River Diversion Projects on the Kipawa Watershed are a bad Idea

10 Reasons Why These River Diversion Projects are a Bad Idea - Just say NO! to the Tabaret and Temiskaming Projects.

Though these projects are in competition with each other:

1) The Algonquin Indian's Temiskaming Project and Hydro Quebec's Tabaret drastically reduce the water available in the Kipawa watershed.


2) Both Tabaret and the Temiskaming project will eliminate the aquatic ecosystem of the Kipawa River.The Temiskaming project plan involves the diversion of water that would otherwise flow down a 16-km section of the Kipawa River from its natural streambed through outflow from Lake Kipawa at Tee Lake. Tabaret proposes to dig an entirely new outflow in the middle of a proposed Quebec National Park leaving a stark environmental footprint.

3) Both Tabaret and the Temiskaming Project will adversely impact existing tourism operations and eliminate future tourism potential.

4) Both Tabaret and the Temiskaming project are designed to maximize power generation at the expense of all other uses.

5) River-diversion, such as either Tabaret or the Temiskaming project, both taking large amounts of water out of a river’s natural streambed and moving it to another place, is destructive to the natural environment.


6) The Kipawa River has been designated a protected greenspace in the region with severe limitations on development and yet has been left out of the proposed Quebec National Park - Opemican. This lack of designation underscores the general lack of ecological, historical and natural heritage value placed on the Kipawa river by hydro developers and the importance of protecting it from the Tabaret and Temiskaming diversion projects which will eliminate those values.


7) If necessary, there are other, smarter and more reasonable options for producing hydro power onthe Kipawa watershed. It is possible to build a low impact generating station on the Kipawa river, and manage it as a “run-of-the-river” station, making use of natural flows while maintaining other values,with minimal impact on the environment.

8) The Kipawa watershed is a rich natural resource for the Temiscaming Region, reasonably close to large urban areas, with huge untapped potential for tourism and recreation development in the future. Both the Tabaret and Temiskaming river diversion projects will severely reduce this potential.

9) Neither the Temiskaming nor the Tabaret projects provides long-term economic benefit for the region through employment. The stations are normally automated and remotely operated.

10) The Kipawa River is 12,000 years old. The river was flowing free thousands of years before any people came to the Temiskaming region. Both the Temiskaming and Tabaret projects will change all that.