Henretta Creek Reclamation

In December 1990, Fording River Operations completed a detailed Environmental Impact Assessment and Stage I Mining Report for the Henretta Valley area. In December 1991, Fording River Operations was granted its mining and reclamation permit from the Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources. April 1997 marked the completion of mining activities in Henretta Valley. Mining activities required temporary relocation of 1,270 meters of Henretta Creek to enable mining of both sides and below the creek bed. Once mining of Henretta Valley bottom was complete, reclamation of Henretta was completed and the creek was reintroduced into the newly developed Henretta system. The first water flowed through the reclaimed Henretta Creek channel in late 1998 and the first high flow went through in the spring of 2000. A 2007 paper gives an overview of the reclamation project, and a 2010 article gives a revegetation update.

Conclusions made in 2007, following seven years of aquatic studies, confirmed that the Henretta reclaim channel and Henretta Lake reclaimed systems have improved annually since its creation and in particular, Henretta Lake now supports a larger and more productive population of fish than existed prior to mining. Results in 2010 indicated that vegetation was at early- to mid-seral stages on average and showed good growth, vigour, diversity, and natural regeneration since initial seeding and planting. The heavy metal analysis of vegetation tissue found no significant difference between the study site and the control site (no mine influence). A qualitative Proper Functioning Condition (PFC) analysis indicated lotic and lentic areas were functioning properly and showing steady improvement over time. Past aquatic habitat monitoring of water quality and benthic assemblages indicated a healthy aquatic system supporting a self-sustaining Westslope cutthroat trout population. Monitoring and PFC analysis allowed for a critical assessment of the restoration success. Findings will help inform various aspects of all future reclamation activities, while recommendations specific to stream restoration projects include information on channel design and integration of rip rapped banks.