Save the Bala Falls

On Sunday July 18, 2021 at approximately 5:50 pm a middle-aged woman ended up in the Bala north channel, and was in a panic (others heard her shout “O God, O God”) as instead of being able to swim to the north shore she was swept by the quickly-flowing water to the north side of the upstream safety boom. This flow was greater than she had ever experienced there before, and she was clearly very surprised by this as she was outside of the safety boom, where one would expect  to be safe from dangerous currents. This flow was due to the flow through Swift River Energy’s Bala north dam hydro-electric generating station.

Fortunately, Purk’s Place was open at the time (but would not have been a few minutes later), and all this was witnessed by two very experienced people there, who talked her through what to do.

They heard the woman’s cry for help and could see she was hanging on to the upstream safety boom and did not know what to do:

• She did not know there was a metal structure below the safety boom to assist her moving along the safety boom.
• As noted here, due to Swift River Energy Limited’s non-compliance with their own Public Safety Measures Plan, it would have been extremely dangerous for this woman to attempt to get out of the Bala north channel to the shore closest to her, even though that would be the logical choice.

This is the second time the high flow created by Swift River Energy Limited’s operation of their Bala north dam hydro-electric generating station could have caused a drowning (the first could have caused three drownings, more detail here).

Most of the summer flow through Bala used to be through the south channel, but Swift River Energy Limited’s dangerously-irresponsible operation of this generating station brings this fast flow to the in-water recreational areas.

In 2019 the Council of the Township of Muskoka Lakes has unanimously-passed two Resolutions requesting this generating station not be operated in the summer, but Swift River Energy Limited has chosen to ignore these.

Swift River Energy Limited:

• Has inadequate public safety measures, which do not comply with their own Public Safety Measures Plan.
• Have not demonstrated to affected parties, such as Purk’s Place, the impact of the new dangers created by the flows into their generating station (such as what happens when the station’s operation suddently stops, and the impact on boating at Purk’s Place docks at the various flows the generating station creates).

Swift River Energy Limited’s operation of their Bala north dam hydro-electric generating station has inadequate public safety measures, and is not compliant with their:

• Own Public Safety Measures Plan, and therefore the requirements of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry.
• Approval under the Navigation Protection Act from Transport Canada.
• Approval Environmental Screening/Review report Addendum, and therefore the requirements of the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks.

As detailed below; the education and information provided to the public is inadequate, the warning signs are non-compliant and confusing, the public safety measures are inadequate, and the design of the upstream safety boom is both non-compliant and extremely dangerous as it prevents rather than enables self-rescue.

1) Non-compliance with their Public Safety Measures Plan:

1. Pages 12 and 13 state a horn would be sounded to warn people in hazardous zones. The generating station’s operation causes flows so great that it causes white-water outside of their downstream safety boom (example photograph taken July 15, 2021 here), and the flow is so great at Purk’s Place docks that canoes cannot be paddled away. People outside of the safety booms will clearly be in hazardous zones created by the operation of this generating station, yet there has never been a horn sounded.
2. Page 17 states there would be a “Public Education Plan” which would “Inform the public about the risks and hazards related to the Bala G.S.”. But:
   • When the generating station suddenly shut down recently due to a power failure in the area, the pressure wave which this created travelling upstream in the Bala north channel was so high that it unhooked the dock ramp at Purk’s Place. But there has never been any education provided to prepare for this danger long known to Swift River Energy Limited.
   • There has never been any education of when the flow caused by the generating station is too great for people to paddle canoes from Purk’s Place. There has been no education on what to say to people about this flow to people that wish to rent canoes from Purk’s Place.
   • There has never been any education that the white-water exiting the downstream safety boom would knock someone off a stand-up paddle-board.
   • There has not been any education about whether people can continue to Scuba dive from Diver’s Point or below the Bala north falls, as people have safely done for decades.
   • There has not been any education that there is a rail below the upstream safety boom which could help support people while they hope someone will rescue them.
   • This is all like buying a car and the manufacturer saying “you figure out if the brakes work”. It should not be for the public, one at a time, to figure out the dangers created by trial and error, or death. It is unprecedented to build such a dangerous facilityin the middle of a popular in-water recreational area, yet Swift River Energy Limited has not provided the education and public safety measures required.
3. Appendix A, Sections and Details, states that:
   • The upstream safety boom is to be anchored on the north shore. This has not been done.
   • The floating signs are to be anchored “to ensure that the orientation of the signs can be maintained”. Many of these signs are rotated and their warnings are therefore incorrect and confusing.
4. Appendix A, Plan View:
   • Shows that the north end of the upstream safety boom is anchored on the shore. This has not been done.
   • States that: “Safety boom modified to improve self-rescue”. This has not been done, instead, as detailed below, the design prevents self-rescue.

Self-rescue is an extremely important public safety concept, in this case  the upstream safety boom should be sloped so that as a person moving along it towards shore would be going downstream, so that the assistance of others is not needed.

