British Columbia's spectacular coastal fjords include Bute Inlet, one of the most impressive fjords in the world. Although best known for eco-tourism in recent years, environmentalists are concerned that proposed hydro generating and water bottling projects are the tip of the iceberg.
Location of Bute Inlet
South of the well-known Great Bear Rainforest, Bute Inlet is 75 kms (47 miles) long, approximately 3.5 kms wide (2 miles), and reaches a depth of 660 metres. The Discovery Islands are home to a variety of skilled eco-tourism operators, who are excellent guides and can provide safe transport from Campbell River on Vancouver Island, or from Quadra Island.
Access to Bute Inlet is by plane or boat only, and boaters are cautioned to use marine charts, make use of local knowledge, become familiar with current tables, and pay attention to weather warnings. Even seasoned locals have great respect for the fierce tidal rapids and strong winds that blow up and down the inlets.
The inside waters north of Vancouver, between Vancouver Island and the mainland of B.C. present a very different experience than the open ocean off the Island's west coast. The entire area is sprinkled with islands separated by narrow channels, resulting in dramatic changes in tide and current and often unpredictable wind.
Environment Rich in Diversity
Coastal British Columbia has become a major tourist destination, with the relatively intact coastal rainforests being a prime attraction. The Bute is among several coastal fjords, with Knight Inlet to the north marking the southern end of the Great Bear Rainforest, where environmentalists and indigenous people have been successful in achieving at least some degree of protection for this diverse ecosystem.
Research has revealed that British Columbia includes greater biodiversity than any other Canadian province. The coastal fjords support ancient glaciers in the mountains, draining into rivers whose mouths flow into the inlet and waterfalls that plunge down bluffs into the salt water. Inter-tidal areas support the grasses essential to grizzly bear diet and the rivers form important spawning areas for species of salmon at risk from over-fishing and logging.
Precious Water for Sale
Today environmentalists are advocating for protection of the fjords south of the Great Bear Rainforest, which are home to healthy populations of grizzly bears, black bears and Pacific coastal wolves .
"Green Power" projects are being encouraged in B.C., and who wouldn't agree with this idea?
The question needs to be asked: what constitutes "Green Power"? Confusion between the provincial and federal governments' environmental assessment practices has provided a temporary reprieve for Bute Inlet, as a myriad of small run of river proposals have fallen victim to the chaos.
It is the number of small projects that has caused the alarm, as in total the proposed 17 small run-of-river facilities would have a monumental impact. Vast granite bluffs and steep mountainsides in Bute Inlet would be the terrain that 216 kms of right of way for transmission lines would be built, creating an extremely negative visual impact and increasing the existing danger of mountain slides. Transmission lines would connect to a substation at the mouth of the Southgate River and then travel 227 kms south via a trunk transmission line to Earl's Cove on the Sunshine Coast of B.C.
With the small, glacier-fed rivers' greatest flow occurring in the summer, when B.C. power needs are the least, some residents wonder why the rush to harness our small rivers? Could California's gargantuan need for air conditioning in the summer be a factor?
Most recently, a rash of proposals to bottle water from glacial streams flowing into the Bute have sprung up. The Canadian Bottled Water Association maintains a list of recommended sources of bottled water, and states that over 75% of bottled water in Canada comes from protected underground streams or from processed well water. Surface water sources such as rivers, lakes, and streams are usually the source of municipal water supplies and are treated for public consumption.
Federal and provincial regulations exist that control the approval of sources and production of bottled water in Canada, and require daily monitoring for quality.
Many people in Canada question the need for selling bottled water, and support protecting our watersheds from exploitation. The North American Free Trade Agreement does not include bulk water unless it is commodified, but environmental legal experts do not all agree that Canada's water is actually protected by NAFTA. Canada currently has 20% of the world's fresh water, with 7% of that being renewable, and our southern neighbours will be thirstier as global warming progresses.
Hazel Trego - Hazel's interests in the environment, current events, and travelling find a voice in her writing, and keep her on a path of perpetual ...
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