A tragic kayaking accident occurred on the La Grande Canyon of theNisqually on December 2, 2000. Chris Ringsven became pinned in hisboat in a rapid referred to as Hammer Slammer. Detailed accounts of theaccident and rescue are circulating online at Boater talkhttp://boatertalk.com/HyperNews/get/BT/22254.html.
American Whitewater is conducting an investigation of the accident thatlead to Chris Ringsven’s tragic death on the Nisqually. CharlieWalbridge, Safety Editor for American Whitewater, is heading up theinvestigation. Charlie has been conducting whitewater accident reportssince 1974.
For many boaters present on the Nisqually that day, the past week hasbeen a difficult one filled with emotion. We all regret that this accidentoccurred. Although Charlie or myself did not know Chris personally, ourcontacts this week with friends and family indicate that he was truly aremarkable person.
The Nisqually has been a highly publicized whitewater restorationsuccess story. In the relicensing phase there was considerableresistance to whitewater releases into the La Grande Canyon of theNisqually due to access difficulties, perceived risks, and liability concerns.American Whitewater felt the access and whitewater difficulties were nodifferent than those encountered by paddlers on free-flowing rivers.American Whitewater felt that, ultimately, the decision to paddle the LaGrande Canyon should be made by individual boaters not a utility or afederal agency. In the new license, the Federal Energy RegulatoryCommission (FERC) requird Tacoma Public Utilities conduct a three-yearevaluation of whitewater releases. FERC required the utility to providefour weekend days scheduled between November 15th and December15th annually.
Many boaters, concerned that the recent accident will terminatewhitewater releases, have indicated their desire to provide input on thefuture of whitewater releases on the Nisqually River. AmericanWhitewater welcomes this input. We feel it’s important in theaftermath of this accident to obtain all the information we can about thisspecific incident and the future of whitewater releases into the La GrandeCanyon of the Nisqually. A thorough report can help the boatingcommunity be better informed about the hazards on the Nisqually,Hammer Slammer rapid in particular, a review of risks associated withboating Class IV-V whitewater, and a review of rescue techniques for all ofus placed in a similar situation. It’s only logical that the whitewaterreleases on the Nisqually will be heavily scrutinized. AmericanWhitewater feels this scrutiny is warranted. However, we do not feel theaccident should result in an immediate decision to terminate futurewhitewater releases on the Nisqually prior to results from the accidentreport.
For the past three years boaters participating in the scheduled releaseshave completed surveys evaluating the quality of the Nisqually. Theseresponses along with other information have been filed in annual reportsto the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. This marks the third andfinal year of reporting to FERC. American Whitewater, Tacoma PublicUtilities, and FERC will make a determination on the future of whitewaterreleases on the Nisqually. This accident will factor into that decision.
For those of you that have paddled the La Grande Canyon of the Nisquallyduring one of the scheduled releases in the past three years please takethe time to respond to the questions below. Your statements can providevaluable input for this third year of the report. Your statements will alsoprovide valuable input regarding the risks associated with whitewaterpaddling as we continue working to obtain releases on other rivers wheredams regulate flows for whitewater recreation.
·How many times have you boated the La Grande Canyon of theNisqually?
·Please rate the difficulty of the La Grande Canyon of the Nisqually usingthe international scale of whitewater difficulty.
·Do you think whitewater releases should continue on the La GrandeCanyon of the Nisqually?
·Do you have a preference for when whitewater releases should occur onthe La Grande Canyon of the Nisqually? (please indicate by calendarmonth)
·Would you boat/return to boat the La Grande Canyon of the Nisqually?
·What steps do you think could be taken to avoid accidents in the future?
·Should American Whitewater continue to work on releases on riversrated Class IV? Class V?
·Your comments on risks associated with the whitewater boating.
Please forward your response to John Gangemi
Postal address:
John Gangemi
482 Electric Avenue
Bigfork, MT 59911
Email:
Thank you for your response. Your input is very much appreciated.
Background on the Nisqually Whitewater Releases
The releases are the outcome of a six year hydropower relicensing effortby American Whitewater to get an annual schedule of whitewater releasesin the bypass channel for Washington’s La Grande Canyon, a 1.7mile spectacular Class IV and V river with its headwaters located onMount Rainier. Prior to this license condition, and except for dammaintenance and flood conditions, the LaGrande Canyon had beendewatered since 1912, the year the dam was built.
As a result of the relicensing proceeding, the Federal Energy RegulatoryCommission (FERC) ordered Tacoma Public Utilities (TPU) to releasewhitewater flows of 800 and 1000 cfs on four consecutive weekend daysbetween November 15th and December 15th annually. TPU has workedwith American Whitewater each year since 1998 to schedule theweekends for these releases. Due to concerns over access and apre-conceived lack of demand for this whitewater resource, the FERCrequired an initial three year monitoring study in this 30 year license. Thisyear marks the third year of that study. After each release boaters areasked to complete a short evaluation form to document their experienceon the run. Results of the evaluation form are the basis for reportssubmitted to FERC. Based on the recommendations in the final report,FERC will issue a decision regarding whitewater releases for theremaining 27 years in the project license.
Whitewater boating in the La Grande Canyon has been highly regulatedby TPU. Boaters must sign a waiver prior to entering the canyon. Duringthe first year of the releases, boaters were required to watch a video ofpaddlers running each rapid in the canyon. This was not required inyears two and three because some of the rapids had changeddramatically during a flood in the winter of 1997.
In 1998, seventy-seven boaters paddled the canyon. In 1999, usedropped to nine paddlers. This year the combination of a phonereservation system and lack of paddling opportunities elsewhere lead toan increase in use with sixty-four paddlers entering the canyon.
For more background about the La Grande Canyon of the Nisqually andAmerican Whitewater’s efforts in the relicensing process visithttp://www.americanwhitewater.org/archive/article/97/ andhttp://www.americanwhitewater.org/archive/article/96/.
Big Picture
American Whitewater’s conservation program has successfullyopened numerous Class I through Class V river sections dewatered byhydropower operations. Utilities are typically reluctant to open Class IVand Class V reaches for whitewater recreation due to perceptions of riskand exposure to liability. Most states have recreational use statutes thatprotect private landholders such as utilities from liability. AmericanWhitewater also works with utilities developing release waivers andeducating the boating public about the difficulty of a particular run sopaddlers can make an informed decision prior to electing to boat a run.
Unfortunately some entities may attempt to use this tragic accident asevidence that whitewater is an inherently dangerous activity. In reality,many of these entities are searching for reasons not to allow whitewaterflows since most whitewater releases cause them to forego powergeneration. The data reveals that the greatest number of deaths athydropower facilities occur on project reservoirs but few if any utilityoperators propose to drain the reservoirs to eliminate this risk. Likewise,the accident on the Nisqually should not trigger a universal cessation ofwhitewater flows at all hydropower projects with Class IV-V whitewater norshould American Whitewater cease their efforts to open new runs. Thetragic accident certainly warrants introspection and careful thoughtregarding which rivers to focus our efforts. In the long run this willultimately make our conservation program stronger.
American Whitewater just completed a five-year study to determine therisk of drowning from whitewater boating . We collected usedata from 30 whitewater rivers of various difficulties from across thecountry. The result: less than 1 fatality per 100,000 whitewaterparticipants. While whitewater boating does have risks it is far lessdangerous than many other activities. In fact, the study finds that thefatality rate for whitewater recreation is 15 times lower than driving andtwice as safe as bicycling. It is also much safer than recreational boatingas a whole.