Powell River residents may have been noticing higher than normal lake levels in the area, especially on Powell Lake where high levels of snow and a cool spring and summer have resulted in high waters and short beaches.
Debbi Stanyer, water resource and environment manager for Brookfield Renewable Power, said that typically the snow pack melts rapidly in the early summer and that lake levels hit their highest in late June and early July. This year, due to the large amount of snow and noticeably cooler weather, the snowmelt has taken longer and the high runoff rate into the lake has come in late July and early August.
“This combination changed how we typically see the snow melt and resulting rise in the Powell Lake level,” said Stanyer in an email to the Peak.
At the dam the hydro generators have all been running and more water than normal has been spilled, and for a longer period than normal. The lake has been at or above the 10-year average level for July and August. Stayner said that the runoff coming into the lake has slowed down recently and she expects to see lake levels begin to drop.
Stayner also reminds residents that the lake levels are constantly monitored and that the spill gates “may be opened at any time to relieve high water levels.” If residents hear the siren near the dam they are reminded to move to higher ground. Dam overflows can be potentially dangerous to the mill site directly below the dam.
Sarah Barkowski, Catalyst Paper Corporation’s Powell River environment manager, said that the pulp and paper mill frequently requires lake level data for a number of projects and works with Brookfield in relation to the lake. She said that they know the lake is really high when they can’t access certain sample collection points in August. This year they have been able to complete that work.
“I only know of one time in the last five years that we were unable to get there when we were scheduled to,” said Barkowski in an email to the Peak, “and we just let [the ministry of environment] know about it and waited a month or two until we could get there safely.”
This year’s temperatures and precipitation rates have been off the usual average, especially for the month of July. In a month that usually has an average temperature of 18.2° Celsius and an average rainfall of 40.1 mm (millimetre), this year had an average temperature of 15.7° and 82 mm of precipitation. August has so far been on the cold side too, with an average of 16.4° versus a typical average of 18.5°. Rainfall has slowed, however, and is so far well below the average of 47.1 mm for the month.
