Prefeasability meeting: all the wrong questions

Pelican Watch participated in a meeting hosted by Saskatoon Light and Power as part of the “Prefeasibility and Baseline Environmental Study Phase of the Hydro Power and White Water Park” this past June.

A presentation was made to give us background on the proposed development, and then we were asked a series of questions. The first one, under the agenda item “Overall aesthetic values of the site and Meewasin Valley Trail," was “What amenities would you like to see at site?” (We’re paraphrasing here, so these may not be the exact words.)

Okay, Saskatoon Light and Power has gathered together individuals who represent groups opposed to this idea, as well as groups in favour, and they ask us what “amenities” we want built at the site of the dam and white water playground?

They don’t ask us “what concerns do you have about the redesign of the weir?” They don’t ask “what problems or opportunities do you see arising from these two projects?”

No, they ask us about “amenities”; they ask us what role we see our organization playing in the operation of the site.

Neither of the two Pelican Watch members in attendance volunteered—not surprisingly—to help pick up garbage at the site of Whitewater Park. The information Saskatoon Light and Power seemed to be seeking was not how palatable either project is, but whether we’d like washrooms at the site, or maybe a hot dog stand or vendors renting big rubber tubes.

Clearly, they were not addressing Pelican Watch or the Saskatoon Heritage Society or the Saskatoon Nature Society. They were talking only to those groups who want a white water park and/or tiny hydro dam, complete with rubber dam to raise the water level.

If this were truly an “information seeking” session, then they would ask questions that would give them feedback on whether or not there is a real need or desire to change the weir into a white water “facility” and the site of commercial power generation.

Isn’t Saskatoon Light and Power getting just a little ahead of themselves? What happened to the principle of public consultation?

They do not yet have any governing body's permission to further “denaturalize” this site. They haven’t held any open public consultations so ordinary Saskatonians can say whether they want to redesign what is a contemplative place into a site for high energy sporting activities.

We at Pelican Watch predict that this project may suffer hugely from hubris over the next year. When the forces against this project really come into play.

And we hope that that may be sooner rather than later.

The Pelicans are gone, but Pelican Watch is back!

Well, it's civic election time in Saskatoon. We urge all you pelicanistas to ask your candidates what their position is on the White Water Park and Tiny Hydro Dam.

And let them know that our river is not, and never should be, a playground first and bird habitat second. Let's get our priorities straight.

Isn't it time that we asked "what can we do for our river?" and not that pre-global warming question, "what can our river can do for us?" It's time for a new way of thinking about rivers, and about nature in general. Let's make sure that we Saskatonians don't lose our world-class gem--a natural riverbank in the middle of a bustling city.

We've posted a few fun photos by a visitor to our city, Ross Belot, of Hamilton, Ontario. Enjoy!

Saskatoon's White-water Wonderland: Picture This!

Pelican Watch attended a meeting about the proposed white water park and hydro dam last week. Here is something of what we learned.

Dam and white water playground proponents are still considering a couple of different versions of the two projects, but essentially this is how the redeveloped weir might look.

On the west side, there’ll be a small channel containing a fish ladder. Water would pass through here, as it does now, only in a very narrow channel. This is a good thing; we’re all for the safe passage of fish from one side of the weir to the other.

On the east side (the University side), adjacent to the bank, there will be a cement channel for the white water park, and beside it, the hydro dam that might generate enough power to sell to 3000 houses per year (this is a guesstimate, of course). The white water park as originally designed was too close to the railway bridge and CP apparently didn’t want a rush of water hitting their bridge, so the beginning of the white water channel will be ahead of the weir, and a cement wall on the west side of the channel will make this possible.

Are you excited about the aesthetic value of all this cement? Neither are we. If only we owned a cement factory, we might be more thrilled.

Now to the other “feature” of the redesigned weir, the hydro turbines. These will be mostly submerged and will be adjacent to the white water course; the turbine "house" may have a green roof, which fisher-folk might be able to fish from. This dam may or may not include an extremely ugly black inflatable rubber thingy that would stretch across the river in order to raise the height of the water by a meter and thus increase the measly amount of electrical generation by another measly bit.

