Puntledge River

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Puntledge River
Data
location on Vancouver Island in British Columbia ( Canada )
River system Courtenay River
Drain over Courtenay River  → Gulf of Georgia
origin Puntledge Lake
49 ° 29 '3 "  N , 125 ° 21' 26"  W.
Source height approx.  590  m
Association with Tsolum River to Courtenay River Coordinates: 49 ° 41 ′ 59 "  N , 124 ° 59 ′ 52"  W 49 ° 41 ′ 59 "  N , 124 ° 59 ′ 52"  W

length 49 km
Catchment area 586 km²
Discharge at the Courtenay
A Eo gauge : 583 km²
Location: 4 km above the estuary 		MQ 2000/2016
Mq 2000/2016
 		41 m³ / s
70.3 l / (s km²)
Left tributaries Browns River
Flowing lakes Forbush Lake, Willemar Lake
Reservoirs flowed through Comox Lake
Small towns Courtenay

The Puntledge River is a 49 km long river in the central east of Vancouver Island in the Canadian province of British Columbia .

River course

The Puntledge River has its origin in the approximately 590  m high Puntledge Lake in the center of the island. From there it flows through a heavily forested hill region in an easterly direction. On the upper reaches are the smaller lakes Forbush Lake and Willemar Lake . Below Willemar Lake , after 15 km, the Puntledge River turns north and after another 4 km flows into the southern end of Comox Lake . On the northeastern shore of the lake, the Puntledge River leaves Comox Lake. It flows another 14 km in an easterly direction before it unites on the northern edge of Courtenay with the Tsolum River to form the Courtenay River . After another 3 km, this flows into Comox Harbor , an estuary on the east coast of Vancouver Island.

Hydrology

The Puntledge River drains an area of ​​586 km². The mean discharge is 41 m³ / s. The wettest time in the catchment area is between November and January. Until July, the river carries high outflows due to the thawing snow. August and September are the months with the least rainfall.

Fish fauna

In the river system of the Puntledge River there are u. a. the following fish species: silver salmon , king salmon , pink salmon , ketal salmon and sockeye salmon as well as steelhead trout and cutthroat trout .

Use of hydropower

In 1912, Canadian Collieries (Dunsmuir) Ltd. established a hydroelectric power station on the Puntledge River to provide electricity for the coal mines in the Cumberland area. In 1953, the BC Power Commission took over the power plant and renewed and enlarged the system (discharge dam, pressure line, power plant house) until 1955. The new power plant has four times the output and is intended to supply households in the area with energy. BC Hydro has owned the facility since 1962. Further modernizations took place in 1982. Since the 1950s, BC Hydro and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans have partnered with improvements for the migratory fish of the Puntledge River. In 1993, a fish grate patented by George Eicher was installed at the inlet of the power station canal. Today, according to BC Hydro, 98% of young salmonids safely pass the drainage dam.

The runoff of Comox Lake has been regulated by a barrier structure since 1913. This is to avoid extreme flow conditions (high water and low water) in the lower reaches of the Partridge River. There is a drainage dam 4 km downstream. The 5.1 km long pressure line to the power plant branches off at this point. This is on the right bank of the river, 3.8 km above the mouth. The installed capacity is 24 MW. Around 60% of the water volume is diverted to the power plant. The rest of the water flows over Nymph Falls and Stotan Falls in the natural river bed.

Web links

Commons : Puntledge River  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b c Government of Canada: Historical Hydrometric Data Search Results: Station 08HB006
  2. ↑ a b c Puntledge Power Station, Canada . www.sustainablehydropower.org. Retrieved March 22, 2018.
  3. ^ Puntledge River - The Fisheries Problems associated with the power development of the Puntledge River (PDF, 5.2 MB) Dept. of Fisheries, Canada, Vancouver, BC. October 1958. Retrieved March 22, 2018.
  4. ↑ a b c d Puntledge River . BC Hydro. Retrieved March 22, 2018.
  5. ↑ a b Puntledge River Hydroelectric System: Overview (PDF, 1.8 MB) BC Hydro, Power smart. November 16, 2015. Accessed March 22, 2018.