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:
- 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.
- The woman was already under water, so would drown had she not been immediately rescued.
- 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
- 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.
- The “safety plan” the the proponent has provided creates more dangers than it resolves.
- 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.
- 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.