Will this dam cause Goose Island, the Bird Sanctuary just south of the weir, to be partially or totally eroded? Nobody knows—the study of the effects of raising the water level are not yet completed. But it seems likely that the geese and other birds won’t want to hang out with white water thrill seekers, that the passage of boats near the island, as well as the raised water levels, might permanently disrupt the only place on the river within the city limits where birds are protected from human intrusion.

Got the picture so far?

In between the fish ladder on the west side and the submerged hydro turbines and white water course on the east, there will be the barrier (ie the dam itself) which will either have no water flowing over it or a thin film of water for “aesthetic purposes.” This stretch will be composed of the original weir, though we might be excused for not recognizing it as such. We haven’t been able to figure out how the optional black rubber dam fits in. Will it straddle the weir? Kind of like a large, thick black rubber bandage?

Anyone excited at the prospect of a large black rubber dam that inflates and deflates depending on the water flow? Or does the phrase "the uglification of the river" spring to mind?

So what will we have to look at down at the weir, those of us who don’t want to be “spectators” while inner tube riders and kayakers and rafters shoot down over the fake rapids over and over and over again?

Pelicans. Yes, that’s right, they claim there will be pelicans in the same body of water with all that action. Apparently, some unnamed experts claim this is so. Even though the website for the redeveloped Calgary Weir, the Harvie Passage, says “The Pelicans will likely disperse up and down stream.” And this project is being worked on by the same American white water company consulting with the Saskatoon white water enthusiasts. So these two very different answers are a bit confusing.

So if, for some reason, the pelicans dispute the idea that they want to fish beside a stream of boats and inner tubes and rafts, with all the attendant exuberance and noise, then Saskatonians will come down to the weir to do what, watch fisherman fish, perhaps, by the fish ladder? And try not to notice that all the water that used to cascade over the weir in a beautiful, peaceful, translucent sheet, is now being forced out the far side in a highly unnatural looking torrent over phony rapids?

(And how many kayaks, tubes, rafts will go down the channel every day of the summer? Well, no one has been able to answer that question for us. The white water park in Reno, Nevada--mentioned as an example of an economic boom by the pro-white water folks--apparently rented 10,000 inner tubes in a three-month period. That’s over 100 happy tube riding folks per day. First you strip and get into your swimsuit to go shooting down the river in a tube, then you get dressed again and go lose your shirt at the Blackjack table. What an admirable culture; a natural model for Saskatoon to follow.)

Sorry for the digression. Sometimes we get carried away.

Back to picturing the new “improved” weir. Can you see what we see? Our slow, calm, dignified, steadily flowing river, a river that is wide but often not very deep, contorted into a narrow fast flowing channel for the pleasure of some unknown but doubtless very small percentage of the Saskatoon population?

Is this what we want, Saskatoon? To change the character of our river permanently? To give up one of the few contemplative spots easily accessible by car and frequently photographed by visitors to our city? For what, a park right in the river? Isn't this pre-global warming thinking? Believing we can have everything we want without an environmental cost? Believing we can have white water rafting galore and pelicans too?

Well, fellow pelicanistas, you’ll have the summer to think about this. Pelican Watch is going on hiatus for the rest of the warm weather. In the fall, we’ll be back to gear up some much more organized opposition to this 40-million-dollar folly.

Stay cool, and don’t forget to visit the weir now and again. Where—at least for now— pelicans are free, and the sight of them, so close, yet undisturbed, is priceless.

Pelican Antics

Here are some photos of the kind of high energy antics we like to see down at Saskatoon's weir!

These photos are by Hamilton resident, a recent visitor to our city, Ross Belot.

Pelicans and Firemen

Here are some fun pelican photos by a visitor to our city, Linda Frank. When she was told that this area could become a white-water playground, she looked shocked and said, "I didn't think Saskatoon would be like that."

Well, we hope that Saskatoon won't be "like that" if we at Pelican Watch have anything to do with it!

A few weeks ago, a group of a dozen firemen-in-training were in the river, or on the cement apron by the weir, on the west side, doing some "feat of strength" test. They each took turns donning wetsuits, wading up to the weir and touching the wall through the torrent of water falling over it. The fireman doing the test was attached to a safety cable, which a couple of other fireman held on to, keeping him safe.

