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Caring about Water Quality
Working Together to Manage Water Use |
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Water belongs to society as a whole and is essential to power generation activities at Hydro-Québec. Protecting water involves preserving its quality and uses. It also means managing rivers, riverbanks and watersheds.
The rivers harnessed by our generating facilities and our retaining and diversion structures currently make up less than 3% of all rivers in Québec.
We have acquired a unique body of knowledge through our studies and research on resources, habitats and uses. We also promote the multipurpose use of bodies of water and their banks or shores as part of our activities.
In addition, we have various agreements with other users who share the water with us, covering matters such as water supply, flow management to protect aquatic wildlife, maintenance of water levels to allow recreational activities, and flood management.
This water management approach is based on cooperation and the reconciliation of the local community's uses of the watershed, its concerns and its various interests, all with a view to sustainable development
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Some Examples |
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We signed an agreement with the integrated resource management committee for La Vérendrye wildlife reserve to reconcile the interests of various users of the area by promoting the maintenance, improvement and restoration of wildlife habitats. With Hydro-Québec's participation, a brochure was produced for the general public on water management and power generation. |
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We participated in the activities of the Saint-Maurice River, Montmorency River, Kénogami Lake and Gatineau River watershed committees and a committee to protect the Shawinigan Falls. |
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The Fondation Hydro-Québec pour l'environnement contributed funding to a project that led to the development of a permanent interactive exhibition about the watershed of the Rivière l'Assomption. The initiatives included informing the public and users of the area about various watershed features (geology, soil, climate, topography, plant and animal life) as they relate to the water's uses and current condition. |
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We identified sensitive elements for management of the reservoirs along the upper Ottawa River and Manic 1 and Manic 2 reservoirs to minimize the impacts of reservoir level management on users' activities. |
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Some of our generating facility operating procedures were modified for environmental reasons. This was done at Outardes-2 to minimize impacts during the smelt spawning season, and at Toulnustouc and Sainte-Marguerite-3 to maintain the ecological instream flow. |
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Bank protection structures were installed along 730 metres of the Grande Rivière upstream of La Grande-1 to control erosion caused by fluctuating water levels and soil instability. |
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The Portneuf and Sault aux Cochons rivers, which were partially diverted in 2003 as part of hydropower development, have remained navigable. In 2007, we published navigation charts, disseminated the results of the environmental follow-up program at the annual meeting of the joint committee of Hydro-Québec and municipal elected representatives, and held information meetings for users. |
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