
vii) Are there operational changes that could be implemented to improve pelagic productivity
in Kinbasket Reservoir?
1.2 Objectives
The study objectives are to conduct reservoir pelagic productivity monitoring and establish long term
sampling sites and consistent methodologies and analyses for comparison with other Columbia
reservoir monitoring programs (e.g. Arrow Lakes Reservoir, Kootenay Lake).
BC Hydro
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