One of our members happened to be passing, and she called out to a fireman who was about to undress and get into his wetsuit. (Yes, it was distracting, she said.) She asked him where the pelicans were when the firemen arrived that morning.

"Good question," he said, looking around. He noticed there were no pelicans in the river at that point.

"I guess we scared them away," he said.

He thought they were on the island, maybe, when they first started the test. The pelicanista reporting this suspects that the pelicans were also in the river, as they usually are around ten in the morning. They like to stand around in the shallows, looking gorgeous.

So, if the pelicans leave when a few firemen get into the river, what will they do when a bunch of kayakers come careening their way? It's not hard to imagine, is it?

See any birds in the background?

Here's a link to a video on youtube. This is a kayaker doing stunts in Missoula, Montana, at a white-water park called Brennan's wave.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-bYGucPOOc&feature=related

Do you see any birds in the background? Peaceful, ain't it?

Spontaneous Day of Inaction

Today was so beautiful that we pelicanistas declared it a Spontaneous Day of Inaction. The less done the better, the less done down by the riverside--even better! We were all too laid back to let the world know that we were doing as little as possible today.

In honour of the day, here's another lovely photo by Steve Hiscock.

Earth Day Rant: It isn't easy being green.

Saskatoon’s weir was conceived in the 1930s as a make-work project. Construction began in 1939 and was finished in 1940. The weir was intended to slow the river down, to make it a bit more manageable in the days when ice and flooding caused problems for the city, before the river was warmed and kept open in the winter by the operations of the Queen Elizabeth Power Plant.

The weir, in hindsight, was a mistake—but a forgivable mistake. The building of the weir provided work at a time of great poverty. And we didn’t know then what we know now: we now know that it is not a good idea to interfere with natural bodies of water, that such interference causes problems for wildlife, for the sensitive ecosystem around and in lakes and rivers. We now know that natural riverbeds are preferable to artificial channels made out of concrete. Now we know that we don’t know everything about what makes a river a healthy, living entity—but we’re trying to find out.

Yes, the weir was a mistake. It stuns the fish passing haplessly over it; and it prevents boats from going downriver. It has been the site of tragedy; people have drowned in the strong current there, as they have at other locations in the river. The river is a dangerous place, and that’s why we’ve taken steps to prevent such tragedies. We’ve banned swimming within the city limits; we’ve made the weir inaccessible to swimmers and boaters.

Now, seventy years later, we know so much more about ecosystems, and we are more careful about messing with natural bodies of water.

Or at least, that’s what we’d like to think. We’d like to believe that we are making better choices now: we’re making hybrid cars, we’re recycling like mad, we’re riding our bicycles, we’re walking to work. We want so much to be “green”—though it can be hard to tell who wants to appear green and who want to really be green.

When the report on the proposed hydro dam and white-water park comes before City Council in several months’ time, are we going to make an even bigger mistake than we made in 1939? In 2009, when clean water is getting hard and harder to come by, when there are fewer peaceful, relatively undisturbed stretches of riverbank available to us, when the demands on our river are higher than ever, what is our City, and what are we citizens, going to do?

Our river gives us power and irrigation through the Gardiner Dam, it gives us Diefenbaker Lake for boating and fishing, it gives Saskatoon and surrounding communities clean drinking water.

Our river gives us aesthetic pleasure when we walk beside it or canoe on it. And we love encountering wildlife here, right in the city: we love the cormorants and geese and pelicans, the fox and coyote and deer, the muskrats and pine martens.

Now, however, some of us want to build a playground, not beside the river, not on unused or reclaimed land, not inside a building, but right in the river.


So this is how we as citizens are going to be tested. How much have we learned since 1939? How committed are our civic leaders to the needs of a river? A river needs careful regulation and real stewardship, a river needs quiet, a river needs us to keep our distance from it.

When the time comes, what will we choose? To give up more of the riverbank to development? Or to refrain, to hold ourselves back, and keep a respectful distance from at least this part of the river.

Maybe we’ll pass the test. Maybe we’ll prove that we really do believe that the river takes care of us, and so we must, in turn, take care of the river.

