Peterborough: The Ontario Waterpower Association (OWA) recently announced the release of the “Best Management Practices for the Mitigation of Impacts of Waterpower Facility Construction.” The guide was developed to disseminate practical and current information on recommended practices for proponents of waterpower projects. It will assist people in the waterpower industry in determining how best to construct, rehabilitate or repair a waterpower facility in an environmentally responsible manner. The OWA anticipates that the guide will also be useful to environmental planners and engineers during their day to day decision making, planning and design activities associated with waterpower construction. The guide includes information that can be used in the preparation of specifications and tender documents for waterpower construction.
The Best Management Practices (BMPs) have been designed in a manner such that entire BMPs or portions thereof can be easily incorporated into project tender documents. “Professionals working on waterpower construction sites, including contractors, inspectors and contract administrators as well as agencies involved in waterpower design review and permitting will also find this guide useful as a reference document,” said the OWA.
In addition to the parent document, which provides a summary of each BMP, there are also 38 individual BMPs which are currently nearing the final stages of development and will be published as an accompanying appendix to this document.
Copies of the BMP are available for purchase on the OWA website at www.owa.ca