Statkraft has asked the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE) to approve a new river management regime for Alta Power Plant. The proposed new regime builds on years of study which concludes that juvenile salmon in the Alta river thrive best when the river is covered with ice. This has been taken into account in the proposed new regime. 

The Alta river rises in the Kautokeino district of Finnmark’s mountain plateau and flows out into the Altafjord at Alta. The river is 160 km long, and comprises a large number of small lakes and slow-flowing stretches. The biggest drop in height is between the mouth of the Virdnejavri lake and the foot of the Svartfossen waterfall. It is this drop which is harnessed by Alta Power Plant.

There are three factors in particular which, directly or indirectly, influence the design of the river management regime on the Alta river (salmon, ice conditions and flood reduction), with salmon and ice conditions being closely linked. The wellbeing of the salmon population is considered to be the most important issue.  

Statkraft’s application for approval for a permanent river management regime is based on the experience it has gained from previous, temporary, regimes. We believe that changes in the management regime over the past four winters have had a positive impact, and that the guidelines for the trial period which the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy stipulated in its letter of 16 July 2002 have been followed up. In short, these guidelines stated that Statkraft should:

• Try out a new tapping strategy to achieve greater ice coverage in the Sautso zone
• Follow up with necessary studies

Temporary river management regime
Construction work started in 1982 and continued until 1987. The power plant went into operation in May 1987. Permission to regulate the river was initially granted for an unlimited period, though the terms of the licence could in general be revised after 50 years, reduced to 30 years following an amendment to the Regulation of Watercourses Act in 1992, ie in 2022. The river management regime from 1979 was made temporary, and subject to revision after being in operation for five years. This was based on recommendations by the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE) which, because of uncertainties relating to ice conditions on the Alta river, wished to have a trial period. The river management regime was valid for five years until May 1992, when a revision was outlined. Statkraft elected, in consultation with the NVE, to await the results of the most relevant studies being conducted on the Alta river before the revision was implemented. A new temporary river management period for the period 1996-2001 was passed by royal decree on 16 August 1996. This was extended for a further four years (2001-2005) by a royal decree of 5 July 2002. The extension was granted in order to allow time to try out other river management methods during the winter period, which could result in greater ice coverage of the river in the Sautso zone.