Supporting sustainable hydropower operation and development in British Columbia through research on fish entrainment and fish responses to gas supersaturation

在加拿大，60%的发电量来自水力发电。不列颠哥伦比亚省尤其有几个大型流域正在进行水电开发，其他大型项目也在考虑之中。不列颠哥伦比亚水电公司是该省的主要水电公司，有着使用科学证据指导水电设施选址、开发和运营的悠久传统。目前，卑诗省水电公司正在探索开发一个名为“C工地清洁能源项目”(工地C)的“巨型项目”，这是在公元前和平河上拟建的第三座大坝和发电站。C地点出现的两个特别问题是鱼类夹带风险(ENT)和大坝下游总溶解气体(TDG)的升高及其对鱼类的影响。不列颠哥伦比亚省水电公司在和平河流域有两个现有设施--WACBennett大坝和和平峡谷大坝。WAC Bennett大坝和相关的Wiliston水库已被确定为研究几个关键鱼类物种夹带风险的优先目标。和平峡谷大坝已被确定为大坝下游的TDG可能被提升到潜在有害水平的地点，对当地鱼类的后果未知。鉴于Bennett及和平峡谷大坝内和周围的鱼类群落与C站点开发项目及其周围的情况相似，而且这两个项目位于同一条河流上，因此重点研究Bennett(ENT Risk)和和平峡谷(TDG)将解决这些大坝特有的问题，并产生将直接为C站点项目的开发提供参考的知识。我们已经建立了一个由行为生态学家、种群建模专家、鱼类生理学家和水利工程师组成的团队，这是解决复杂的耳鼻喉科和TDG问题所必需的。如果不能解决这些问题，BC Hydro将很难确定潜在的缓解或抵消方案，这些方案对于他们继续运营其设施和开发新设施是必要的。该项目将涉及与多方利益攸关方技术小组的重大互动，以确保成果既相关又迅速动员。

In Canada, 60% of electricity generation is from hydroelectric sources. British Columbia in particular has several large watersheds that have been subject to hydropower development, with other large projects under consideration. BC Hydro, the primary hydro utility in the province, has a long tradition of using scientific evidence to guide the siting, development and operations of hydropower facilities. At present BC Hydro is exploring the development of a "mega-project" called the "Site C Clean Energy Project" (Site C) which is a proposed 3rd dam and generating station on the Peace River in BC. Two particular issues that have arisen for Site C are fish entrainment risks (ENT) and elevation of total dissolved gasses (TDG) downstream of the dam and their consequences for fish. BC Hydro has two existing facilities in the Peace River basin - the WACBennett Dam and the Peace Canyon Dam. The WAC Bennett Dam and the associated Williston Reservoir have been identified as priority targets for research on the entrainment risk for several key fish species. The Peace Canyon Dam has been identified as a site where TDGs downstream of the dam can be elevated to potentially harmful levels, with unknown consequences for resident fish. Given that the fish communities in and around the Bennett and Peace Canyon Dams are similar to what would occur in and around the Site C development, and that the two projects are located adjacent to one another on the same river, focused research on Bennett (ENT risk) and Peace Canyon (TDG) would address those dam-specific issues and yield knowledge that would directly inform the development of the Site C project. We have established a team combining behavioural ecologists, population modelers, fish physiologists and hydraulic engineers necessary to address the complex ENT and TDG issues. Failure to address these issues will make it difficult for BC Hydro to identify potential mitigative or off-setting options which are necessary for them to continue to operate their facilities and to develop new ones. The project will involve significant interaction with a multi-stakeholder technical team to ensure that results are both relevant and rapidly mobilized.