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The Cowichan pulp mill's lifeblood |
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By Angie Poss
News Leader
Oct 26 2005
Peter Rusland/fil
Water is essential to Catalyst's pulp and paper mill in Crofton. The
mill gets its water from the Cowichan River and is participating in the
Cowichan Basin Water Management Forum to ensure there is a stable water
source for years to come.
Ground up bits of wood slip soundlessly through Catalyst's Crofton mill, borne on a soundless stream of water.
The water takes the pulp through production and helps it form into
paper, acting as both conveyor belt and a crucial ingredient in the
pulp and paper mix.
"For us, water is essential for our operation," said Crofton Division vice-president Don McKendrick.
It was both economic reasons and a sense of community responsibility
that motivated the mill to participate in the Cowichan Basin Water
Management Forum, which brings together everyone with an interest in
the Cowichan River to find ways to better manage the Valley's water
source.
As one of the biggest users of the river's water, the mill has a vested
interest in seeing the river managed well, said Crofton's environment
director Graham Kissack.
"Water is absolutely critical in the production of pulp and paper
products. Imagine moving partially processed pulp and paper around.
Rather than using conveyor belts we use water and convey it in pipes as
a slurry," said Kissack.
The mill uses about 25,000 gallons per minute, which adds up to about 36 million gallons each day - all from the Cowichan River.
It was the river that drew the pulp and paper company to Crofton in the first place.
"It was probably the single largest factor in siting the mill - the
supply of clean, quality water on a year-round basis," he said.
The mill has a licence to remove water from the river but must leave a flow rate of 100 cubic feet per second behind.
Water use at the mill has dropped dramatically over the past 20 years,
with most of those gains in the past five years. The goal is to reduce
water use by another five per cent.
"Compared to the best of the best mills we could probably reduce our water by half," said Kissack.
But the Crofton mill is hampered by old machines and buildings, he
said, likening it to the fuel efficiency of a ten-year-old car.
"What we're always trying to do is upgrade these processes to reduce
our water use," he said, adding if the mill uses less water it benefits
fisheries and recreational users.
It also saves the mill money. Each gallon of water must be pumped 17
kilometres from the river to the mill, treated to remove sediment,
heated, pumped through the mill and treated at the end of the process
to remove any contaminants.
The mill has controlled the weir on the Cowichan River since 1957 and
uses data collected since then to predict future water levels. That job
is getting tougher.
"In the last two to three years we're seeing basically what scientists
have been warning people about - it's the effects of global warming,"
said Kissack.
Changing rainfall patterns mean the process the mill has in place "that has worked in the past has left us stranded."
Dry spring seasons over the past two years mean the lake wasn't full in
May or June - when the water level typically sits above the weir. If
the water drops too low the mill will have to shut down.
One topic the water management forum will have to tackle is whether or
not to raise the weir in an effort to stabilize water flow.
"There's a lot of people with fisheries and biology expertise saying
the river would be better if we raised the weir and you have a lot of
people with planning expertise saying the growth in the Valley is
continuing and we need more water," said Kissack of some of the issues
in the debate.
The mill, he said, is not coming down on one side or another, despite having its hands on the steering wheel.
Instead, the company is looking to the forum to give a recommendation
on what the community wants to do to manage the water source.
"We recognize it is a critically shared resource and what's really
encouraging is the work the group has been able to accomplish," said
McKendrick.
Part of the forum's success will be in how it balances the different
needs of all the people, fish and animals living and working in the
area.
McKendrick is pleased so far with public response.
"It's the best way to come to a planned approach for the future, to
manage the water for all of us. We can't do that alone," said
McKendrick. |
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