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dam-l MINIMUM FLOW REGULATION
To the dams and reservoir group:
Request for information/sources re: minimum flow regulation at
hydropower dams in Canada
Background: I am monitoring international involvement in the Nam
Theun-Hinboun hydropower project in Lao PDR, having worked with
citizens' groups in Thailand and Laos between 1990 and 1995. Nordic
developers have just about completed a 210 MW dam (total cost US$280
million), partly financed with Canadian tax dollars channelled through
the Asian Development Bank.
Together with environmentalists in Finland, Norway and Sweden, many
groups have been challenging the ADB to substantiate their claim that
the dam will not be destructive to fisheries and water supplies, and
that if there is any damage, the developers can mitigate it. The
developers have agreed to release 5 cubic meters per second from the
dam to downtream in the dry season -- an amount they claim is
adequate for all purposes.
The Lao PDR government has no regulations whatsoever in place to protect
downstream communities and the environment in the event of hydropower
development. Laos also has no academic, scientific, legal or
professional community to counter the foreign developers'
claims, interests and role in establishing rules for hydropower
development. Citizens have no mechanisms or right to oppose such
development as the government 'owns' all resources. The ADB claims
consultants are working on drafting regulations but it has already been
several years and no product is in sight.
And, the country's political leaders have, at the urging of their
international advisors, put all their eggs in the hydro-export basket.
Our Executive Director to the ADB is an active proponent of this dam as
a 'pilot' for others in the Mekong region and is claiming, in response
to public criticims, that the project is an environmental success
because, among other things, the developers have agreed to release 5
cubic metres per second. The ADB also claims that further studies have
to be done in order to determine whether this is sufficient to "maintain
a reasonable level of instream habitat." Wildlife experts recommended a
release of 15 cubic metres per second but the ADB dismisses this as
based on very limited data which "may be significantly inaccurate".
One consultants' report claims 10 cubic metres per second might be
appropriate to facilitate fish movement. (see below)
My question is this: surely there is enough data and experience in dam
building to know what minimum flows are required to maintain aquatic
life in a river? To make this point to the ADB, that the developers
claim of ignorance is unacceptable, I would like to contact people who
know about minimum flow regulation in BC, Ontario or Quebec and may have
information which would make plain the double standard applied when it
comes to dam operation here and in countries such as Laos. If any of
this is available on the Internet, great.
I believe the developers know they should be releasing more water to
downstream and would be legally obliged to do so in their own countries,
as well as pay rent and/or compensation to other river users. I want to
make the case to the ADB that developers should not be getting water
free of charge and their minimum flow standards should be the same as
they are in Canada or Norway, or better.
(Of course the fact that the developers have been given the right to
expropriate most of the river flow for hydropower is the fundamental
problem -- but now that the dam is about to start operation, minimum
flow releases is the main point of contention.)
Mean annual river flow - 460 cubic metres per second
Project data: The river flow is less than 100 cubic metres per second
for 4 to 6 months of the year. The project will divert 100 cubic metres
per second out of the Nam Theun river to a generating station at a lower
elevation and then released into another river, Hinboun. Therefore, the
developers will want to divert all the river flow for 4 to 6 months per
year to maximize their revenue. After some pressure on the developers
from environmentalists and Norwegian government agencies, they have
agreed to release a minimum of 5 cubic metres per second, the lowest
amount recommended by various consultants.
Would this be acceptable in Canada?
(I will also be contacting people in Sweden, Norway and the US about
standards there. The electric utilities investing in the Lao dam are
from Nordic countries. Incidentally, our representative at the ADB also
represents Finland, Norway, Sweden -- all dam-building countries.)
I have most of the project documents for this project should anyone be
interested in studying/reviewing this case.
Thanks for your assistance,
Grainne Ryder