John Hart Dam seismic upgrade: Up to $822 million, six years of work to help secure island power generation

BC Hydro is seeking bids for a seismic modernization project at the John Hart Dam in Campbell River, which could cost up to $822 million.

“This is an important project for the Campbell River region,” Energy Secretary Bruce Ralston said in a statement Friday. “It will provide benefits to the local economy, public safety and clean electricity generation.”

BC Hydro spokesperson Stephen Watson said a preliminary estimate predicts that more than 600 years of work, with about 100 people working on the site at any one time, is expected within six years of projected construction.

The project aims to modernize the 2,624-foot dam, which was constructed in the 1940s, to meet modern seismic standards to ensure it can withstand a major earthquake. BC Hydro is also planning seismic upgrades on its Ladore and Strathcona dams, as well as within the Campbell River system.

An application for seismic work at the John Hart facility will be submitted to the British Columbia Utilities Commission next week.

The project cost is estimated between $497 million and $822 million. Crown said the numbers would be revised as the plan progresses.

BC Hydro is first seeking proposals for civil work, which represents a lot of work on the ground.

The John Hart generation facility has already been upgraded to current seismic standards.

Another request for proposals for a water discharge gate system is expected to be issued in 2025 or 2026. The sewers regulate the flow of excess water from the dam.

If all goes smoothly, BC Hydro would like to begin the upgrade in 2023 and complete by 2029.

Project plans require new upstream and downstream bulkheads, a downstream gate, crane replacement, a new flood drain, and an additional watertight bulkhead in an earth-filled dam. Waterways regulate the flow of excess water from the dam.

Heavy machinery will be required. About 700,000 cubic meters of land will be removed or moved, enough to fill about 280 Olympic-sized swimming pools.

Bulk organic matter will be dredged from the bottom of the tank. After it is removed, new gravel and rock will enter and compact, Stephen Watson, a spokesman for PC Hydro, said, with ripraps — angled stones used to reduce erosion — placed on the surface slope.

It remains to be worked out whether all dredged material will leave the site or if some will remain in the pen lane excavated in the 1940s. A pen is a tube that carries water from a tank to a generating station. Watson said that decision will be made with the project contractor.

If all the materials were moved off-site, it would require about 36,800 tandem truck trips, especially on Highway 28. About a dozen trucks would operate at the same time, Watson said.

Within six years of construction, Brewster Lake Road, which runs through the dam, will be closed, and a bypass road will be used in its place.

Spill containment measures will be implemented. To keep the tank water clean, two silt curtains will be installed at the bottom of the tank to contain the turbid (turbid) water where the work is going on.

Rory Kumala, president of the Vancouver Island Building Society, welcomed the project but took note of the current shortage of skilled labour.

“It’s going to require a lot of machinery and that’s available. It’s going to be good. We have a lot of capacity to do this work,” he said.

“It’s just – can we find the people? And this is the crystal ball that I can’t quite see.”

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