The river has been greatly altered as a result of the Kemano Power Project, which diverts water from the Nechako River basin to the Pacific Ocean in order to provide power for an Alcan aluminium smelter in Kitimat. In the early 1950s Kenney Dam was built on the Nechako River a short distance upriver from the Cheslatta-Nechako confluence, creating the Nechako Reservoir. A long tunnel was blasted through the Coast Mountains, connecting the Nechako Reservoir to a hydroelectric powerhouse at Kemano. Transmission lines were built to carry the electricity to the Alcan company town of Kitimat, which was also built in the 1950s. In 2007 Alcan was bought by Rio Tinto Alcan, which runs the Kemano Power Project today.