BC Hydro has successfully completed the construction of the earthfill dam at the Site C project, marking a major milestone in the Canadian project.
Rising approximately 60m tall, the dam stretches over one kilometer across the Peace River, and its base measures about 500m wide.
The Site C project has been designed and constructed in adherence to international and Canadian safety standards, ensuring its resilience to withstand a major earthquake with a return period of one in 10,000 years.
Construction of the earthfill dam commenced in 2021, and it involved placing 16 million cubic meters of earthfill material. The majority of this material was sourced directly from the dam site itself, while some portions were obtained locally offsite and transported to the dam via a 5km-long conveyor belt.
With the earthfill dam now complete, the focus shifts to the next steps, which include capping the structure and establishing access roads for crews to navigate once the project becomes operational.
The completion of the earthfill dam represents a pivotal prerequisite for filling the Site C reservoir, a process targeted to commence in the fall of 2023. However, several other key project areas still require completion, including the approach channel, spillways, tailrace area, dam intake structures, and certain components of the powerhouse.
Of equal significance for reservoir filling is the conversion of one of the existing tunnels responsible for diverting the Peace River around the project site. This process, currently underway, entails the installation of constrictions, large ring-shaped devices, within the tunnel to control the water flow.
The Site C project broke ground on July 27, 2015, and it continues to maintain its schedule, with all six generating units anticipated to be operational by 2025.
Image from the Site C Earthfill Dam B-Roll (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVCbHZm1zhY)
