The Sjønstå River ( no, Sjønståelva, known as the ''Langvasselva'' in its upper course) is a river in the municipality of

Fauske or is a municipality located in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the traditional district of Salten. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Fauske. Some of the villages in Fauske include Nystad, Venset, Straumsn ...

Nordland Nordland (; smj, Nordlánnda, sma, Nordlaante, sme, Nordlánda, en, Northland) is a county in Norway in the Northern Norway region, the least populous of all 11 counties, bordering Troms og Finnmark in the north, Trøndelag in the south, N ...

county,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

. 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'' (Long Lake) to the village of

Sjønstå Sjønstå is a settlement in Norway and was officially a village during a brief time when Sulitjelma Mines carried out activity in the area, 1890 to 1956. Before this time, Sjønstå comprised the Sjønstå farm, which is located on '' Øvervatne ...

, where it empties into '' Øvervatnet'' (Upper Lake) has been developed into the Sjønstå Hydroelectric Power Station. The river has many small tributaries.

Norwegian County Road 830 County Road 830 ( no, Fylkesvei 830) is a road in the municipality of Fauske in Nordland County, Norway. It runs between Finneid, where it branches off from European route E6, and the village of Sulitjelma, where it continues as County Road 543. ...

runs parallel to the Sjønstå River. The

Sulitjelma Line The Sulitjelma Line ( no, Sulitjelmabanen) was a railway line that ran between Finneid in the town of Fauske to the village of Sulitjelma near the border with Sweden.For a history of the line see Bjerke, Thor, "Sulitjelmabanen" (1983, Norsk Jer ...

formerly ran along the river. The drainage system is regulated by many hydroelectric stations. The river is long and has a

drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, t ...

of .NVE Atlas. Norges vassdrags- og energidirektorat.
/ref> The river's average

discharge Discharge may refer to Expel or let go * Discharge, the act of firing a gun * Discharge, or termination of employment, the end of an employee's duration with an employer * Military discharge, the release of a member of the armed forces from serv ...

is . The river gently flows from Langvatnet, but it has some rapids. The only waterfall is located at contour level ,Bjerkaas, Olav. 1989. ''Vassdragsrapport – Sjønståelva''. Oslo: Miljøverndepartementet. 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 Salten Kraftsamband or SKS is a Norwegian power company that operates eight hydroelectric power stations with annual production of 1,770 GWh. Since 1997 the company has also sold power to end-users. Head offices are located in Fauske. The comp ...

: *The Sjønstå Hydroelectric Power Station with an installed capacity of 35 MW and an average annual production of 282 GWh *The

Lomi Hydroelectric Power Station The Lomi Hydroelectric Power Station ( no, Lomi kraftverk or ''Lomi kraftstasjon''SKS produksjon: Lomi ...

with an installed capacity of 60 MW and an average annual production of 362 GWh *The

Fagerli Hydroelectric Power Station The Fagerli Hydroelectric Power Station ( no, Fagerli kraftverk or ''Fagerli kraftstasjon'') is a hydroelectric power station in the municipality of Fauske in Nordland county, Norway. It utilizes a drop of between its intake reservoir at ''Nedre ...

with an installed capacity of 24 MW and an average annual production of 252 GWh *The

Daja Hydroelectric Power Station The Daja Hydroelectric Power Station ( no, Daja kraftverk or ''Daja kraftstasjon'') is a hydroelectric power station in the municipality of Fauske in Nordland county, Norway. It is located about east-southeast of Jakobsbakken. The plant utilize ...

with an installed capacity of 15 MW and an average annual production of 157 GWh In 2013, a concession was requested from the

Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate The Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate ( no, Norges vassdrags- og energidirektorat or NVE) is a Norwegian government agency established in 1921. It is under the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy and regulates the country's water reso ...

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.NVE: Konsesjonssak, Sjønståfossen kraftverk.
/ref> 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.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sjonsta River Fauske Rivers of Nordland Rivers of Norway