A spokesman for BC Hydro says a six year project to make the John Hart Dam able to withstand a major earthquake is moving along quite well.
It’s been one year to the week (July 10, 2023) since seismic upgrades started and Brewster Lake Road was closed to traffic.
In an interview with Vista Radio, Stephen Watson says the first three years of the six year project is focused on building berms and water barriers, known as civil work.
Watson says the water seepage barriers on either side of the 800-meter dam was a project milestone and it was “very challenging” work.
“Either side, upstream and downstream sides of the dam, are basically there in place to hold those two water seepage barriers in place. So we’re widening the dam to give it the ability to withstand that shaking and keep those water seepage barriers in place,” Watson said.
The barriers are in addition to an existing barrier.
During this first phase of civil work, Watson says roughly 100 workers are on site and that will be the average over the next year. As of the end of April, there’s been 243,000 hours of work put it at the site with no loss-time accidents, he said.
The second phase of the project will be installing new spillway gates and hoist systems.
He says BC Hydro is working closely with the City of Campbell River to ensure drinking water quality is protected, given the city draws its water from the John Hart reservoir.
“We’ve had no issues at all so that’s great for water quality for domestic water as well as fish habitat.”
Watson says the $922 million project, which is a joint venture between Aecon Group and EBC General Partnership, is on time and should be completed by 2030.
“So lots of local jobs and subcontractor work. I think a year in, time flies, but lots of good things are happening and continue to take place at the site.”
At nearly a billion dollars, the Campbell River project is second largest in cost to Peace River’s Site C project.
“It’s pretty fascinating work, it’s complex work.”
Without the upgrades, forecast models by BC Hydro show an earthquake strong enough to knock you off your feet would inundate the city with water within an hour if the dam were breached.
You can see more project updates on the BC Hydro’s website.
