Sjønstå River


The Sjønstå River is a river in the municipality of Fauske in Nordland county, Norway. The river is located in the valley between the town of Fauske and the village of Sulitjelma.

Geography

The Sjønstå River is the main river of the Sulitjelma drainage system. The stretch from its source at Langvatnet to the village of Sjønstå, where it empties into Øvervatnet has been developed into the Sjønstå Hydroelectric Power Station. The river has many small tributaries. Norwegian County Road 830 runs parallel to the Sjønstå River. The Sulitjelma Line formerly ran along the river. The drainage system is regulated by many hydroelectric stations. The river is long and has a drainage basin of. The river's average discharge is.
The river gently flows from Langvatnet, but it has some rapids. The only waterfall is located at contour level, where the river runs through narrow sections with steep hillsides. The river has been seriously affected by pollution. After the Sjønstå power plant was built, large quantities of water flowed from Langvatnet down to Øvervatnet, and this has led to less pollution. The lower part of the river supports salmon and has a permanent population of trout.

Hydroelectricity

There are several hydroelectric power stations on the river operated by Salten Kraftsamband:
In 2013, a concession was requested from the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate to build the Sjønstå Falls Hydroelectric Power Station. It is planned to have an intake at at the existing threshold in the river. The installed capacity will be about 2.7 MW. According to the plan, the average annual production will be 7.3 GWh. The development will create a further reduction in water flow on a stretch of the Sjønstå River. The planned release from the plant is a minimum of in the summer season and in the winter season.
There are also plans to create the Lappland Hydroelectric Power Station, which, if it is realized, will change the flow of water in the Sjønstå River significantly by drawing large quantities of water from Swedish watercourses into Norway.