User:Kaypri/sandbox

Outline: 3 Environment

  3.1 Downstream
  3.2 Upstream and Williston Lake

Downstream The WAC Bennett Dam held tremendous economic potential, but for its surrounding environment the experience was not so positive. Since its construction a number of environmental changes have taken place. The dam has been responsible for drastic fluctuations in the water levels of the upstream and downstream portions of the Peace River, creating modifications to both the plants and animals in the region. In addition, it has also been blamed for creating changes in the landscapes of the Athabasca Lake and Peace River[[1]], known as the Athabasca Delta. This part of the river faced significant water loss. While the area of the Peace River immediately upstream of the dam was experiencing flooding which gave rise to Williston Lake, downstream the Peace-Athabasca Delta was drying up. For this reason, the delta experienced several changes in the water level, affecting both the landscape of the delta and its aquatic life. Following the completion of the Williston Lake in 1971, water coverage was reduced to 38 percent and the amount of wetlands and wet marches declined to 47 percent (Loo 2007). Floods that occurred every two or three years came to a halt, no longer able to revitalize the biodiversity along side the delta. A reduction in the amount of discharge resulted in the accumulation of toxins and sediments downstream, decreasing water the quality of the water. Fish also experience changes as a result of the low water levels: fewer channels were accessible for Walleye to reach spawning grounds and for juvenile fish to reach nursery areas therefore jeopardizing their ability to reproduce.

Upstream and Williston Lake

Upstream also faced a number of environmental changes as a result of the WAC Bennett Dam. The dam was responsible for combining parts of the Finlay, Parsnip, and the Peace Rivers, giving rise to Williston Lake (Loo 2007). This reservoir is quite large as it measures 250 kilometers from north to south and another 150 kilometers from east to west.

proposed edit: these two sentences (above) are almost identical to those in the intro, I don't think its necessary to repeat them and recommend introducing the section in a different way. --Heatheralyse (talk) 22:34, 1 April 2012 (UTC))

The creation of the lake flooded 350,000 acres of forested land, drowning a significant amount of wildlife and creating drastic changes to the landscape and climate. Farmers had asked for compensation from BC Hydro because the changes were created in the weather compromised their ability to grow crops (Loo 2007). Because the water was no longer flowing, rather standing still following the creation of the dam their was an increase in humidity in the area. This caused cooler temperatures and an increase in fog.

Not only did changes occur in the atmosphere but the of the lake also compromised the livelihood of aquatic life (Loo 2007). Rivers and lakes support different species therefore some fish were able to thrive in the lake while the different environment the lake created could not support others. Mountain whitefish, rainbow trout and arctic grayling were primarily the species that faced decline. A number of species were known to have thrived and it is estimated that there are more fish in the basin today than before the reservoir, but scientists indicate they are not entirely healthy (Loo 2007). High levels of mercury have been measured in the lake, as a result of decaying matter from the plants and trees that drowned. Mercury accumulates in the lake and ingested by tiny organisms and eventually makes its way up the food chain. In the year 2000 British Columbia issued a Fish Consumption Advisory for bull trout and dolly varden warning people about the high content of mercury in these fish (Loo 2007).

Edits/Suggestions

Hi Kayla, thank you for posting you section! I see that you have only cited Loo 2007 and I'm concerned that using only one source may present a seemingly bias point. I know that Stanley also speaks about the environmental impacts of the dam, perhaps including a couple references to her or another source by a different author would be helpful concerning objectivity?

I also made some minor spelling corrections and that recommend you rephrase the sentence, "Not only did changes occur in the atmosphere but the of the lake also compromised the livelihood of aquatic life" --Heatheralyse (talk) 22:34, 1 April 2012 (UTC)

Hello Kayla, looks good! The only thing I think may be worth mentioning in addition to what you have is the the creation of Dinosaur Lake. It's located immediately downstream of WAC BENNETT DAM and is bordered on the other end by the much smaller Peace River Dam (built to help harness the full potential energy output. The peace river dam is built at the mouth of the canyon which then opens up to the delta area. This could be considered general knowledge and may not necessarily need a citation since it's self evident. (checked it up on google earth!) The Stanley book I believe has some info on it and I know the WAC Bennett tourism site also has some citable info on it.

Hi Kayla, looks good!! Do we know who sent you the message above regarding Dinosaur Lake? It might be worth mentioning in a sentence or two if it is used to harness full energy output for the dam. Ultimately its up to you though. Tborto1 (talk) 18:42, 4 April 2012 (UTC) Also, this is the format for short references ex. . Go into "edit" for this section to see the proper format as it will show up only as a footnote now. Obviously you'll have to put in appropriate author, publishing year and page number. Hope it helps. Tborto1 (talk) 18:46, 4 April 2012 (UTC)

Downstream

The WAC Bennett Dam held tremendous economic potential, but for its surrounding environment the experience was not so positive. Since its construction a number of environmental changes have taken place. The dam has been responsible for drastic fluctuations in the water levels of the upstream and downstream portions of the Peace River, creating modifications to both the plants and animals in the region. In addition, it has also been blamed for creating changes in the landscapes of the Athabasca Lake and Peace River, known as the Athabasca Delta . This part of the river faced significant water loss. While the area of the Peace River immediately upstream of the dam was experiencing flooding, which gave rise to Williston Lake, downstream the Peace-Athabasca Delta was drying up . For this reason, the delta experienced several changes in the water level, affecting both the landscape of the delta and its aquatic life.

Following the completion of the Williston Lake in 1971, water coverage was reduced to 38 percent and the amount of wetlands and wet marches declined to 47 percent . Floods that occurred every two or three years came to a halt, no longer able to revitalize the biodiversity along side the delta. A reduction in the amount of discharge resulted in the accumulation of toxins and sediments downstream, decreasing water the quality of the water. Fish also experience changes as a result of the low water levels: fewer channels were accessible for Walleye to reach spawning grounds and for juvenile fish to reach nursery areas therefore jeopardizing their ability to reproduce. Dinosaur Lake was a place where water accumulated downstream of the dam after the its completion. Today, it is a popular destination for camping in British Columbia.

Upstream and Williston Lake

The area upstream of the dam experienced a number of environmental changes as a result of the flooding of the land. The creation of the lake flooded a vast area of forested land, drowning a significant amount of wildlife and creating drastic changes to the landscape and climate. It created a reservoir that measured 250 kilometers from north to south and another 150 kilometers from east to west. Farmers had asked for compensation from BC Hydro because the changes were created in the weather compromised their ability to grow crops. Because the water was no longer flowing, rather standing still following the creation of the dam their was an increase in humidity in the area. This caused cooler temperatures and an increase in fog.

Not only did changes occur in the atmosphere, they also occurred in the water. The creation of the reservoir compromised the livelihood of aquatic life, which before the dam lived peacefully in the river . Rivers and lakes support different species therefore some fish were able to thrive in the lake but others could not be supported by its different environment. Mountain whitefish, rainbow trout and arctic grayling were primarily the species that faced decline. A number of species were known to have thrived and it is estimated that there are more fish in the basin today than before the reservoir, but scientists indicate they are not entirely healthy . High levels of mercury have been measured in the lake, as a result of decaying matter from the plants and trees that drowned. Mercury accumulates in the lake and ingested by tiny organisms and eventually makes its way up the food chain. In the year 2000 British Columbia issued a Fish Consumption Advisory for bull trout and dolly varden warning people about the high content of mercury in these fish .