Pelican Feats of Strength

The American White Pelican's distinctive feature is, of course, its pouch. The pouch can hold about 11.3 litres of water, which would weigh about 24 pounds! Its stomach can only hold about 3.8 litres--in theory. In practice, birds don't drink a lot of water.

This species of pelican has a wingspan of about three metres, or nine feet, and it can fly three hundred miles in a single day.

The pelicans fly thousands of miles from where they hang out for the winter, in Southern California, all along the coast of Mexico and the Gulf of Mexico.

This exquisite photo (copyright Steve Hiscock) shows a pelican cruising along Saskatoon's weir at dusk. A peaceful sight!

Pelican Watch in the news

Read the Star Phoenix article about Pelican Watch here:

http://www.thestarphoenix.com/Travel/Group+sees+threat+pelicans/1486748/story.html

Does this view need improving?

Here's a lovely photo of Saskatoon's weir, courtesy of Steve Hiscock.

Steve has spent countless hours by the weir, photographing pelicans. He has been kind enough to let us use some of his stunning photos.

Here we get a great close-up of a male pelican looking particularly spiffy. We can find no evidence to support the notion that the fancy hairdo helps attract a mate... And we can't believe that a few kayaks in the background, or a big orange raft full of shouting boys and girls, would NOT upset this fellow's calm enjoyment of his favourite feeding ground!

Paving paradise

“They paved paradise and put up a parking lot…”
from Big Yellow Taxi by Joni Mitchell


How much cement, we wonder, will have to be poured into the river to make articial bumps for kayaks and rafts to tip over? How much cement will be needed to make the parking lots on the east and west side of the weir to accommodate the cars and SUVs driving up as close as possible to the White Water amusement park, so they can unload their rafts, tubes and kayaks?

This is what the City of Saskatoon’s FAQ (http://167.129.241.14/org/leisure/facilities/pdfs/weir_faq.pdf) says about parking:

“This project would potentially provide access to the Water Park from both the east and west sides of the river as well as providing greater parking and access opportunities.”

More parking. How "green" is that? This will mean less walking to the river and more driving to the river. Is this the same city that wants to encourage people to walk and bicycle, and, at some distant, future time, take light rail transit, instead of driving to work?

Cement, and contractors, are expensive. Kayaks aren't cheap either. But what we have now is paid for, and, as a bonus laid on by Nature Herself, pelicans are free! And their carbon footprint is negligible.

Pelicans won't get behind the wheel of a Hemi, not even if you offer them a bucket teeming with walleye!

How far would you fly for a good meal?

Our pelicans fly from Redberry Lake, where two or three hundred pairs nest, to Saskatoon's weir for a chance to fish for their dinner. This is a round trip of about 100 kilometers. The American White Pelican has been known to go on "foraging trips" like this routinely, sometimes travelling as much as 240 kilometers in total!

Pelican fact

When pelicans take off, they like to do so against the wind, if there is a significant breeze. When they get up in the air, they fly, on average, at about 45 kilometers per hour.

Here is a lovely shot of a group of pelicans at Last Mountain Lake. Photo by Creighton's Harvey Schmidt.

White Water or Whitewash?

This is what the White Water Committee says on its FAQ page:( http://saskwhitewater.wordpress.com/saskatoon-whitewater-park/ )

"Public consultations conducted by the City of Saskatoon on the original waterpark proposal indicated there was strong public support for the proposal. Will the public support this new joint proposal? we are confident that the public will fully endorse this new proposal. Combining an economically viable “green power” facility with a whitewater recreational park will creat a one-of-its-kind facility in the world that will showcase Saskatoon’s commitment to the environment and to the health and recreation of its population."

Pelican Watch would like to point out that the City has conducted no public consultations. The White Water Committee set a tent up down by the weir about a year and a half ago and did an informal, unscientific poll of passersby. Could it be that White Water supporters knew about this event ahead of time and were on hand to add their opinions to this poll? The "new idea" for both a water park and a hydro dam conveniently combines a highly questionable, environmentally invasive aquatic playground with a very expensive set of underwater turbines. Is this an attempt to give the white-water idea "green credibility"?