But a person hanging-on to the north half of the safety boom would not be able to reach shore as:

• They would first encounter the huge concrete-filled rusty steel box which anchors the north side of the upstream safety boom (see photograph below). This has nothing to hang-on to, and it would block people from getting to the north shore, has a gap so people could get pulled downstream south of it, so people would be trapped in an extremely dangerous location rather than facilitating self-rescue. And the upstream floating signs and their anchor chains prevent a boat from getting to the upstream safety boom to rescue someone trapped there.
• The water level is usually higher so this steel box is submerged. So anyone standing on it trying to get to shore, and anyone going to shore from it would have to go around the north end of the safety boom, exposing them to the extreme danger of being swept downstream to their death.

And even if a person could reach the north shore, as you can see below it is steep, covered with sharp rocks (swimmers would not be wearing shoes), and has branches, so many could not get out of the water there (and there’s a fence at the top).

The previous version (which is dated March 2011) of the Public Safety Measures Plan is included in this file (here), and this includes the “Point of No Return” calculation which is used by Transport Canada and by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry. This calculation shows how far upstream of a hazard a safety boom needs to be placed. The calculation valid before the generating station was built (when the downstream hazard was only the Bala north dam) is the last page of this document. This calculation is updated to account for the construction of the generating station here, and this shows that for public safety the upstream safety boom is to be farther upstream. This has not been done.

As Swift River Energy Limited’s Bala north dam hydro-electric generating station does not comply with its Public Safety Measures Plan, it should not be operated during the in-water recreational season.

2) Non-compliance with approval by Transport Canada under the Navigation Protection Act:

As you can see in Transport Canada’s approval:

• The first page states that the work must be: “built according to the plans”.
• These plans follow that first page: Drawings “General Plan View” (page 3) and “Portage Trails, Safety Boom and Habitat, Typical Details” (page 5, “Typical Safety Boom Profile”) both show that both ends of the upstream safety boom are anchored to the shore. This has not been done. Indeed the north end of the upstream safety boom is shown to be anchored at the top of the north shore slope to help someone get to safety, but this too has not been done.

As this work has not been done according to the plans, Swift River Energy Limited’s Bala north dam hydro-electric generating station is not compliant with their approval from Transport Canada.

3) Non-compliance with approval for their Environmental Screening/Review report Addendum, from the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks:

The public rightfully expects that flows outside of Swift River Energy Limited’s safety booms would be safe for in-water recreation. Indeed this was a commitment made by Swift River Energy Limited in Section 6.2.4 and shown in Figure 6.4 of the Environmental Screening/Review report Addendum, as this approval requires that Swift River Energy Limited: “must implement the Project in the manner it was developed and designed, as set out in the Environmental Screening Report”.  Proof this generating station is creating extreme dangers outside of the safety booms includes:

• The three “near miss” incidents, here, here, and here.
• That flow downstream is so great that it creates white-water as it passes by the floats of the downstream safety boom.
• That the sign posted at the portage at the Moon River states: “Danger, no swimming, strong undertow and currents”. This is insane, people often tip out of a canoe when getting in or out of it – and then they’re swimming. It makes no sense to build a portage directly beside the extremely-dangerous tailrace flow of the generating station and then tell people they can’t swim there. The flow down the Bala north falls and Bala south channel is natural so can be seen and judged, but the tailrace flow from the generating station is unnatural, from 25′ below the surface and far below the natural bottom of the Moon River. How is the public to know how far this claimed “No swimming” area extends. Swift River Energy Limited has no right to make this public resource dangerous outside of the safety booms.

This all reeks of inexperience, the standard warning signs on the generating station even have a spelling mistake.

4) The community has long warned about Swift River Energy’s inadequate public safety measures. As summarized in this September 28, 2015 article about the September 1, 2015 Acquatic Safety Audit report:

• “The proposed installation of a hydroelectric generating station adjacent the Bala North Falls dam would create extreme new dangers, to both upstream and downstream in-water recreation.”
• “In whole, this development would create an unusually and extremely dangerous situation, and therefore requires a commensurate level of planning to be presented to agencies, stakeholders, and the public. This process should be started and completed before any construction proceeds, to both ensure it would be practical to implement, and so that any required changes could be incorporated into the design of the proposed station.”

In summary, due to their inadequate public safety measures, it is irresponsible for Swift River Energy Limited to continue to operate their hydro-electric generating station.

The Township of Muskoka Lakes lease for Portage Landing requires that at the end of the lease – which happened on June 30, 2020 – Swift River Energy Ltd. “shall forthwith commence and diligently carry out the … restoration…” . Instead of any work on-site to implement this landscaping plan which is to result in this (that includes a 6′-wide path with a slope down to the water suitable for wheelchairs), we have:

A board with a rusty nail sticking up …

Several places where there is a mystery goo coming out of the ground and draining towards the Moon River …

Other rusty metal sticking out of the ground …

Swift River Energy Ltd. continues to disregard safety and the needs of the community, and has left this public land as bare construction rubble.

This also contravenes Swift River Energy Ltd.’s commitment for their environmental approval that this project: “will not result in any net adverse effects to heritage buildings, structures or sites, archaeological resources, or cultural heritage landscapes” and contravenes the Township of Muskoka Lakes’ By-law 2013-052 which designated Portage Landing under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act which requires the: “Presence of trees, grasses, wildflowers, and other vegetation” and the: “Absence of artificial lighting and buildings”.

