Ash River Water Use Plan Overview

This brief covers a description of the Ash River hydro-electric facilities, what a Water Use Plan (WUP) is, and why BC Hydro is initiating them.

The Ash River System

The Ash River is located within the Regional District of Alberni-Clayoquot, centrally located on Vancouver Island. The Ash River flows south between Strathcona Park to the west and the Beaufort mountain range to the east into the Stamp and Somass Rivers and eventually into Port Alberni Canal. Elsie Lake is approximately 40 km north-west from Port Alberni. 

Elsie Lake Reservoir was formed in 1958 by the construction of the Main Dam and four saddle dams, all in close proximity to the east end of the reservoir. The Elsie Lake Reservoir covers approximately 75 hectares with a storage volume of 77 million cubic metres. Water flows, from an intake on the south side of the reservoir, 7.4 km through two tunnels and a penstock to the 27 MW Ash River powerhouse located on the north shore of Great Central Lake. Great Central lake is 248 metres lower than Elsie lake. The Ash River powerhouse produces on average 193 million kilowatt-hours per year - enough energy for about 19,000 homes.

The Ash River area provides recreational opportunities for activities such as boating, fishing, camping, swimming and hunting. The reservoir receives moderate recreational use with available sites being filled to capacity on occasion. Annual visitation to the area is around 6,000 visitors (1995). 

Resident rainbow and cutthroat trout appear throughout the watershed. There are locations of cutthroat and rainbow trout spawning habitat in tributaries to Elsie Lake Reservoir.

Other attributes of the Elsie Lake Reservoir include diverse wildlife, considerable reservoir debris (logs) and stumps, low nutrients in the water - oligotophic, and a possible (no assessments have been completed) heritage site for First Nations. 

The Ash River Hydroelectric Facilities 

· Elsie Lake Reservoir is the only storage reservoir for the Ash River powerhouse and is held by the Main Dam and four saddle dams. The five earthfill dams have a crest of 334.37 metres, and the overflow spillway has a crest elevation of 330.7 metres. The reservoir capacity is 77 million cubic metres. 

· The Main Dam is 189.2 m long with a maximum height of 30.5 m;

· Saddle Dam No.1 is 438.1 m long with a maximum height of 18.3 m, and contains one low level outlet for releasing water down the Ash River;

· Saddle Dam No.2 is 157.9 m long with a maximum height of 10.7 m; 

· Saddle Dam No.3 is 130 m long with a maximum height of 3.0 m, with the reservoir water only touching the foundation of this dam at peak elevation (330.7 metres); and

· Saddle Dam No.4 is 51.6 m long with a maximum height of 6.1 m.

Elsie Dam Safety Upgrade Project

There is an Elsie Dam Safety Upgrade Project in progress. There will be a series of upgrades to the Main Dam and Saddle Dam No.1 starting the summer of 2000 until its completion in 2002. This safety upgrade will not impact the water use planning process or its final outcome. For more information on the Elsie Dam project please contact Stephen Watson. 

Water Use Planning

The purpose of the water use planning process is to revisit provincial water management in light of changing public values and environmental needs. In undertaking this process, BC Hydro and participating stakeholders will explore ways to find a better balance among water use interests, such as fisheries, wildlife, recreation, the environment, heritage conservation, flood control, and the need to generate power. Water use plans are being developed for all BC Hydro hydroelectric facilities and will define operating parameters that will be used in the day-to-day operations. 

In order to draft the Ash River Water Use Plan, BC Hydro will consult with representatives from the Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, local governments, First Nations, community groups and other interested parties, to produce recommendations that will seek to provide a better balance for the allocation of water and its use among various stakeholders. It is anticipated that water use interests within the community will include: recreational opportunities for camping, hiking, and fishing; fisheries; wildlife within riparian zones; flood protection; and power generation. 

The Ash River Water Use Planning process will be officially announced to the public on September 11, 2000, with a BC Hydro news release and advertisements in the Alberni Valley Times and The Pennyworth. BC Hydro will work with those individuals, agencies, or groups who may be interested in participating in the water use planning process. It is estimated the water use planning process for Ash River will be complete by March 2002.

Water Use Plans and BC Hydro

A fundamentally important aspect of our business is the use of water. The tradeoffs we make between maintaining reservoir levels, meeting energy demands and managing downstream impacts are at the heart of our sustainability challenge. We have worked for some time to bring order to our decision-making processes around the use of water. In 1998, Water Use Plan guidelines were finalized following development by provincial agencies, BC Hydro, and Fisheries and Oceans Canada, with the input from First Nations, environmental groups and community interests. The water use plans will guide the future operational direction of BC Hydro. Over the next four years, water plans will be developed for all BC Hydro facilities. 

Contacts

Stephen Watson Sue Foster
Vancouver Island Community Relations Ash River WUP Project Manager 
250-755-4795 604-528-2737 

steve.watson@bchydro.com

 sue.foster@bchydro.com