Questions continue on the North Slope failures at Site C – and why no one else seems to be asking any questions.

Never fear I will be back to this blog about the second week of September and fall promises to be a good one with new stories, a new podcast and the updated version of 1oo + reasons the Liberals need to go…

But for now, an update on the North Slope failure and ongoing issues at Site C I first reported here: https://lailayuile.com/2016/07/21/site-c-aerial-photos-show-mess-of-dikeswater-and-slides/

I can’t stress how important it is to read the post linked to immediately above.

If you missed it, July’s heavy rains to the region in a series of storms, played havoc on the north slope of Site C construction, an area already known to have challenging geological factors with soil and clay. The entire area is prone to slides and many have been documented on the slopes of the WAC Bennett dam reservoir, along with other slides of more questionable nature.

Ironically, the exact nature of the geological conditions there are well known and documented as shown in my last post on this, yet here we are, pushing through all this mess to get past the point of no return.

Only the rains haven’t stopped and fall is on its way.

Received August 28th:

Hello.
Two inch rainfall over about 15 hours yesterday. The North bank stabilization area is a lake right now. They are working right in the edge of the bank. If the water broke through their little dikes they would have a real mess on their hands….

No kidding. And it was raining again up there today and supposed to be all week. Autumn is on its way… these contractors will be praying for freeze up just to stabilize the slope until spring if this keeps up.

Here are the photos from July. I hope to have new photos for you shortly.

This mess mentioned briefly by Vaughn Palmer here.  http://vancouversun.com/opinion/columnists/vaughn-palmer-site-c-development-remains-dam-risky

“Still, significant risks remain, as Hydro itself acknowledged in a progress report delivered to the B.C. Utilities Commission last month. The report cites the geotechnical risks of building along that stretch of the river, a longstanding concern in the region and a factor in the collapse of the Peace River bridge at Taylor in 1957.

“Key geotechnical risks” spelled out in one unsettling passage in the report include “unexpected shears encountered during construction; deeper than expected relaxation joints; bedding planes worse than expected; larger than expected deterioration of shale bedrock once exposed during construction; and rock rebound/swell.” Sounds expensive.

Hydro says it has taken steps to mitigate those risks, conducting field trials and pressuring contractors to assume some of the financial burden. It has also given contractors leeway “to respond to unexpected ground conditions, potentially through pre-agreed pricing.” Which would put ratepayers on the hook as well.

Nor are these geotechnical concerns merely hypothetical, as the report went on to disclose: “Events associated with this risk have occurred on the North Bank gulley crossing, where unexpected slope failure occurred. B.C. Hydro has been working with the contractor to provide an engineered solution, and expects to address this issue within available funds. Once the main civil works contract is beginning excavation B.C. Hydro will have additional information about this risk.”

Considering that the latter contract is pegged at $1.75 billion, ratepayers may wish to hold their breath, pending an update.” 

Rains this autumn. Spring thaw. You get the picture and it isn’t pretty. I hate to think what this is costing BC Hydro, which means of course, you and I the ratepayers.

More concerning, why isn’t there more press on this, considering its the biggest public project on the books in Canada? One that more and more, looks to be our Muskrat Falls. 

We need an independent review now. The review that was never done, needs to be done because there is so much evidence Hydro has grossly gone astray. 

I’ve had an incredible summer. Refreshed. Recharged. And ready to go in a couple of weeks.

I hope everyone is ready…  🙂