Who can tell what machinations have gone on behind the scenes? But we're pretty convinced that many people in Saskatoon aren't going to support either idea.

Today is an official Pelican Watch Day of Inaction

Dear fellow pelicanistas, today is Sunday, an ideal day to spend strolling or biking through our beautiful river valley.

When you go down to the river today to walk the dog, have a long run, or sit on a bench by the weir and anticipate the return of the pelicans, you will be participating in our first official "Day of Inaction."

We at Pelican Watch have vowed to "take care of the river that cares for us." What do we love about the river? So many things--too numerous to mention--but underlying them all is the fact that the river as it courses through our city is essentially itself, a living entity, the centre of a sensitive riparian ecosystem which we are fortunate enough to be able to observe and be part of.

We can live with our river, and not against it. We can go with the flow, and that's what we suggest you do today.

Enjoy!

Meewasin Valley Authority Survey

http://www.meewasin.com/

Participate in the Meewasin Valley Authority Survey. This is an opportunity to let Meewasin know that we have choices about how our river valley is developed--or, perhaps more importantly, what needs to be left undeveloped. Sometimes nature can't be improved upon...

Another lovely photo by Harvey Schmidt.

Apparently the collective noun for pelicans isn't

as established, or as agreed upon as it is for these birds: a murder of crows, a bellowing of bullfinches, an exaltation of larks... Some think the pelican version should be "a pod of pelicans," others prefer "A pouch of pelicans," but we like the grand sound of "a panache of pelicans."

What you will soon see at the weir! Noise, excitement, noise, action! Of course, the pelicans won't mind...

The Case of the Missing Pelicans

Check out the white water committee website: http://saskwhitewater.wordpress.com/saskatoon-whitewater-park/

Interesting reading, yes? Were you puzzled, as we were, that there is no mention of the pelicans who fish at the weir, or the geese who nest on the river island? In fact, this page is a bird-free zone, a veritable no-fly zone, even though the words "environment" and "environmental impact" are used quite often.

What does the word "environment" mean, if not the wildlife, muskrats and weasels, the gophers and meadowlarks, the geese and ducks, the goldeneyes and goldeye, the pike and walleye, the foxes and coyotes, the cormorants and pelicans, that inhabit it? Could it be that the following phrase is meant to contain all of this, and more: "a whitewater recreational park will creat [Editor's note: we think that they mean "create," with an "e"] a one-of-its-kind facility in the world that will showcase Saskatoon’s commitment to the environment..."?

Many people have voiced their concerns about the fate of our pelicans, and yet, there's not a word about the effect this mega-project would have on them.

They feel free to conclude that hordes of folks in brightly coloured toy boats, whooping and hollering as they bounce like so many overgrown corks down the pseudo-rapids, will demonstrate Saskatoon's commitment to the environment. But they don't dare speculate about the pelicans and other birds and wildlife that frequent the area (or should we say "environment") around the weir.

Could it be that, in the mind of the authors of this page, the birds are already gone?

Here's a spectacular photo of a pelican fellow--note the "breeding nose bump"--by Harvey Schmidt of Creighton, Sk.

Below you will find a pelican inspired poem by Saskatchewan poet, Gerald Hill, author of several books of poetry, the most recent being My Human Comedy. His newest book, 14 Tractors, has just been released and will be launched in Regina this Friday.

Pelican Air


pelican real:
the kind of evening you’d think is November
that chill but brighter
more like what it really is
June third
and pelicans on the water

flocks of twenty-four
scattered though the country like
hands tossed over an edge

enter the pelican:
a low glider belly to belly
on top of the river
and on through reflections of the trees

rise and veer left at the bridge about a half-mile away

pelican error:
it’s usually something other than a pelican
a towel on a hotel windowsill
a white hat in a car beyond the trees

sooner or later the Bird Club will spot one
that is really one
returning on its wide arc to the sand

pelican payday:
the day they hit Saskatoon and slosh
water around closing
their bills on bits of fish
thousands of vectors
swimming into range

pelican science:
slick with the look of hairlines over the weir
the water must mean something
if it seats you long enough

