Hydroelectric Facilities | Boreal At Memorial

Hydro-electric Facilities

Hydro-electric power is typically viewed as a “green” source of energy; however this train of thought is incredibly misguided as there are many environmental and energy costs to building and running these facilities. In order to create a plant first a river or streams must be damned, this can create flooding in other parts of the forest. For example in Quebec the creation of the James Bay hydroelectric project is responsible for flooding around 177 000 km2 of land. These floods, along with completely altering the dynamics of the land can also cause an increase in toxic mercury which is particularly damaging to fish populations. Flooding can also block the migration of caribou and reindeer, which feed on slow growing lichen and thus making migration essential for proper nutrition. This disruption of migration has also been observed in Newfoundland caribou populations.

"Green" energy?

Dams have also been shown to alter the chemical levels in the water, disrupt fish migration and cause sedimentation in fish spawning bed. During construction of these facilities land must be cleared for the plant itself as well for road ways and power lines, directly effecting the Boreal once again. Dams also have a limited life span due to sediment build up in the reservoirs, this means that eventually the dams need to be disassembled this changes the water flow patterns. Any adaptations that the land and animals have made to the flooding are now all for naught as everything is thrown into turmoil once again.

Hydroelectric dam and surrounding infrastructure

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Dam break, causing flooding and damage to nearby facilities

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Mercury in NL lakes

In Newfoundland there are many hydroelectric facilities both in place as well as panned for the future. However we are not impervious to the effects as one study shows. The study was conducted to determine if the mercury that builds up in lakes after flooding, caused by hydroelectric dams that are between ~30-90 years old, is still having an effect on the fish species there. The results showed that fish from over half of their sample sites had a concentration higher than the Canadian Safety Limit. The study also showed that the predicted return to normal concentrations (10-12 years) is incorrect.

References:

Johnson E.A and Miyanishi K. 2012. The boreal forest as a cultural landscape. Annals of the New York Academy of Science 1249: 151-165.

Mahoney S.P. and Schaefer J.A. 2002. Hydroelectric development and the disruption of migration in caribou. Biological Conservation 107(2): 147-153

Schindler D.W. and Lee P.G. 2010. Comprehensive conservation planning to protect biodiversity and ecosystem services in Canadian boreal regions under a warming climate and increasing exploitation. Biological Conservation 143: 1571-1586

Check out Ontario Natures website for more information