What We Heard

Last fall, we asked for your input during the final round of public engagement on the proposed Southern Lakes Enhanced Storage Project. This project would help us generate more electricity using water each winter, and reduce the use of fossil fuels. 

Thank you to everyone who attended a community meeting, participated in the phone and online survey, and provided comments. 

In our last round of public engagement, we found that:

  • Yukoners want more renewable electricity.
  • Property owners and Yukoners care deeply about the impacts of the proposed project on the environment, property and First Nations lands and activities.
  • More than half (57%) of Yukoners support the option of increasing the amount of water we store in lakes during fall and early winter in order to produce more renewable electricity.
  • 62% of Southern Lakes property owners, 77% of Whitehorse residents and 61% of residents in other Yukon communities said they could support the Southern Lakes Enhanced Storage Project if we can demonstrate that the project would have minimal effects on the environment.
  • 67% of property owners we have contacted about possible mitigation solutions for erosion or groundwater on their property were not satisfied.

You can read the full What We Heard Report below.

10 years of research has shown us that:

  • Storing more water in the Southern Lakes is a cost-effective way of generating more renewable electricity, and would result in us burning less diesel and liquefied natural gas (LNG).
  • Storing 30 cm more water in the Southern Lakes in the fall and using an extra 10 cm of bottom storage in the spring would have minimal effects on fish, wildlife, waterfowl and wetlands in the project area.
  • Shoreline erosion and longer durations of seasonal high groundwater caused by the project can be addressed with appropriate mitigation.