Earthquake upgrades for Vancouver Island dam could cost over $800M
BC Hydro is taking a major step towards seismically upgrading a key Vancouver Island dam.
The energy provider announced it will ask for requests for proposals for a contract to make the massive John Hart dam in Campbell River more safe if a large earthquake strikes.
The project is no small feat.
Construction is expected to run from 2023 until 2029 and cost between $497 million and $822 million.
"The John Hart dam is a key component of BC Hydro’s infrastructure on Vancouver Island," says Chris O’Riley, president and CEO of BC Hydro.
"The upgrades are required to strengthen the dam so that it can continue to operate safely and reliably."
In 2016, BC Hydro was forced to buy out homeowners in the sleepy surf town of Jordan River after discovering its dam above could fail in an earthquake.
Several homeowners were forced to move to higher ground and restrictions have been placed on Capital Regional District land in the area.
A lengthy study found that the Jordan River dam was the most at risk of failure out of all BC Hydro dams in the province.
Repairing damage caused by the potential dam failure would have been so costly it was considered a secondary option to moving the town.
BC Hydro began consultation with community partners and First Nations about the John Hart upgrades back in 2014, but this announcement marks the first major step toward safeguarding the decades-old structure.
The John Hart dam was built in the 1940's. It is about 34 metres tall and more than 800 metres long.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
"It's a bit of a complicated pattern; we've got a lot going on," said Jennifer Smith of the Meteorological Service of Canada in an interview with CTVNews.ca on Wednesday. "[As is] typical with weather, all of these things are related."
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war grows
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.