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EnvironmentHydrology2TuesdayMay202014NEWSBRIEFSNWTterritorialparksopenintimeforMaylongweekendAsofMay15mostoftheNWTsterritorialcampgroundshaveopenedtheirgatesforthespringsummerandfallcampingseasonjustintimefortheMaylongweekend.AllcampgroundsareopensavethoseintheBeaufortDeltawheretheopeningdateisJune1.ThisyearIndustryTour-ismandInvestmentITIispromisingseveralupgradestocampgroundsincludinganewkitchenshelterforrentatFredHennebeachmoreparkingatPreludeLakenewhik-ingtrailsatNitainlaiiandGwichinTerritorialParksandanewshowerbuildingatQueenElizabeth.ITIalsounveiledanewonlinebookingtoolfoundatwww.nwtparks.caFireconsumeshomeinYellowknifesOldTownAllthatsleftofahouseinYellowknifesOldTownischarredwallsandacollapsingskeletonafterreghtersbattledaraginghouserefortwohourslastweek.FirecrewswerecalledintotackletheblazeatthehomeonthecornerofSchoolDrawAve.and44thSt.lateWednesdayafternoon.Theroofwasalreadyonreandconcernsaboutstructuralsafetypreventedreghtersfromenteringthebuilding.Whileanambulancewascalledandwaitedonstandbyemergencycrewsarereportingnoinjuries.Ac-cordingtoneighboursnoonewashomeatthetimeofthere.TheNorthwestTerritoriesremarshalhaslaunchedaninvestigationintothecauseofthere.NooneinjuredasredamagessingleInuvikrowhouseNoinjuriesarebeingreportedafterarebrokeoutinarowhouseonDolphinSt.inInuviklastweek.Morethan20reghtersrespondedtotherecallataround1130p.m.Wednesday.Thehomeownerwasinsidethehousewhenthereghtersarrivedbutwasabletoescapeunharmed.Fireghtersevacuatedtheconnectedhousesasaprecau-tionbutresidentswereallowedtoreturnthenextdayastherewasquicklycontainedandpreventedfromspreadingtoneighbouringhomes.Theburnedhousehasbeenboardedupandaninvestigationhasbegunintothecauseofthere.JeannieMarieJewellLloydandMelodyJonesEileenTourangeauLoisandCurtisBourkeRubyCourtoreilleBerrosRestaurantSheenaDexterKarenScottNWTMtisNationSmithsLandingFirstNationHealthandSocialServicesThankstoallthosewhosupportedusinourtimeofgreatsorrowwiththelossofDouglasLaffertySaltRiverFirstNationDianneBenwellLorraineMcDonaldAndrewWanderingSpiritDarleenPowderVioletEdgiTroyEllsworthENRRuthHarroldWesSteedLorraineTordiffWithUtmostGratitudeThankYouThanksespeciallytomymotherforherloveandsupport.IfIleftanyoneoutImsorryandagainagreatbigthankyou.-JackieBandfamilyDorothyandDennisRolfeDanandKateHigginsAlbertineGamblerCathyLepineMelissaJohnsGladysRehmMariePinedaMarthaPoitrasHarveyLepineLesleyPauletteandallthepallbearersScientiststomonitorimpactsofhydroonSlaveRiverByMEAGANWOHLBERGThereviewpanelforBCHydrosproposedSiteCdammaybeassertingthatathirdhydroprojectonthePeaceRiverwillhavenomeasur-ableimpactonlifeinthePeace-AthabascaDeltaPADorfurtherdownstreambutthatisntstoppingscientistsfrommakingsurethatsac-tuallythecase.HydrologistKarlLinden-schmidtoftheUniversityofSaskatchewanandoneofthemembersofSWEEPacumulativeenvironmentalimpactsmonitoringinitia-tivefortheSlaveRiversys-temiscurrentlylayingthegroundworkforwhatwillbeadigitalmodelingoftheentirePeaceAthabascaandSlavewatershedstoseejustwhattheimpactsofhydroareonlocationsasfardownstreamfromBCastheNWT.Overthenexttwoorthreeyearsthemodelshouldbeabletoprovideabigpictureoverviewofthewatershedunlikemostexistingstudieswhichstopcheckingforim-pactswhentheyreachPeacePointwherethePeaceowsintotheSlave.Withthatmodelwewouldbeabletorunsce-narioswithandwithoutthedamandreallybeabletoteaseouthowmuchofthechangesintheowsareat-tributedtoclimatechange.SoIwillbeabletodoalotwiththismodelinordertoanswersomeoftheseques-tionsandteaseoutsomeoftheseeffectsthatarecumu-lativeLindenschmidttoldTheJournal.AlotofthesestudiesstopatPeacePointbutthatsonethingthatweemphasizedwiththisnewhydrologi-calmodelingiswerenotgoingtostopthere.WeregoingtoextendthemodeldowntoFortResolution.Ithinkthatsaveryimpor-tantstepforwardactually.Sowellbeabletoassessthatbetternow.Thewaterandiceowspe-cialistwasinFortSmithlastweektopresenthispreliminaryndingsonthestateoficeandwaterintheFortSmithandFortResolutionareaswhichlooktoaddresscommunityconcernsregardingnoticedchangestowaterlevelsandicethicknessovertheyears.UsingsatelliteimageryandmeasurementstakenduringeldworkLinden-schmidthasbeguncollect-ingdataonseveralareasofconcernbroughtforwardbylandusersincludingthinicecausedbytrappedairpocketsandover-iceoodingduringthewinter.Thoughchangesinwaterlevelsandicethicknessarefrequently-documenteddownstreamresultsofriverdammingrulingoutotherfactorslikeclimatechangeorvariationsinwaterlevelsofriverortributaryinputscanbeachallenge.ThathasbeenthecasewithreviewingSiteC.De-spiteconcernsvoicedbyFirstNationsandscientiststhatfurtherowregulationwouldexacerbatethedroughtconditionsandecosystemchangesinthePADcausedbyBCHydrosexistingWACBennettDamthepanelinchargeofreviewingSiteCsaiditwouldbeimpossibletodifferentiatetheimpactsofhydrofromthosecausedbyclimatechangeorwaterwithdrawalfromtheAtha-bascaRiver.Lindenschmidtshydro-logicalmodelingmightbeabletochangethat.Byinput-tingmeteorologicaldataandtemperaturechangeforecastsforthenextseveraldecadesalongwithdataonwaterin-putsthestudywillbeabletopaintapictureofwhattheSlaveRiverDeltawouldlookliketodayifitwasnotim-pactedbyhydroandwhatitcouldlooklikeinthefuturewithfurtherowregulation.Itisalongwayupstreamthedamsoitishardsome-timestocorrelatetheowshereatFitzgeraldwiththeowsupstream.Therearealotofdifferenttributariescominginsoitsdifculthesaid.BCHydroIguessas-sumesthatalotoftheim-pactsfromthedamareat-tenuatedasyougodown-streamoraremaskedbytheseotherinuenceslikethesetributariesoodingintheoodplainsinthePADwhichtoacertaindegreeistrue.Buttherewillbesomeimpactandwhatweretry-ingtodoherethroughthisprojectistryingtodeterminehowmuchcontributionthatistothechangesdownhere.ApartfromthemodelingprojectLindenschmidtisalsolookingforareferenceriverliketheLiardorHayRiverthatisnotregulatedbylarge-scalehydrotoseeiftherearedifferencesbetweenthatandtheSlave.SWEEPortheSlaveWa-tershedEnvironmentalEf-fectsProgramisapartner-shipbetweentheUniver-sityofSaskatchewanandtheSlaveRiverandDeltaPartnershipacommunity-basedorganizationleadingthewaterandwildlifemon-itoringeffortsintheregionundertheGNWTsWaterStewardshipStrategy.The500000monitoringprogrambeganlastyearandwillconcludein2015.Lin-denschmidtshydrologicalmodelingresearchbeingdonewithgradstudentshasadditionalfunding.PhotocourtesyofKarlLindenschmidtHenryMcKayofFortResolutionleftandUniversityofSaskatchewanhydrologistKarlLindenschmidtdrillholesinthefrozenSlaveRivertomeasureicethicknesslastwinteraspartoftheinitialmonitoringwork.