Summary Report - Lake Winnipeg, Churchill and Nelson Rivers Study Board
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Date
1975-04
Authors
Lake Winnipeg, Churchill and Nelson Rivers Study Board
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Government of Manitoba, Government of Canada
Abstract
The people and industries of Manitoba
as in all areas of North America are
demanding more and more electrical
energy every year. The demand in
Manitoba has more than doubled in the
last decade (Figure 1) and there is
reason to believe that it will double again
in the next 10 years.
In parallel with the accelerating
demand for electrical energy, there is an
ever increasing awareness of the need
to preserve Manitoba's natural environment
and to allocate its natural
resources with a view to benefiting
Manitobans now and in the future.
Satisfying the demands of Manitobans
for electrical energy and for environmental
quality requires advance planning
and compromise.
The Government of Manitoba decided
in 1966 to proceed with developments
to harness the potential energy of the
Nelson River and to add to that potential
by diverting a major part of the Churchill
River flow into the Nelson River. The
hydroelectric development program
included a generating station at Kettle
Rapids, a high voltage transmission line
from the Nelson River to Winnipeg,
regulation of the outflow from Lake
Winnipeg and diversion of substantia l
flow from the Churchill River into the
Nelson River.
The Kettle generating station and the
transmission line have been completed.
The Lake Winnipeg regulation and
Churchill River diversion projects are
under construction.
The governments of Canada and
Manitoba, recognizing the overall
interest and conflict over the use of the
water and related resources, initiated the
Lake Winnipeg, Churchill and Nelson
Introduction
Rivers study. The study was intended to
determine the effects which the regulation
and diversion projects are likely to
have on other water and related
resource uses, to indicate ways in which
the projects may prove beneficial to such
other uses, to recommend modifications
in the design and operation of the works,
and to recommend remedial measures
where considered necessary to lessen
undesirable effects.
The study took over three years to
complete at a cost of $2,000,000. It
involved many experts from federal and
provincial agencies, universities and
consulting firms representing a variety
of disciplines.
The salient aspects of the study,
including the social, economic and
environmental conditions in regions
affected by the regulation and diversion
projects, are summarized in this report
along with the antiCipated implications
to the people and the environment.
Opportunities for increasing overall
benefits and lessening harmful effects
are also outlined. Further details of the
study are to be published separately in
the Technical Report. The study was authorized under a
joint Canada-Manitoba agreement
entered into on August 24, 1971. A sixmember
federal-provincial board,
established under the agreement,
directed the study. A study office was
set up in Winnipeg and a four-member
technical advisory committee was
appointed. The complete study agreement
and the study organizational chart
are included at the end of this report
The study agreement esta blished the
objective, terms of reference and
administrative framework for the
conduct of the study. Funding for the
study was shared equally between
Manitoba and Canada. The Board was
required to report to the Minister of
Environment Canada, to the Minister of
the Manitoba Department of Mines,
Resources and Environmental Management,
and to Manitoba Hydro.
The objective for the Lake Winnipeg,
Churchill and Nelson Rivers study was
defined in the agreement as follows :
.. . to determine the effects that
regulation of Lake Winnipeg, diversion
from the Churchill Riuer and
deuelopment of hydro-electric
potential of the Churchill Riuer
diversion route are likely to have on
other water and related resource uses
and to make recommendations for
enhancing the overall benefits with
due consideration for the protection
of the environment.
Description
Call number TC 426.5.M3 Summary report
Keywords
Churchill River, Lake Winnipeg, Nelson River