Powering up our Future Written by Judith Burke, Chair of the Environment Committee of the Sooke Harbour Chamber of Commerce, August 2000Photo Credits to John Newcomb, Victoria Chamber of CommerceThe Sooke Harbour Chamber of Commerce is participating in the Jordan River Water Use Plan (JR WUP) for the hydroelectric generating station that is operated by BC Hydro on Jordan River. A map of the site location is available at the BC Hydro Webpage. The JR WUP is about the use of the water resources and will extend over a twelve-month period. This process involves twenty participants with different stakeholder interests and values, including both environmental values and socio-economic values. The Water Use Plan will be presented to the provincial Comptroller of Water Rights for final approval next year. 
Sustainable development means to use our natural resources to meet the socio-economic needs of today's generation without compromising the needs of future generations. Examples of natural resources include timber, fisheries, energy sources, and water. Human activities that consume natural resources and contribute by-products beyond the natural carrying capacity of the environment are not sustainable development. The harvesting of different natural resources are linked to each other. The harvesting of timber is linked to the sustainability of fisheries. Energy is linked to the extraction of fossil fuels, including oil and gas, which cannot be replenished. Fossil fuel emissions contribute to global warming, which is linked to environmental degradation and human health concerns, such as smog. Hydroelectric power, an alternative form of energy, is linked to how we use our water. 
While hydroelectric energy is considered a renewable resource in that water is returned to the environment, the facility does have an impact on the environment. The Jordan River facility was constructed in 1911, upgraded in 1971, and uses water resources from three reservoirs: Bear Creek, Diversion, and Elliott. The water is gravity fed in a controlled discharge from Elliott reservoir, through a 6.9km tunnel, down to the hydroelectric turbine station in Jordan River and then returned to the lower Jordan River streambed. This means that water from the reservoirs is diverted from the streambed of the Jordan River from Elliott reservoir down to the turbine station. The WUP process is about how the water is used for the operation of the facility. The facility has a generating capacity of 170 MW and can supply most of the residential and commercial power needs, excluding industrial needs, of Vancouver Island in the event of power loss from the mainland for several days. The power needs of the community and the impacts on the environment are the focus of discussion by the participants. The participants from the Consultative Committee have met three times to understand the WUP process and to present their values and stakeholder interests. The Committee will identify information gaps, proceed to the evaluation phase, and, produce a draft WUP. Members of our community are invited to contact local participants to discuss the process, ask questions, and, contribute their input. Some of our local participants include: Judith Burke, Sooke Harbour Chamber of Commerce; Rick Gillie, surfers and windsurfers; Louise Paterson, Sooke Parks and Recreation; Terrie Poirier, Jordan River Community; Denise Purcell, T'Sou-Ke First Nations; and, Glen Varney, Sooke Salmon Enhancement Society & the Sports Fishery Advisory Board. More detailed information about the JR WUP is available at the BC Hydro Website at http://eww.bchydro.bc.ca/wup/jordan_river/. An interesting development is that BC Hydro has constructed a wind monitoring station at Jordan Ridge to evaluate the potential for generating electricity by wind power. Wind energy is used in Denmark and California as a sustainable energy alternative to fossil fuels and hydroelectric energy. Wind energy may well be a sustainable supplement for powering up our coastal communities in the future. Judith Burke is the Chair of Environment Committee of the Sooke Harbour Chamber of Commerce, a local environmental scientist who specializes in water quality testing for fish and also a Director of the Society for the Protection of Ayum Creek, a local wild salmon bearing stream.   email to Waterose Please View My Guestbook 
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