KANANASKIS – Just when it looked like the plug might be pulled on several whitewater rafting events on the Kananaskis River this year, a deal has been struck by TransAlta and the province to keep the water on.
Event-runners and rafting companies that rely on the dam-controlled river have come to know its flow rates with relative consistency, with timing dependent on run-off and electricity production variables of TransAlta’s Barrier hydro dam.
That is, until this year.
“The Kananaskis Whitewater Park was first built in 1984 and since then we’ve had summer flows that are run during the day. We’ve never had any sort of agreement, that’s just how it’s always run,” said Michael Holroyd, executive director of the Alberta Whitewater Association (AWA).
“TransAlta has also basically allowed us to ask for two or three weekends of event water each year and they were always really good about that.”
But the tide shifted this past fall and winter, spurred by recent changes in TransAlta’s governance.
At the same time, there has been a transition in the energy market in recent years, to a point where energy producers are paid for production by the hour, where compensation has historically been more static or based on longer-term contracts.
Now, prices fluctuate based on demand, meaning energy producers aim to maximize their output during peak hours when prices are highest.
“It’s like a bidding and auction system and TransAlta wants to run their business going after those highest valued hours,” said Holroyd.
“What that’s done is create a massive shift in how that river is run.”
A statement from TransAlta’s media relations team noted the company experiences high demand on its hydro facilities.
“TransAlta’s hydro operations provide critical reliability services to the electricity grid while also helping to manage water flows year-round to ensure water is available for municipalities, agricultural producers, and other stakeholders,” it stated.
This spring, instead of running water during hours more friendly to whitewater activities, the AWA and other interested parties noticed water started flowing from the Barrier dam during unusual hours early in the morning or late at night.
It meant no water for river recreation and commercial operators downriver of the dam. Or, at least, not during hours most were accustomed to.
“In April, the release schedule from the Barrier dam was very different. It was very sporadic when we were doing our raft guide course,” said Richard van der Ploeg, owner of Banff-based Chinook Rafting and president of the Lower Kananaskis River Users Association (LKRUA).
“We were able to adjust. It was difficult, but it was possible.”
The company, which has been operating for 40 years, was able to run its first commercial trip of the year on the river the week before the May long weekend, but it was not long after that it and two other rafting companies in the same boat had to cancel a few runs due to water availability.
“It was just a few trips, but the thing was, by the time it became clear the snow melt happened and we had release for 24 hours, there was one trip late in July where the release schedule just changed ... we had to cancel, between the three rafting companies, about 250 people’s trips that were planned in the afternoon,” said van der Ploeg.
“It came down to the last hour that they changed the release schedule.”
Shortly after, and at the advocacy of the LKRUA – which has been acting as a joint voice for all concerned whitewater groups – Alberta Environment and Protected Areas struck a temporary agreement with TransAlta to provide river flows at 27 cubic metres per second daily, from 2-4 p.m., starting July 31 and ending Sept. 15.
The AWA, Chinook Rafting, LKRUA, as well as the Alberta River Surfing Association and others have all played a part in discussions representing whitewater interests.
For rafting operators, van der Ploeg said running tours is not feasible with low flow rates. For river surfers, however, some have attempted to surf a lower flow, resulting in injury.
Months-long advocacy efforts involved a letter-writing campaign and an economic impact study that showed whitewater operations on the 10-kilometre stretch of river downstream of the Barrier dam amount to $32 million annually and provide hundreds of jobs.
Holroyd said these conversations started between interested groups and TransAlta, without the province stepping in, but proved ineffective.
“We had fantastic support from the government, and ultimately, the environment and protected areas minister [Rebecca Schulz] was able to find a way, through the province’s water-sharing agreement, to mandate the water we needed for our events and just enough water that the commercial operators would be able to run like one trip a day,” said Holroyd.
TransAlta’s agreements with the province mostly precede the current Water Act, which supports and promotes the conservation and management of water, through the use and allocation of water in Alberta. The act, however, states water conservation objectives include protection of tourism and recreational uses of water.
Alberta Environment and Protected Areas press secretary Ryan Fournier said the ministry feels the temporary agreement it has drawn with TransAlta “strikes the right balance by maintaining the water storage in TransAlta’s system, which is needed to help power homes and businesses, and supporting the needs of downstream users.”
It also means the power company will provide 48 hours of event water so that KanFest, an annual whitewater festival held at Canoe Meadows in Kananaskis, will go ahead as planned this weekend, Aug. 9-11.
The 2024 Kananaskis Whitewater National Championships will follow, from Aug. 12-18, and the Mountain Wave Classic after that, from Aug. 23-25.
“Prior to this agreement, this was all very much within TransAlta’s community relations and everyone being good neighbours. We really appreciated it and we really appreciate all the work the people at TransAlta have put in to make this happen this year,” said Holroyd.
Since the flow rate negotiation is only good until Sept. 15, Holroyd and van der Ploeg said they're hopeful a long-term agreement can be struck for future years to ensure stability of recreation and tourism interests on the river.
Fournier said, this fall, TransAlta, the LKRUA and several government departments will work to develop a long-term solution that supports power generation, small businesses and recreation activities on the Lower Kananaskis River, as well as all downstream users.
“We hope to get back to the stability we once had,” said van der Ploeg. “There’s lots of stakeholders involved with the water. We’re just one of many and we understand it’s a complicated process to release the water and keep all parties happy.”
The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada. The position covers Îyârhe (Stoney) Nakoda First Nation and Kananaskis Country.
