John Hart Generating Station

Replacement Project

March 2016

Community Construction Update

Report #33

Prepared by: Stephen Watson, BC Hydro

(O) 250-755-4795 or (C) 250-616-9888

Twitter: @Puntledge Email: steve.watson@bchydro.com

• Powerhouse cavern work continues to progress, with bench 4 well underway and bench 7 beginning in parallel thanks to access from the opened draft tube.

• Bypass inlets off the power tunnel are proceeding with excavation

• Blasting continues in the realigned main access tunnel, currently working with canopy tubes to provide additional support in the area nearest the loose cobble feature that was encountered last year.

• Vertical excavation on the downstream side has reached the elevation of the intake – rock support being installed

• Drilling underway to prepare for blasting on reservoir-side of the dam, with blasting expected to begin by end of the month.

• Work continues on the road accessing the new surge tower location, located adjacent to the trail access to the Suspension Bridge.

Powerhouse cavern excavation. Project

status is work continues to progress on all

fronts.

Details on the community site event will be

provided by May.

Construction Pictures – John Hart Dam Area

3

Mar 30

Construction Pictures – Cofferdam Area

4

Drilling and blasting is underway on the

upstream side of the dam, with blasting

expected to begin at the end of March.

The rock removal will go down in front of

the dam to make room for the

construction of the water intake

maintenance gate.

Construction Pictures – Downstream Work

Area Below John Hart Dam Area

5 Mar 27

Construction Pictures – Downstream of John

Hart Dam

6

The approximate area

where the power tunnel

vertical drop shaft will be

tunnelled out. The shaft

will be 6.5 metres in

diameter.

The vertical excavation on the downstream side

has reached the elevation of the intake to the

power tunnel. The excavated intake area, for the

intake structure, is 26 metres x 9 metres.

Construction Pictures – Surge Tank Area

7

The soils or overburden removal are

nearing completion. The surge shaft

excavation is scheduled to begin in

August.

The surge tank will perform the same

function for the power tunnel as the

three existing white surge towers

currently do in controlling pressure in

the three penstocks.

Construction Pictures – Powerhouse Cavern

8

View from the upstream side of the cavern, looking back to

the service tunnel entrance on the downstream side.

Construction Pictures – Powerhouse Cavern

9

View towards the service tunnel entrance.

Construction Pictures – Powerhouse Cavern

10

As the powerhouse deepens, the service tunnel is now too high for use (right picture).

Rock from the blasts are now all being removed from the upstream side of the

powerhouse cavern: trucks go through the power tunnel and then Adit B, a temporary

construction tunnel, where they then enter the service tunnel to the surface. We are

working on the fourth rock level or bench downward.

11

A perspective of how

far the powerhouse

cavern excavation has

advanced since this

2015 picture.

Construction Pictures – Main Access Tunnel

12

View of the steel canopy

tubes on the top right

corner of the Main

Access Tunnel. InPower

BC is almost through the

low rock cover area and

will then resume full

blasting in the rock mass

along the tunnel

alignment.

Construction Pictures – Tailrace

13

The new tailrace area beside the existing generating station taken from the other side of

the Campbell River, and at top, from the other direction.

Environment Update

14

• Annual owl surveys conducted (reports/details to come) as well as egg mass surveys for red-

legged frogs in wetlands neighbouring the construction project.

• One size doesn’t fit all for spill protection – a specially designed spill tray was created for and

placed under the largest crane at the water intake area. All parked equipment on site is

required to have these trays to protect against any potential spill of fluids.

• Seven red-legged frogs have recently been found. Because it is breeding season, the

exclusion fence around the wetland areas has been opened in places to allow easier access

for frogs looking to lay their eggs.

Egg sacs found for future northwestern salamanders during regular checks on wetlands

next to the project site.

Recent Community Donations

15

1: Support to the Mountain Avian Rescue Society for the

March 2016 Eagle Festival in Campbell River.

2: BC Hydro provided $5,000 to the Campbell River

Salmon Foundation towards their fish restoration projects.

3: We also provided $2,400 to the Campbell River Bike

Park Society to aid in the construction of the new

Mountain Bike Skills Park.

1 2

3

City of Campbell River Water Supply Project

16

• The source of the City’s domestic water supply, the John Hart penstocks, will be removed and

replaced with an underground tunnel. The City and BC Hydro developed a memorandum of

understanding for the City to construct a new and separate domestic water supply system into

the John Hart reservoir.

• In March, the City began working on the next phase of the project (shown below with blue

line) after essentially completing the Highway 28 section last year. In this phase the City

contractor is placing the new water pipe along Brewster Lake Road before eventually moving

off the road and toward the future pumphouse and water treatment building near the reservoir

shoreline. Information on the project can be found at: www.campbellriver.ca/city-

services/capital-improvement-projects.

• The public sometimes confuses the City project as being part of the John Hart hydroelectric

project.

• Please obey traffic control in this area when entering the Elk Falls and John Hart Project

Interpretive Centre parking lot. Access to the parking lot will remain open during this work.

People Profile – Anders Jonsson

Background:

With a Master’s degree in Civil Engineering from Lund University (Sweden),

Anders’ began his career working as a geotechnical engineer before joining

the international construction circuit with Skanska International. He has 19

years of experience in the construction industry including project management

positions with hydro power and transportation projects – most recently on the

Brilliant Expansion in BC and Calgary West LRT project.

Home:

Anders grew up in Gothenburg on the west coast of Sweden before moving to

Lund (southern part of Sweden) for university. He moved to the West

Kootenays, BC, in 2003 for project work and has since called Canada home.

While he’s in Campbell River for day-to-day project work, his primary

residence is in Calgary where he lives with his wife, two kids (7 year old, boy

and girl, twins) and two dogs.

Hobbies:

He enjoys spending time with his family, playing golf, fly-fishing, skiing or just being outdoors.

Project Responsibility:

As the Deputy Site Manager for SNC-Lavalin, Anders has a responsibility to oversee site operations through coordination and management of subcontractors, and liaise with BC Hydro and other stakeholders to ensure smooth execution of the project work.

“I truly enjoy working on the John Hart project not only for the beauty of Campbell River and its surroundings but also for being part of building something that matters and makes a difference in peoples lives.”

About Anders

Construction – Point Of Interest

Hydrophones monitor blasting.

Each month, BC Hydro and InPower BC will provide a construction

fact, occurrence, or situation.

With blasting underway next to the Campbell River the

project is ensuring that resulting vibrations don’t harm

fish:

• Two hydrophones have been installed in the river, 1.5

m apart in depth, next to the tailrace area;

• Extensive calculations are conducted in advance of

the blasting to ensure that the planning is accurate

and protects the adjacent river;

• Hydrophone results, which measure the pressure

travelling through the water as a result of blasting,

are monitored and recorded;

• No blasting has come anywhere near the DFO limits

– with up to 100,000 Pa allowed and only 8.6 Pa

being the highest recorded to date; and

• Hydrophones like these ones in the river (shown on

right) have been installed in the reservoir as well, with

blasting now underway at new water intake next to

the John Hart dam.