Low snowpack could impact power generation in B.C. later this year [Video]

A lower than average snowpack nestled in the West Kootenay mountains doesn’t necessarily mean trouble for the region’s power production yet, according to B.C. Hydro.

Last year, amid low water conditions at the Arrow Lakes Generating Station, the station did not generate any power. The generating station requires a minimum operating water level between approximately 425.8 metres (1,397 feet) to 427.3 m. (1,402 ft) in the Arrow Lakes reservoir.

Residents of the reservoir area watched water levels drop last summer, sinking from 438.91 m in July down to 426.72 m by the end of August. Debris and stranded fish, as well as quicksand, have been exposed as the shoreline grew. By the end of November the water level dropped to 420.6 m.

As of mid-March, provincial figures show the West Kootenay snowpack is 28 per cent below normal throughout the region.