UNBC study shows correlation between aquatic animal life and hydroelectric operations
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PRINCE GEORGE- New research from UNBC shows the impacts that fewer peaks and declines in river flows have on aquatic species. Environmental Science Professor Dr. Stephen Déry teamed up with University of Calgary and University of Victoria researchers to study 500 sites in Canada and the United States over the course of 100 years. Their research found aquatic species are benefitting from fewer peaks and declines in river flows on waterways with hydroelectric infrastructure.
“There is a very consistent, overall decreasing pattern in the index values we’ve formulated for hydropeaking in this study, and the pattern crosses various jurisdictions, watersheds, and power grid interconnections,” Déry says. “A reduction in ramping up and ramping down in river flows benefits aquatic species and improves their habitat.”
Déry and his collaborators studied the phenomenon of hydropeaking, when water levels in managed rivers rise or fall sharply due to increases or decreases in electricity demand. They found evidence of hydropeaking increasing in the mid-20th century and then decreasing in the 21st century. Their paper details the decline of hydropeaking in recent years, and has since been published in the Nature Communications journal.
“Hydroelectric companies are all keen to understand how their operations are evolving with the goal of reducing their impacts on the environment,” Déry says. “Recent reductions of the weekly hydropeaking cycle provide evidence that hydropower operations are indeed being modified to improve ecosystem health and well-being.”
