The hydro-mechanical stability of soil

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Canada relies on hydroelectricity as source of clean and renewable energy. Canadian engineers are world-leaders in the innovative design, construction and performance monitoring of hydroelectric dams. Our competitive-edge is based on understanding the “health” of existing dams, and use of that knowledge to inform decisions on dam safety and risk management. Knowledge-transfer from long-term stewardship of critical dam infrastructure also informs best-practices for tailings impoundments in the mining sector and flood protection works in the municipal sector. The WAC Bennett Dam near Fort St. John, British Columbia, was the largest embankment dam in the world when constructed nearly 50 years ago. It has an estimated net-worth of five billion dollars. The proposed research investigation arises from a major sinkhole incident at the Bennett dam in 1996. The research involves laboratory testing and companion fieldwork. The laboratory investigation will advance our understanding of hydro-mechanical influences on seepage-induced internal erosion in soil, yield a database of soil behaviour to guide the development of improved engineering practices, and verify the potential of two promising methods for “health” monitoring of earth dams. A companion field investigation at the site of the Coursier dam near Revelstoke in British Columbia, which experienced a number of sinkhole incidents and was decommissioned in 2003, will yield invaluable soil samples for testing as a part of the laboratory investigation. The anticipated outcomes of the work are (i) advances in a science-based understanding of seepage-induced erosion in earth dams, and (ii) innovative methods for its detection that will inform national and international guidelines on dam safety and risk management.