A tragic kayaking accident occurred on the La Grande Canyon of the Nisqually on December 2, 2000. Chris Ringsven became pinned in his boat in a rapid referred to as Hammer Slammer. Detailed accounts of the accident and rescue are circulating online at Boater talk http://boatertalk.com/HyperNews/get/BT/22254.html.
American Whitewater is conducting an investigation of the accident that lead to Chris Ringsven's tragic death on the Nisqually. Charlie Walbridge, Safety Editor for American Whitewater, is heading up the investigation. Charlie has been conducting whitewater accident reports since 1974.
For many boaters present on the Nisqually that day, the past week has been a difficult one filled with emotion. We all regret that this accident occurred. Although Charlie or myself did not know Chris personally, our contacts this week with friends and family indicate that he was truly a remarkable person.
The Nisqually has been a highly publicized whitewater restoration success story. In the relicensing phase there was considerable resistance to whitewater releases into the La Grande Canyon of the Nisqually due to access difficulties, perceived risks, and liability concerns. American Whitewater felt the access and whitewater difficulties were no different than those encountered by paddlers on free-flowing rivers. American Whitewater felt that, ultimately, the decision to paddle the La Grande Canyon should be made by individual boaters not a utility or a federal agency. In the new license, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) requird Tacoma Public Utilities conduct a three-year evaluation of whitewater releases. FERC required the utility to provide four weekend days scheduled between November 15th and December 15th annually.
Many boaters, concerned that the recent accident will terminate whitewater releases, have indicated their desire to provide input on the future of whitewater releases on the Nisqually River. American Whitewater welcomes this input. We feel it's important in the aftermath of this accident to obtain all the information we can about this specific incident and the future of whitewater releases into the La Grande Canyon of the Nisqually. A thorough report can help the boating community be better informed about the hazards on the Nisqually, Hammer Slammer rapid in particular, a review of risks associated with boating Class IV-V whitewater, and a review of rescue techniques for all of us placed in a similar situation. It's only logical that the whitewater releases on the Nisqually will be heavily scrutinized. American Whitewater feels this scrutiny is warranted. However, we do not feel the accident should result in an immediate decision to terminate future whitewater releases on the Nisqually prior to results from the accident report.
For the past three years boaters participating in the scheduled releases have completed surveys evaluating the quality of the Nisqually. These responses along with other information have been filed in annual reports to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. This marks the third and final year of reporting to FERC. American Whitewater, Tacoma Public Utilities, and FERC will make a determination on the future of whitewater releases on the Nisqually. This accident will factor into that decision.
For those of you that have paddled the La Grande Canyon of the Nisqually during one of the scheduled releases in the past three years please take the time to respond to the questions below. Your statements can provide valuable input for this third year of the report. Your statements will also provide valuable input regarding the risks associated with whitewater paddling as we continue working to obtain releases on other rivers where dams regulate flows for whitewater recreation.
· How many times have you boated the La Grande Canyon of the Nisqually?
· Please rate the difficulty of the La Grande Canyon of the Nisqually using the international scale of whitewater difficulty.
· Do you think whitewater releases should continue on the La Grande Canyon of the Nisqually?
· Do you have a preference for when whitewater releases should occur on the La Grande Canyon of the Nisqually? (please indicate by calendar month)
· 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 rivers rated 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: <cminer@digisys.net>
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 effort by American Whitewater to get an annual schedule of whitewater releases in the bypass channel for Washington's La Grande Canyon, a 1.7 mile spectacular Class IV and V river with its headwaters located on Mount Rainier. Prior to this license condition, and except for dam maintenance and flood conditions, the LaGrande Canyon had been dewatered since 1912, the year the dam was built.
As a result of the relicensing proceeding, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) ordered Tacoma Public Utilities (TPU) to release whitewater flows of 800 and 1000 cfs on four consecutive weekend days between November 15th and December 15th annually. TPU has worked with American Whitewater each year since 1998 to schedule the weekends for these releases. Due to concerns over access and a pre-conceived lack of demand for this whitewater resource, the FERC required an initial three year monitoring study in this 30 year license. This year marks the third year of that study. After each release boaters are asked to complete a short evaluation form to document their experience on the run. Results of the evaluation form are the basis for reports submitted to FERC. Based on the recommendations in the final report, FERC will issue a decision regarding whitewater releases for the remaining 27 years in the project license.
Whitewater boating in the La Grande Canyon has been highly regulated by TPU. Boaters must sign a waiver prior to entering the canyon. During the first year of the releases, boaters were required to watch a video of paddlers running each rapid in the canyon. This was not required in years two and three because some of the rapids had changed dramatically during a flood in the winter of 1997.
In 1998, seventy-seven boaters paddled the canyon. In 1999, use dropped to nine paddlers. This year the combination of a phone reservation system and lack of paddling opportunities elsewhere lead to an increase in use with sixty-four paddlers entering the canyon.
For more background about the La Grande Canyon of the Nisqually and American Whitewater's efforts in the relicensing process visit http://www.americanwhitewater.org/archive/article/97/ and http://www.americanwhitewater.org/archive/article/96/.
Big Picture
American Whitewater's conservation program has successfully opened numerous Class I through Class V river sections dewatered by hydropower operations. Utilities are typically reluctant to open Class IV and Class V reaches for whitewater recreation due to perceptions of risk and exposure to liability. Most states have recreational use statutes that protect private landholders such as utilities from liability. American Whitewater also works with utilities developing release waivers and educating the boating public about the difficulty of a particular run so paddlers can make an informed decision prior to electing to boat a run.
Unfortunately some entities may attempt to use this tragic accident as evidence that whitewater is an inherently dangerous activity. In reality, many of these entities are searching for reasons not to allow whitewater flows since most whitewater releases cause them to forego power generation. The data reveals that the greatest number of deaths at hydropower facilities occur on project reservoirs but few if any utility operators propose to drain the reservoirs to eliminate this risk. Likewise, the accident on the Nisqually should not trigger a universal cessation of whitewater flows at all hydropower projects with Class IV-V whitewater nor should American Whitewater cease their efforts to open new runs. The tragic accident certainly warrants introspection and careful thought regarding which rivers to focus our efforts. In the long run this will ultimately make our conservation program stronger.
American Whitewater just completed a five-year study to determine the risk of drowning from whitewater boating (available online at http://www.americanwhitewater.org/archive/article/29/). We collected use data from 30 whitewater rivers of various difficulties from across the country. The result: less than 1 fatality per 100,000 whitewater participants. While whitewater boating does have risks it is far less dangerous than many other activities. In fact, the study finds that the fatality rate for whitewater recreation is 15 times lower than driving and twice as safe as bicycling. It is also much safer than recreational boating as a whole.