Yukon Energy will call on the services of the large crane it’s brought up from Alberta to help with a problem that occurred yesterday with the company’s fish screens at the Whitehorse Rapids facility.
The large screens, weighing 1000 pounds each, are put in place each summer to guide migrating fish away from the turbines and towards the fishladder.
Yesterday afternoon, Yukon Energy employees noticed that four of the 32 fish screens had broken away.
“Late yesterday afternoon, and last night, people in the Riverdale area may have noticed the water levels at our facility going up and down quite dramatically,” Yukon Energy spokesperson Janet Patterson said. “In order to locate the screens, we had to first spill as much water as we could from Schwatka Lake, and then close off the water flow. The river was at one point about a third lower than it normally is at this time of year.”
The screens were spotted about a meter from where they had broken away from their shackles.
“We’re now planning to use the large crane that’s in town for our turbine repairs to help us retrieve the screens from the river,” Patterson said. “And because the salmon run has ended, we have permission from Fisheries and Oceans to remove the rest of the screens, so there’s no danger of any more of them coming away from their moorings.”
Patterson said that at least one of the screens is bent, but at this point Yukon Energy doesn’t know how much damage there is, nor if the screens can be repaired or if some or all of them will have to be replaced.
She has a warning for the public. “Last night after we had lowered the water levels, a number of people were walking their dogs on the wet rocks. There were also kayakers in the area. I can’t emphasize enough how dangerous this can be. When we’re dealing with situations like this, we have to raise and lower water levels without warning, and the public must understand it’s unsafe to be in or near the Yukon River at our plant.”
Work to retrieve the screens is expected to take place in the next day or so, as soon as the work on the company’s wind turbine is complete.
Contact:
Janet Patterson
Communications, Yukon Energy Corporation
(867) 393-5333
janet.patterson@yec.yk.ca
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