Comment by William A. Allen: “Image 207 is at position of proposed generator immediately below the proposed dam at The Chute.”
Image 212: The Chute – Proposed Dam Position – Photo by William A. Allen.
Comment by William A. Allen: “Image 212 shows the extreme upstream end of the island at The Chute. The driftwood log has been lodged in its position from the high water levels of spring runoff in May. This log is precisely in the position of the proposed dam. In the foreground is the upper portion of the upper chute angling toward me with most of the river’s flow. In the background underneath the suspended log you can barely see the pool of water on the west side of the island.”
Upper Chute – Clip 209 by William A. Allen:
Comment by William Allen: “Video clip 209 was taken a few steps downstream and shows the upper part of the upper chute.“
Upper Chute – Clip 220 by William A. Allen:
Comment by William A. Allen: “Video Clip 220 is taken from the bend in the river at the base of the Upper Chute. The first part of the clip shows the area of the proposed turbine with the island in the background. The last part of the clip shows the rapids in the middle reach of The Chute flowing past the island on the left as the water approaches the lower chute which does not show in this clip”
Upper Chute – Clip 210 by William A. Allen:
Comment by William A. Allen: “The upper part of The Chute on the Ivanhoe River, at the low water levels of August, is a notch in the bedrock. The notch runs at a sharp angle from the overall direction of flow of the river, thereby forming the upstream side of the island in the middle of the river. This 9 second clip shows the flow along the bottom half of this notch in the area where the turbine is proposed below the dam. At the end of the white water in this clip the flow makes a sharp turn to the left to resume the overall direction of the flow of the river along the east side of the island toward the lower chute which I displayed in my last video clip. I am working upstream here.
This clip is in the same area as the still snapshot (Image 207) that I sent you earlier.
I think it would be extremely dangerous to try to paddle this water in these conditions but I am not a white water expert.
There is lots of white water above The Chute that is easy to paddle and it will all become flat water in the new inundation zone so that’s where whitewater paddler concern likely will focus.
Lower Chute – Clip 183 by William A. Allen:
Comment by William A. Allen – Video Clip 183: ” The 15 second video shows the downstream end of The Chute at low water levels of August. The video is shot from the east bank toward the island in the middle of the river. At the downstream pool there is a large back eddy where fisherman report the best catches. The pattern of driftwood reveals that the back eddies vary with the water level.”
Lower Chute – Images 186 & 188 by William A. Allen:
Image 186: Hung Timber at Bottom of The Chute, Photo by William A. Allen
Image 188: Wear on Hung Timber – The Chute – Photo by William A. Allen
Comment by William A. Allen: “Images 186 and 188 are taken below the high water mark and above the low water mark directly opposite the lower chute. One end is close to the high water mark so we know the log will be wet only at the crest of the spring freshette. The log has been trapped sideways. It is the wear pattern on the log which is interesting. From this we can appreciate the force of the repeated exposure of the log to a succession of spring freshettes. This area is a short distance below the proposed turbine. It I am reading the proposal correctly such boulders are to be removed and replaced with a cement sluiceway. This will result in unknown changes to spray effects, aeration effects, changes in the variability of the position of back eddies and nutrient distribution and that would affect fish feeding and likely spawning too.”
The Chute is a very complex environment that requires much study. The timeline proposed will not allow such study, especially since Xeneca has such … for science as I outline in my letter while citing Dr. John Casselman.”