PEHDZEH KI/WRIGLEY - Wrigley resident Tim Lennie said he's not alone when he wonders where the water in the Mackenzie River has gone.

Lennie, chief of the Pehdzeh Ki Dene Council, said this has been one of the rainiest years he can remember, yet the water level in the river does not reflect the amount of precipitation in the area.

"With the amount of rain we've had, we usually see a fluctuation of the river going high," he said. "This year it hasn't been like that, even with the amount of rain."

Though there were no statistics available specifically for Wrigley, 76 mm of rain fell in Fort Simpson in August compared with almost 95 mm in 2009, according to Environment Canada.

"We're just wondering where the water disappears to," said Lennie.

He added some people believe another factor is playing a part - the Bennett Dam at Peace River and other human activities are affecting the water level.

"It also has to do with the dams and other development upriver," Lennie said. "That really brings the water table down."

But Dave Conway, community relations manager for BC Hydro, said the dam itself is not to blame, but the bodies of water that feed its lake.

"Inflows into the Williston Reservoir, which is the lake behind the Bennett dam, and all tributaries downstream are at some of the worst inflows we have seen since we've had an operation on the Peace River," he said. "So the water coming in is extremely low, record lows."

Conway said all water flowing into the Peace River is low this year.

"If you go downstream, every single river that flows into the Peace River... they're all at pretty close to historic lows," he said.

BC Hydro is performing operations at the dam in accordance with its water licence, Conway also said.

"The key things I would say to people is we are operating the reservoir as we have been for 40 years," he said. "We are operating within our water licence."

The amount of water BC Hydro is licensed to discharge into the Peace River is between about 283 cubic metres per second to about 2,000 cubic metres per second, Conway said.

To put those numbers into perspective, Conway said current inflows into the reservoir are only between 600 and 700 cubic metres per second.

"So you're looking at inflows at the present time that are extremely low for this time of year and they've been that way all summer," he said.

The amount of water being let in and out of the dam cannot be changed without requesting permission from the Comptroller of Water Rights of British Columbia, he said.

"The flow will vary in there, but we can't put in any less and we can't put any more in unless we get permission from the Water Comptroller of B.C. and that's a very rare occurrence to do that," he said.

"We certainly have not had that happen this year."

A lack of precipitation in the south accounts for the lower than normal water levels in the rivers and streams that feed Northern rivers, Conway said.

"We don't believe it, we know it," he said when asked if be believed a lack of rain was playing a part.

"There is no water there."

Conway said he has worked in the North for three decades and has never seen water levels so low.

"When I pass the rivers, they are the lowest I've seen them in 30 years," he said.

Lennie said melting permafrost might be augmenting the problem. Rainfall is now soaking into the ground instead of flowing into creeks and rivers.

Lennie said he and other community members have also noticed thinner ice conditions and warmer winters.

"Especially the last couple winters, the ice hasn't been as thick as it used to be and there is no more extreme cold," he said.

No matter what causes are contributing to a lack of water, Lennie said one thing is for sure.

"It's all man-made, all the problems right now," he said.

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