{"id":56045,"date":"2020-12-17T09:55:41","date_gmt":"2020-12-17T14:55:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/olduvai.ca\/?p=56045"},"modified":"2020-12-17T10:03:53","modified_gmt":"2020-12-17T15:03:53","slug":"why-site-c-construction-should-stop-today","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/olduvai.ca\/?p=56045","title":{"rendered":"Why Site C Construction Should Stop Today"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Why Site C Construction Should Stop Today<\/a><\/h3>\n

The BC government has failed in its oversight role, say a former BC Hydro CEO and a veteran dam engineer.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n

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\"SiteCDevelopment.jpg\"
Construction on the Site C powerhouse continues despite known geotechnical risks.\u00a0Photo: BC Hydro.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n
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Site C is the most expensive publicly funded infrastructure project in British Columbia\u2019s history and the dam\u2019s construction is being spearheaded by BC Hydro, a publicly owned hydroelectric utility whose sole shareholder is the provincial government.<\/p>\n

That ought to mean that our elected leaders and civil servants place the highest priority on keeping on top of everything that goes on at Site C, because ultimately all British Columbians must pay for the project.<\/p>\n

But there is an even more compelling reason why our government must be fully and effectively engaged on this project. All dams built in British Columbia must, by provincial statute, be designed, built and maintained to the highest safety standards.<\/p>\n

Dams do not fail often. But when they do, the losses\u00a0can be devastating<\/a>. Which is why B.C.\u2019s dam safety regulation is in place, and why it falls to engineers and dam safety officials employed by the provincial government to ensure that all dams built in the province have structural integrity.<\/p>\n