Mica Dam
| Mica Dam | |
|---|---|
Mica Dam is a
History
Mica Dam was constructed by BC Hydro as part of three projects, along with
Mica Dam was operational on March 29, 1973.
The underground
The Mica powerhouse delivers its power to Nicola
The creation of Kinbasket Lake submerged parts of the Big Bend Country, a subregion of the Columbia Country. This included a number of small communities along the Big Bend Highway, and the eastern section of that route.[1] Also, the Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) line ran along the Columbia Valley from Donald to Beavermouth. Consequently, west of Donald, CP diverted the line to a higher elevation, which required constructing four new bridges and a 336-metre (1,102 ft) tunnel.[11]
Mica Dam was built to provide 8.6 km3 (7 million acre-feet) of water storage as outlined in the Columbia River Treaty, plus another 6.2 km3 (5 million acre-feet), referred to as "non-Treaty storage". Since 1977, BC Hydro and the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) have made a series of long and short term agreements for using non-Treaty storage. Negotiations for a new long-term agreement began in 2011. If implemented, it would manage non-Treaty storage until 2024.[12]
Climate
Climate station located just south of Mica Dam at an elevation of 579.10 metres (1,899.9 ft).[13]
| Climate data for Mica Dam | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 7.5 (45.5) |
11.0 (51.8) |
12.8 (55.0) |
23.5 (74.3) |
32.5 (90.5) |
35.6 (96.1) |
36.1 (97.0) |
37.8 (100.0) |
29.5 (85.1) |
20.5 (68.9) |
14.4 (57.9) |
7.7 (45.9) |
37.8 (100.0) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | −2.6 (27.3) |
−0.4 (31.3) |
4.3 (39.7) |
10.2 (50.4) |
18.0 (64.4) |
21.8 (71.2) |
23.9 (75.0) |
23.5 (74.3) |
17.1 (62.8) |
8.7 (47.7) |
1.3 (34.3) |
−2.6 (27.3) |
10.3 (50.5) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −4.9 (23.2) |
−3.4 (25.9) |
0.5 (32.9) |
5.0 (41.0) |
10.9 (51.6) |
14.8 (58.6) |
16.7 (62.1) |
16.2 (61.2) |
11.4 (52.5) |
5.3 (41.5) |
−0.5 (31.1) |
−4.5 (23.9) |
5.6 (42.1) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −7 (19) |
−6.3 (20.7) |
−3.4 (25.9) |
−0.3 (31.5) |
3.7 (38.7) |
7.7 (45.9) |
9.4 (48.9) |
8.8 (47.8) |
5.6 (42.1) |
1.7 (35.1) |
−2.3 (27.9) |
−6.3 (20.7) |
0.9 (33.6) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −33.9 (−29.0) |
−28 (−18) |
−23.3 (−9.9) |
−11.5 (11.3) |
−3.9 (25.0) |
0.0 (32.0) |
1.0 (33.8) |
−0.5 (31.1) |
−4.4 (24.1) |
−13.5 (7.7) |
−26 (−15) |
−37.2 (−35.0) |
−37.2 (−35.0) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 184.4 (7.26) |
110.1 (4.33) |
107.0 (4.21) |
77.8 (3.06) |
64.0 (2.52) |
70.2 (2.76) |
90.1 (3.55) |
78.0 (3.07) |
67.4 (2.65) |
144.1 (5.67) |
200.7 (7.90) |
180.1 (7.09) |
1,373.9 (54.09) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 30.5 (1.20) |
26.6 (1.05) |
59.0 (2.32) |
73.1 (2.88) |
64.0 (2.52) |
70.2 (2.76) |
90.1 (3.55) |
78.0 (3.07) |
67.4 (2.65) |
137.0 (5.39) |
98.9 (3.89) |
25.8 (1.02) |
820.5 (32.30) |
| Average snowfall cm (inches) | 154.0 (60.6) |
83.5 (32.9) |
48.0 (18.9) |
4.6 (1.8) |
0.1 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
7.1 (2.8) |
101.8 (40.1) |
154.3 (60.7) |
553.4 (217.9) |
| Source: Environment Canada[13]
| |||||||||||||
Pumped storage
Kinbasket Lake above Mica Dam normally has unused capacity to store water and Revelstoke Lake below the dam has minimal storage capacity. A proposed
See also
- List of largest power stations in Canada
- List of generating stations in British Columbia
- List of dams in the Columbia River watershed
- Hydroelectric dams on the Columbia River
- Revelstoke Dam
- Keenleyside Dam
References
- ^ a b c d "Mica Dam". Virtual Museum. Archived from the original on June 29, 2019.
- ^ "Columbia River Treaty: Detailed Operating Plan for Canadian Storage" (PDF). Columbia River Treaty Operating Committee. Columbia River Treaty 2014/2024 Review. June 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-02-21. Retrieved 2015-01-05.
- ^ a b BC Hydro (December 12, 2015). "Mica Projects February 2015 Update" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on January 16, 2020.
- ^ BC Hydro (2014). "Columbia Region". Archived from the original on 2015-01-04. Retrieved 2015-01-03.
- ^ "Mica Units 5 and 6 Projects: Project Update August 2011" (PDF). BC Hydro. August 2011. Retrieved 2012-08-25.[permanent dead link]
- doi:10.14288/1.0368788. Archived from the originalon February 15, 2020. Retrieved April 28, 2020.
- ^ "Columbia River Basin Clickable Map". United States Army Corps of Engineers. Archived from the original on 2015-01-05. Retrieved 2015-01-04.
- ^ "Mica Dam". IBEW Local 993: Northern BC & The Yukon. 7 October 2015. Archived from the original on April 29, 2020. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
- ^ page 3, Kelowna Capital News, December 29, 1976, "New Generators, Boost in Mica power scheduled in 1977"
- ^ "Mica Dam and Kinbasket Lake". Northwestern Division. Retrieved 2024-02-28.
- ISBN 0-919487-15-7.
- ^ "BPA and BC Hydro seek new long-term water storage agreement". Bonneville Power Administration. Archived from the original on 26 July 2011. Retrieved 27 May 2011.
- ^ a b "Mica Dam". Canadian Climate Normals 1981–2010 (in English and French). Environment Canada. 31 October 2011. Retrieved September 28, 2015.
- ^ Hatch (December 2010). "Pumped Storage at Mica Generating Station" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on December 16, 2017. Retrieved April 28, 2020.