Renfrew council is putting a pin in a motion to endorse the Ontario Waterpower Champions Charter and declare June 20 as Waterpower Day. Kathy Lindsay with the Bonnechere River Watershed has some concerns. She requested council table their motion until the organization had an opportunity to address council as a delegation. Lindsay documented several concerns in her letter, and addressed issues surrounding aquatic integrity, migratory species such as the American eel and the reality that fish passage has rarely been incorporated into hydroelectric projects. Additional concerns include the commitment to use and expand local waterpower; in a written correspondence, she notes the Bonnechere is already at capacity, and typically experiences low water flows during the summer and record flows during the spring freshet. She says this compromises generating capacity and the ecological integrity of the freshwater ecosystem. She also notes in her correspondence that hydroelectric dams harm the environment, and when reservoirs or headponds are used, produce carbon dioxide as well as significant amounts of methane. Councillor Tom Sidney noted there’s no timeline to endorse the charter and council agreed to put the matter off until they can hear from the watershed at a future meeting.
