For years, the Wilderness Committee has worked to protect BC’s streams and rivers from environmentally destructive and economically unwise private power projects.

Now, thanks to documents I have obtained through the Freedom of Information (FOI) process, we know that these so-called “run-of-river” schemes are also a threat to our freshwater lakes. Astoundingly, over 30 lakes have been staked by private power developers.

Mark Hume of the Globe and Mail recently wrote an article called "Tyson Creek ‘experiment’ ought not to be repeated" about what our FOI revealed.

This is the undeniable conclusion one reaches after looking through the documentation of the Tyson Creek private power project. In this case, power was generated by drawing down water levels as much as 10 metres in Tyson Lake. This resulted in erosion problems that led to muddy waters downstream in Tzoonie River, an important fish bearing river. Salmon and sediment don't mix, and the significant release of sediment occurred when Steelhead trout and Coastal cutthroat trout were actively spawning,

It took a lot of hard work to see through the muddy waters obscuring the whole process of river privatization in BC. In studying the Tyson Creek FOI papers, it becomes clear that warnings were issued by the environmental stewardship division – yet the project went ahead anyway.

Tyson Creek is yet another warning about the many dangerous environmental impacts of these projects.

It's time we pulled the plug on private power projects. Tyson Creek is yet another reminder that we need to put an end to privatization of our rivers, lakes and streams before it’s too late.

Gwen Barlee | Policy Director
Wilderness Committee