The image below (higher-resolution image here) uses colour-coding to show the speed of the water which would exit the proposed hydro-electric generating station in Bala. This colour-coding is:
- The image provided by the proponent in their environmental screening report Addendum (which is the last image in their appendices, it is an 8 Mbyte file)
- Here superimposed on an aerial photograph to show where this fast water would be relative to the base of the north falls.
So instead of this fast water entering the Moon River 250′ away through the south channel, the fast water would be just metres away from the base of the north falls where for over 100 years, families have splashed and played in the water. And during much of the summer, the proponent would be required to cycle the generating station off and on every day, so one would never know if the station is running, or not, or when the fast water will start.
And this fast water would have whirlpools, undercurrents and everything else that would drown and throw people out to the middle of the Moon River, making attempts to assist or rescue them even more difficult and dangerous.
This is insanity. This proposed generating station would be a fatal accident waiting to happen. The Ministry of the Environment says the proposed project can go ahead because there’s already a tiny “No Swimming” icon (along with one indicating “No Fishing”, what’s that about) way up on the red sign on the north dam so people shouldn’t be in the water anyways. Oh, and there’s a “No Boating” icon and a “Don’t play on the beach” icon too (really there is, click here to see a close-up), does that mean nobody can use a boat or touch the shoreline either, how far does one have to be to ignore this sign, the icons are already unreadable at the base of the north falls.
This is risk to families and in-water recreation, risk to the area’s tourism, risk to the proponent, and risk to their investors.
Who is going to have the good sense to stop this.
