White Sturgeon Use of the Brilliant Tailwater Area

Author: Golder Associates Ltd

The key objectives of the white sturgeon monitoring program were: 1) To document and compare information on pre-project uses of the Brilliant tailwater area by white sturgeon (as determined through pre-project monitoring of tagged white sturgeon and observations of white sturgeon use in the BRD Plunge Pool) with use of the area during the final stages of the BRX Tailrace excavation program and post-operation (as determined through an analysis of movements exhibited by sonic tagged white sturgeon). 2) To document white sturgeon use of the BRX draft tubes during regular operations of the facility, during periods of reduced unit discharge, and during periods of unit outages and subsequent start-up by the use of cameras positioned at the outlets of the BRX draft tubes. This report describes the methods used and summarizes the information obtained from the pre- and post-project white sturgeon monitoring programs in the Brilliant tailwater area. These results are compared to provide an assessment of project effects on white sturgeon use patterns in the study area. In addition, the report provides a general assessment of pre- and post-project white sturgeon habitat availability and suitability in the Brilliant tailwater area and an analysis of white sturgeon movements in relation to flow changes from BRD and BRX. This report also presents a synthesis of white sturgeon observations recorded during the videography component, the frequency and timing of white sturgeon observations, and descriptions of white sturgeon behaviour in the draft tube outlets during periods of unit discharge and outages. Where applicable and warranted, these data are integrated with the telemetry data to provide a more complete picture of white sturgeon use of the study area.

See conclusion section in report.

See conclusion section in report.