The project that has been fraught with controversy since the early 1980s will soon change the Peace River valley landscape forever, as BC Hydro begins filling the mammoth Site C reservoir.
The project was first proposed in the 1950s, as part of a series of hydro-electric dams beginning with Site A, the WAC Bennett Dam, which was completed in 1967. Site B, the Peace Canyon Dam, was built in 1980.
Back in 1982, during the first round of British Columbia Utilities Commission hearings, the Fort St. John Development Commission and the Chamber of Commerce urged the public to stop the hearings and embrace the project so that people in the region could get back to work.
Pierre Trudeau was Prime Minister, and things were tough all over. The Site C project was seen as way to bring prosperity back to the region, as well as create bonuses such as a new “free water source”, free fishing, an assured electrical supply, flood control and 100,000 acres of new farmland.
The proponents of the project said it wouldn’t be destructive or harmful. But many, including farmers and Treaty 8 First Nations, disagreed. Loss of prime agricultural land, destruction of traditional Treaty 8 lands and sacred sites, and wildlife habitat were all causes of concern.
This difference of opinion fuelled protests, BCUC hearings, court cases and flip-flopping on the part of governments for the next three decades.
In 1982, the provincial government decided not to go ahead with Site C and more BCUC hearings followed. When government rejected the proposal again in 1989, stating the electricity wasn’t needed, it seemed the project would go the way of Site E near the BC-Alberta border.
Enter Premier Gordon Campbell, who in 2010, resurrected the project and fanned the flames of resistance in the Peace. Treaty 8 First Nations were the first to express their ire by boycotting the official announcement of the project at the WAC Bennett Dam in April 2010.
Conflicts continued even after construction began in July 2015. Among them, the West Moberly First Nation challenged the project in court in 2018, trying unsuccessfully to get the project stopped because reservoirs lead to high levels of mercury in predatory fish, such as Bull Trout.
Reservoir will take four months to fill
BC Hydro says it will take about four months to fill the 83-km long reservoir. Water levels are expected to rise between 30cm and 3m per day.
Initially, the biggest change will be noticed during the first week of flooding, at Site C itself and as far up the Peace River as Bear Flats. During this week, the water level is expected to rise approximately 15m at the dam.
Peace underwater: valley near Site C that will soon be submerged
All the boat launches and access points along the Peace River between the dam and Hudson’s Hope are now closed. They won’t reopen until a year after the reservoir filling is complete, as BC Hydro needs to watch reservoir conditions, including the stabilization of the surrounding land, and floating vegetation debris.
Once the reservoir is considered safe, the public will be able to access the new recreation area through various boat launches.
In the first week, the water level will rise 15 metres at the dam.
Originally intended to be producing energy by 2020, the Site C dam is now scheduled to begin generating electricity in December 2024, when the first generating unit comes online. The remaining five units are expected to be in service by fall of 2025.
When fully online, the completed dam will provide 1,100 megawatts of capacity and produce 5,100 gigawatt hours of electricity annually, increasing the province’s electricity supply by about eight per cent.
BC Hydro estimates Site C will provide enough clean electricity to reliably power almost 500,000 homes or 1.7 million electric vehicles.
For more news on BC North Peace, read Tania Finch‘s independent news source, The Broken Typewriter.