Environmental Impacts

• construction and operation of hydro developments have had an impact on the province's waterways and on the Aboriginal communities near the waterways
• water has been impounded to create reservoirs to ensure reliability of supply
• traditional seasonal flows of some rivers have been altered
• northern hydroelectric development has flooded or affected approximately 302 000 acres of land in northern Manitoba—0.19 per cent of the area in the province

Design of Future Projects to Reduce Impacts

Modifying the designs of two future generating stations has reduced the extent of flooding.  The decision to utilize low-head design options for both projects also resulted in reductions to generating capacity.

Project		Capacity (MW)	Flooding (sq. miles)
Wuskwatim – under construction, in partnership with Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation	Low head	200	0.2
	High head	350	54
Keeyask proposed for development in partnership with Tataskweyak, York Factory, War Lake and Fox Lake First Nations	Low head	620	18
	High head	1150	47

What has been done?

• a concerted effort to work with First Nations and other affected communities to address impacts of projects on the environment and their communities
• provided for leading edge environmental research, conservation measures and stewardship programs 
• monitoring of fish and bird populations, migration patterns and habitat
• aggressively monitoring of mercury levels
• active participation in the National Action Program on Climate Change for Managing Greenhouse Gas Emissions

The ECR Program

Manitoba Hydro is a member of the Canadian Electricity Association's (CEA) Environmental Commitment and Responsibility(ECR) Program established in 1997. The program is a condition of membership in the CEA and requires utilities to make a commitment to implement environmental management systems which meet international standards. The ECR Program's principles are:

• To be more efficient in our use of resources and to promote energy efficiency to our customers
• To manage the adverse environmental impacts of our business
• To be more accountable to our constituents and transparent in our operations
• To ensure that our employees understand the environmental implications of their actions and have the knowledge and skills to make the right decisions

For more information about the Program, visit www.ecrprogram.ca.

Greenhouse gas emissions

• greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from Canadian hydropower reservoirs are minimal and diminish over the years
• within similar types of ecosystems, carbon dioxide and methane emissions from natural occurring lakes and rivers are similar to those of reservoirs (after about the first 10 years)
• Manitoba Hydro has been a major sponsor of Experimental Lakes Area reservoir emission studies and in collaboration with the Federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans, has been actively monitoring GHG emissions from its reservoirs since 2000 
• lifecycle GHG emissions per unit of delivered power from Canadian hydropower are comparable to wind and other renewable sources and are orders of magnitude less than that from fossil fuel generated electricity

• a study done by the Pembina Institute for Appropriate Development determined the total life cycle GHG emissions from the Wuskwatim hydro project in northern Manitoba to be 290 times less than coal, 130 times less than the most efficient natural gas technology and similar to wind generation

  Greenhouse Gas Emissions

  

  
  
  

  Lifecycle GHG Emissions

  

  
  

For information on GHG production and hydropower reservoirs see http://www.canhydropower.org/ and http://www.hydropower.org/DownLoads/Emissions from reservoirs.pdf