The SM-3 power project would be cheaper and cause less damage to the environment if Hydro-Quebec didn’t divert water from one of the best salmon rivers in North America, says a study done for the utility.
Hydro-Quebec’s current plan is to divert two tributaries of the Moisie River into the Ste-Marguerite valley. If this isn’t done, says the new study, the size of the reservoir behind the dam would be reduced by 20 per cent—62 square kilometres.
When the Quebec government gave Hydro the green light to go ahead with SM-3 last summer, it asked for a study on whether the Mosie’s tributaries should be diverted. The study was out last month.
“It’s an option,” acknowledged Hydro spokesman Jean-Guy Ouimet in an article in the Montreal Gazette. “Essentially we are proposing to go ahead with the smaller dam and two generating stations.”