Could have drowned three young adults

For over 100 years, Purk’s Place has been just upstream of the Bala north falls, renting canoes and providing other services to the community.

At about 11:30 am on Saturday, June 20, 2020 Bill Purkis’ 27-year-old granddaughter Kathleen was working in the store when her co-worker Trace told her there was a woman submerged under water in the Bala north channel. The woman was being pulled by the current downstream towards the safety boom and a young man was also in the water unsucessfully trying to help the unresponsive woman.

Kathleen asked Trace to call 911 and she immediately dived in to rescue the woman who it turns out was unconscious so would soon have drowned.

Kathleen got the woman to Purk’s dock, and first got herself and then the woman out of the water and onto the dock. The woman started coughing and recovered on her own. But had the proponent’s dangerous hydro-electric generating station been operating faster this could instead have been a terrible tragedy of three young adults drowned:

1. Kathleen had to dive underwater to retrieve the woman so Kathleen could have been; pulled by the force of the generating station’s current below the safety boom, sucked down into the generating station’s intake vortex (see video below), held under water by the tons of water entering the turbine every second, and drowned.
2. The woman was already under water, so would drown had she not been immediately rescued.
3. The young man was also being drawn downstream by the current.

As it was about 10 minutes until the ambulance arrived (and even longer for the OPP to arrive), and as there was no way to immediately get the flow into the hydro-electric generating station stopped, relying on calling 911 (as the MNRF has absurdly suggested) for this emergency would only have resulted in at least one person dead. Kathleen’s immediately diving in to save the woman was the only rescue possible.

Previously-safe areas made dangerous by the operation of the generating station

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry has always considered the Bala south dam to be the main water control structure for Lake Muskoka. The flow through Bala has therefore been mainly through the Bala south channel, with only “leakage flow” through the Bala north channel during the summer.

• That is, the flow has always been far from in-water recreational activities.
• However, as shown here, the operation of the hydro-electric generating station results in most of the flow instead being through the Bala north channel and directly adjacent to; the Township’s public docks, Divers’ Point, and Purk’s Place docks.

The operation of the generating station makes the area more dangerous by bringing the flow through Bala closer to the in-water recreational areas.

While the upstream safety boom is intended to warn people of the danger just downstream, it:

• Is inadequate as it is not far enough upstream of the danger, as detailed here.
• Creates a new danger, as a Coroner has found that the substantial current created by hydro-electric generating stations causes “safety booms” tip boats so that people fall over the top of the safety boom.
• Does not provide any protection for people below the surface, such as was the drowning woman and Kathleen rescuing her. Also, just upstream of the safety boom is Divers’ Point, so called because it is a popular place for Scuba diving for both learning and experienced divers. It is irresponsibly dangerous to build and operate a hydro-electric generating station just downstream from a popular Scuba diving area.

The Township knows the generating station is too dangerous to operate

As detailed here and here, in January 2019 and again in November 2019 the Council of the Township of Muskoka Lakes unanimously passed Resolutions requesting the Province to not permit this dangerous hydro-electric generating station to operate in the summer. Yet the proponent has chosen to operate during the summer.

The proponent’s inadequate attempts to reduce their liability

1. The officers of Swift River Energy Limited include Anthony Zwig, Frank Belerique, Nhung Nguyen and two others. On February 7, 2019 the proponent established a new corporation Swift River Operations Limited, perhaps with the expectation it would be the legal entity responsible for the operations. Tellingly, the only Officer of Swift River Operations Limited is Anthony Zwig; clearly nobody else wants the liability of being involved with the operation of this dangerous facility.
    
2. The “safety plan” the the proponent has provided creates more dangers than it resolves.
    
3. The proponent is misleading the public by claiming run-of-river operation as they are instead required to utilize cycling operation. And they would not warn the public before starting or increasing flow even though such warning has been the MNRF’s past safe practice.
    
4. The proponent has not demonstrated the impacts of the flow and turbulance created by their generating station on the nearby docks and in-water recreational areas.

Operation should not be allowed during the summer

As the proponent has not even tested or demonstrated the impact of the dangerous currents created by the operation of their generating station, we repeat the Council of the Township of Muskoka Lakes’ unanimous Resolutions: That this hydro-electric generating station not be operated from May through October.

For their environmental approval, the proponent committed that: “there will be no change in hydraulics” (see Sections 6.2.2.3 and 6.3.8.1, and Table 6.1 of their 2009 Environmental Screening/Review report).

However, on February 13, 2020 they placed two large steel enclosures into the Bala north channel to anchor their inadequate upstream safety boom:

• The enclosure at the north side is about 4′ wide x 3′ high (highlighted at the red arrow below).
• The enclosure in the centre of the Bala north channel is 10′ wide and more than 6′ high.

As you can see in the photograph below, it took more than one huge concrete mixer to fill these enclosures with concrete.

The problem is these obstructions will reduce the flow capacity through Bala.

That is, the risk of flooding Lake Muskoka has been increased solely for the benefit of a private developer, and contrary to the commitments the proponent made for their environmental approval.