Grand Rapids Generating Station

In 1965, Manitoba Hydro began operation of the Grand Rapids Generating Station, located about 400 km (250 miles) north of Winnipeg. The 479-MW dam on the Saskatchewan River raised the level of Cedar Lake–which is part of the Saskatchewan River system–by about 3.5 meters (11.5 feet). The lake became a reservoir covering 3,500 square kilometers (1,350 sq miles). Among other impacts, flooding and erosion of shorelines cause trees to be washed into the river system. The above photos shows the resulting shoreline debris on the Cedar Lake reservoir. Debris prevents animals and boats from accessing the lakeshore. Photo courtesy of Ellen Cook, taken July 2009.

The Cedar Lake reservoir has become a graveyard for the trees that were destroyed when Manitoba Hydro dammed the Grand Rapids. Photo courtesy of Ellen Cook, taken July 2009.

It doesn't matter how many times the shoreline is cleared, the following spring more debris accumulates. Photo courtesy of Ellen Cook, taken July 2009.

Eagles are nesting in spindly little willows on the shores of the Cedar Lake reservoir because the tree they had been nesting in rotted and fell over as a result of water fluctuations. Photo courtesy of Ellen Cook, taken July 2009.

Hydro-impacted shorelines in northern Manitoba

Manitoba Hydro's operations result in unnatural water fluctuations on the entire Nelson River, Manitoba's largest river. Here, a peninsula on Sipiwesk Lake, part of the Nelson system, succumbs to erosion. Each time the water comes up, more soil and trees wash into the water. Photo by Michelle Gunderson, 2002.

An eroding "cutbank" on Sipiwesk Lake. Photo by Nelson Miller, 2002.

The corrosive effects of water fluctuations. This is a typical sight along much of the 3,200 kilometers (1,988 miles) of shoreline on Sipiwesk Lake near Cross Lake, Manitoba. Photo by Will Braun, 2002.

On the murky shores of Sipiwesk Lake–which lies between the Jenpeg and Kelsey Dams–a moose (barely visible–doube-click the image for large view) looks for food. Photo by Steve Daniels, 2000.

A flooded area uppstream of the Jenpeg Dam. Photo by Michelle Gunderson, 2002.

Collapsing shoreline.

Water quality

A plume of silty water can be seen as the shores of Sipiwesk Lake wash away. Photo by Michelle Gunderson, 2002.

Darker, cleaner water from an unaffected stream enters the murky waters of the Nelson River system. Photo by Steve Daniels, 2000.

Darker, cleaner water from an unaffected stream enters the murky waters of the Nelson River system. Photo by Steve Daniels, 2000.

Disappearing islands

Each time the water comes up, more of this island will erode until it is gone. Many islands in the impacted areas have disappeared. Photo by Nelson Miller, 2002.

A disappearing island. Photo by Steve Daniels, 2000.

Visible erosion of an island. Photo by Steve Daniels, 2000.

An "apple core" island at a low water time of year.

Debris

As acres of shorelands erode into the waterways each year, the lakes and rivers become littered with forest debris. Debris clogs fishing nets and half submerged deadheads are a sometimes fatal hazard for boaters.

Debris-littered shoreline. Photo by Nelson Miller, 2002.

Low water

Here, water has receded from an area of Sipiwesk Lake where flooding killed the vegetation. Photo by Nelson Miller, 2002.

The late elder Charlie Osborne surveys exposed lakebed near the Jenpeg Dam. Photo by Jackson Osborne, 2001.

Charlie Osborne next to a beaver lodge that has been left high and dry by receding water. Photo by Jackson Osborne, 2001.

At high water times of the year this dock near the Jenpeg Dam is functional. Photo by Janet Anderson, 2001.

Erosion of burial sites

Many remote grave sites throughout the hydro-impacted region have been washed into the water, despite the fact that it is a criminal offense to disturb human remains. Here, rocks have been placed around this point in an effort to prevent the encroaching erosion from reaching the grave, marked by a cross. Photo by Darrell Settee. Red Rock grave site on Sipiwesk Lake in Pimicikamak territory, 2002.


Late elder Charlie Osborne examines human remains found on the eroding shores of Sipiwesk Lake. Photo by Darrell Settee, 2002.