Traveling Troubled Water Before Manitoba Hydro flooded Southern Indian Lake—as part of the massive Churchill River Diversion—it was home to the second largest whitefish fishery in North America. It was also home to the thriving Cree community into which fisherman Les Dysart, pictured, was born. (Map here.)

35-year Slump Decades after Manitoba Hydro first raised the water by three metres, much of the shoreline of the 90-mile-long Southern Indian Lake still looks like this. The fishery is decimated.

Lurking Countless trees wash into the lake creating hazards for boaters. This log is relatively visible, but many are not. Wood debris also wrecks fishing nets. Hydro no longer offers compensation for nets or boats damaged by their debris.

Non-renewable Island This is part of an island split in half by erosion from flooding and water fluctuations. Manitoba Hydro calls its energy renewable, but much of the damage it causes is irreversible. This island is not coming back.

Disappearance Here are both halves of the island shown in the previous photo. Soon they’ll be gone, like many others on hydro-affected lakes. In the boat are some members of a delegation from the University of Manitoba.

Homeland Les Dysart and his father William are both life-long fishers and hunters. To Hydro, the lake is a reservoir. To them, it is home; a home “sacrificed” for the sake of cheap power.

‘Clean’ energy Hydro boasts of clean energy. Les Dysart laments a tragic legacy to pass on to his kids.

Fuel Source At least a quarter of the water that will flow through the recently approved Keeyask dam will come from Southern Indian Lake (map here). Hydro’s “new era” dams plug directly into the damage shown in these photos, and the 800 square kilometres of flooding caused by Churchill River Diversion.

De-watered (Before) Where Southern Indian Lake empties into the Lower Churchill River, the Missi Falls Control Structure blocks most of the flow (map and description). Hydro holds water back in the lake so it can divert it southward to the big dams when needed. As a result, areas downstream of Missi Falls—areas used by the Cree—are “de-watered,” as pictured.

Flushed (After) The same location as the previous photo (note clothesline) after Hydro released a torrent of water from the lake in July 2014. Due to rain and the fact that Hydro had allowed the lake to get too high, it was forced to release water. Even so, it admitted violating the allowed levels of flooding on the lake.

Before Another before-and-after set from the Lower Churchill River. These photos were taken by Lora Baker, a Councillor for O-Pipon-Na-Piwin Cree Nation (South Indian Lake), in an area where she grew up and where her family still fishes commercially and pursues the land-based life.

After The sudden release of water damages docks, equipment and, of course, wildlife. It could have easily been prevented if Hydro had kept lake levels lower to allow a buffer for rainfall. Similar flushing also happened in 2005 and 2010.

Fighting for a Fishery In a 2013 article, fisherman Steve Ducharme said government should stop granting Hydro annual permission to deviate from the licence terms originally set out. These deviations occur with no formal regulatory process or oversight. Ducharme says a return to the actual licence terms would ease the tremendous stress on the lake and allow partial recovery of the fishery.