IMPACTS / RIVER
Because Russell Biomass will draw water from the Westfield River to be used in cooling our plant, significant study has been devoted to determining potential impacts on the river and its ecology. Given the significant flow in the river these studies have shown that our impact on river flow and water temperature will be negligible and that our operation will have no negative effect on fish populations.
Some data to consider
The maximum volume of water we will withdraw from the Westfield River is 1.37 cubic feet per second. That's just 4.2 percent of the 10-year low flow number (32 cubic feet per second) used by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection to assess whether there would be significant impacts. Put another way, the 10-year low flow level is 24 times the peak water withdrawal we will require.
To put the plant's water use in context begin with the fact that, the Westfield River flow averages 634 cubic feet per second over the course of a year. In the spring, the river's flow swells to almost 1,700 cubic feet per second. Our withdrawal of 1.37 cubic feet per second is less than one quarter of one percent of average flow and less than one tenth of one percent of the typical springtime flow. Further, it is no more than eight percent of the river flow on the lowest single flow day in the almost 100-year recorded history of the Westfield River.
Scientific analysis required by DEP shows that the water returned to the river by Russell Biomass will increase the river temperature near the point of discharge by our site by ¼ of one degree on average and never by more than 2 ½ degrees on the coldest winter day. DEP standards allow variation of up to 5 degrees in the discharge area. To put this into perspective note that the river's natural seasonal temperature fluctuation over the course of a year is 40 degrees. So the greatest impact our plant will ever have will be 50 percent of what the DEP says is acceptable and just 2 1/2 percent of the change in temperature that nature itself affects.
Because the Westfield River is a salmon migration route and includes important fish habitats, our plant design must conform to strict government standards. Water will not be discharged near any protected habitat area. And our possible impacts on aquatic life in the river have been studied closely, with the conclusion that there will be no measurable effect on fish populations.