pelican happenstance:
two cars stop
hooded figures step out
confer and tussle

their commotion matches
the modest roar of water
the pelicans appear to sleep
lost in stillness
floating on the current below the weir

a shout and one figures loses
its balance and falls
hitting the water as a squawk
of pelicans rising

pelican lore:
young boys and girls ride the backs of pelicans
to and from their rites of initiation the adventure
involves a haircut (the ritual scissor)
and body wounds (the ritual stone)

pelican companion:
in a future life I’ll hip-wade
to fish for what happens
before and after water falls

our fighting pelicans:
symmetrical as crossed swords
pelicans line the air like water
unison winging I paint black
fringes on my upper arms and salute
the mighty Pel’

exit the pelican:
old pelicans die
in the sanctuary marshes
overgrown

inflatable rubber dam

Here's a juicy tidbit from the white water proposal site:

"There is the possibility of a rubber dam mentioned in the report. What are the benefits? Technology exists to increase the height of existing weir structures by attaching an inflatable rubber structure. Raising the height of the weir by nearly a metre translates into a substantial increase in capacity of power generation. Increasing the head height would also benefit the water part design.
Use of an inflatable rubber dam would create great bank stability upstream as water level fluctuations can be controlled and maintained by increasing or decreasing the dam height in unison with changes in river flow."

An inflatable rubber dam? Wow, that sounds really attractive. Could it perhaps be bright pink or orange, something eye catching? All the green around the riverbank in the summer gets so dull--green trees, grass, the glassy green of the river water. And I bet you could get a corporate sponsor for something like that--Trojan, perhaps?

Hydro power?

The City of Saskatoon has kicked in a wack of money--over three hundred thousand dollars--to try to find out if a small hydro dam could be part of the Artificial White-Water Playground. Rumour has it that council is divided over how the power generated would be used. Apparently a couple of the councillors would like to see a portrait, in multi-coloured LEDs, of our esteemed Mayor's silhouette on the riverbank adjacent to the fake rapids. Others want the power generated to light up a sculpture of Mickey Mouse. These honest councillors recognize the connection between the proposed park and the inevitable disney-fication of the weir. [Editor's note: this rumour turned out to be an April fool's joke, but we include it here for its entertainment value.]

Calgary Weir Project

Calgary is at work now on changing the weir on the Bow River. The new design will allow for passage of boats and fish, and will make what was a very dangerous weir into a safe place. Anyone who accidentally falls in at this location on the Bow will not inevitably drown--as was the case in the past.


This is not comparable to the white water project proposed for Saskatoon's weir. For one thing, our weir is not easily accessible by boaters or swimmers. Our weir does not regularly drown people, though it can, of course, be hazardous--just like the river itself, with it's eddies and undercurrents.

The cost of the Calgary project was originally pegged at 6.4 million. That cost has now risen to a whopping 17 million.


Proponents of the artificial white-water proposal for Saskatoon's weir say it will cost 5 million (plus a mere 42 million for the proposed hydro dam. How realistic is this?


And how will this affect what is right now a contemplative spot? Today the weir is a relaxing place, where people come to watch the pelicans fish; where couples come to kiss or argue, to plan their weddings and their divorces; where commuters stop to eat a quick burger while watching the water course over the weir; where joggers stretch as they prepare to run along the river bank.


Is it a good idea to make more of our river into a playground? Do we need or want a paddling pool for white-water enthusiasts who don't feel like shooting down real rapids?


What's next, bungee jumping from the railway bridge?

The Calgary website about the Bow River project (named the Harvie Passage after a local philanthropist) admits that the "unnatural" congregation of pelicans at their weir will end with the construction of the new design. Proponents of the Saskatoon white water playground aren't saying much about bird habitat these days.

What do we want, pelicans or a paddling playground? So far there has been limited public debate about this. We at Pelican Watch think it's time to get talking.

Welcome to Pelican Watch! This is a new site hosted by a loose-knit group of Saskatoonites dedicated to the preservation of pelican habit on the South Saskatchewan River. This site will feature pelican photos, pelican facts, information on our river and our weir, as well as dialogue about threats to bird habitat and the contemplative enjoyment of the South Saskatchewan in Saskatoon.

Stay tuned for more.