After nearing ten years of work on the dam, the Site C Dam is nearing completion. On August 25, 2024 BC Hydro announced that they will begin filling the dam's reservoir, which will allow operation of the generation station, spillways, turbines, and generators in the area.
The Site C Dam reservoir is located 7 kilometres southwest from Fort St. John, B.C. and ranges over 5,500 hectares of land across the North Peace River. The reservoir is estimated to take 4 months to fill with water, with water levels rising 0.3 meters per day.
Once completed, BC Hydro reports that the 83-kilometer reservoir will be up to two to three times the current width of the North Peace River. The Site C Dam will be the third dam on the Peace River in northeastern Bristish Columbia. According to BC Hydros estimates, the dam will provide nearby residents with 1,100 megawatts of capacity, increasing BC Hydro's overall supply of energy by 8% by generating 5,100 gigawatts of electricity per year.
What is the Current Environmental Impact of the Site C Dam?
While drought and wildfires rage across the province, BC Hydro assures nearby communities that the company’s approach to collecting water for the reservoir is sustainable. The company states that the water comes from the upstream Williston Reservoir, a reservoir that on an average year can fill up the Site C Reservoir up to 20 times over.
BC Hydro has also been monitoring the dam’s impact on the local wildlife and environment throughout the project. Local birds in northeastern British Columbia build their nests in the spring and early summer months and bears begin to hibernate in late fall and into early winter. To reduce impacts to local wildlife, BC Hydro has decided to wait unfil late August to begin filling the reservoir to avoid disturbing as much wildlife as possible.
Even with BC Hydro's attempt to reduce the impact of their dam to nearby fauna, local residents take to facebook to voice their concerns over the long term environmental impact of the project. Complaints about the destruction of trees, nearby rolling canola fields, and local mountains, as well as worries over the cost of the operation continue to stir up distress among local community members. As of today, BC Hydro has yet to reply to these complaints.
What do you need to know?
For people in the area, BC Hydro urges local residents to stay away from the reservoir and surrounding areas for the next four months as the reservoir is filled, and for the consecutive year after as the land adapts to the changes. Existing boat launches around the reservoir will also be closed until at least 2026.
References:
[Filling the Reservoir] https://www.sitecproject.com/reservoir
[Project Overview] https://www.sitecproject.com/overview#:~:text=Site%20C%20will%20provide%201%2C100,vehicles%20per%20year%20in%20B.C.
[Where is Site C Located] https://www.sitecproject.com/where-site-c-located
[Breghnan Duane Dolan, Facebook Post] https://www.facebook.com/share/p/9vPC1C7k2ifXsFQA/?mibextid=oFDknk
[Gary Porter, Facebook Post] https://www.facebook.com/share/p/JQ1RSTmPStGbg8eY/?mibextid=oFDknk
[Lorraine Ward, 'Say “NO” to Site “C” Dam!' Facebook post] https://www.facebook.com/share/p/Ea5qPqwDY1uGogHK/?mibextid=oFDknk
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