Sudden water-level drop has Mactaquac residents calling for better notice from NB Power

When the water level in the Mactaquac headpond unexpectedly dropped by more than a metre, it caught a lot of people off guard.

"My boat is trapped," saidJean Paul Arseneau in Lower Queensbury.

Arseneau keeps his boat on a lift to protect it from waves. But when the water level dropped, theboat was stranded.

"It's sitting on alift upin the air, it takes about three feet of water to take it down," said Arseneau. "And there's not a foot of water, soyou can't put it down."

About fivekilometres downriver from Arseneau's stranded boat, theMactaquacSailing Association was also caught by surprise.

Association co-founder Guy Herbertsaid he showed up at the marina one day to find some sailboats stuck in the mud.

"We had a couple of boats aground," said Herbert."It's a bit of a problem for us."

According to NB Power spokespersonDominiqueCouture, the headpondreceded because of dry conditions and the loweringof the waterlevel for maintenance on theMactaquacDam, about 20 kilometres west of Fredericton.

In a tweet, NB Powersaid that if water levels get below a depth of 128 feet (about 39 metres) the Crown corporation will notify boat and dock owners "as per protocol."

But according to NB Power last year, that 128-foot mark will likely never be reached.

Phil Landry, the executive director of generation and engineering at NB Power, said the utility would not allow waterto reach that level because of the risk of air being pulled through the system, causing a vacuum in the pipes flowing to the turbine.

"If you created a vacuum strong enough in that system it could cause some damage, so we wouldn't ever go below 128," said Landry in an interview with Information Morning Frederictonon July 30, 2020.

People living along the Mactaquac headpond call for better warnings when the water drops

3 years ago

Duration 1:34

Sudden drops in water levels above the Mactaquac Dam west of Fredericton have beached boats, stranded sailboats, and left docks dry.

Arseneau andHerbert said they haven't received such a notification about water levels dropping this year, or in any other year. They saidthe water this June were just as low, if not lower, during last summer's drought, but neither got a warning from NB Power.

Arseneau has lived on the headpond fornearly 20years. Herbert has been sailing with the association for more than 40.

Both men said there needs to be abetter warning systemfrom NB Power.

"Lots of people would have appreciated a heads-up," said Carol Chase. She and her husband own an RV camper at Everett's Campground in Lower Queensbury.

The falling water level caught herneighboursby surprise. They found their boat sitting on the rocks. Once it wasfreed,they asked Chase if they couldmoorit on herdock as itextended farther into the water.

"I don't remember the last time it really went that low," said Carol Chase.

Chase also saidshe hasnever received a heads-up from NB Power about low water levels.

CBC News asked NB Power several times about the specifics of the process of warning residents about low water levels, and whether there was a warning systemfor sudden drops even if above the128 footlevel. NB Power did not respond.

Last year saw similar water levels, but those low levels were recorded in late July as opposed to mid-June this year.

Residents are concerned the low levels may become a persistent problem and are arguing for better information on from NB Power, and elimination ofthe128-foot standard for warnings.

"From my point ofviewyou need to do that way, way, way before that," said Arseneau."If you go up and down ... the river whenit'slikethis,you'll see boats just sitting on the rocks.

"You know it's scratching up the fibreglass and potentially doing terrible damage to them."

He said if there werea website or even regular tweets for a forecast of low water levels, people in the areawould learn to check for them often.

"Social media is free," saidArseneau. "You could do a bulk email to people. You could bulk text people.It'snot expensive to notify people."