Dam Breach

Dam Breach

Construction of the Elsie Dam on the Ash River was completed in 1958 and the Ash River Generating Station entered service in 1959. As part of its Dam Safety Program, BC Hydro conducted a review in 1999 and, based on current earthquake design standards, upgraded Elsie Dam to enhance dam safety during a major earthquake. BC Hydro has shared information with the ACRD including a list of residential areas that might be affected due to a dam breach.

As BC Hydro does not assume any responsibility for warning the public of the emergency or responding to the emergency as it impacts the public, including evacuation, the ACRD takes on these responsibilities.

Response to a major dam breach may include use of the tsunami warning system, 93.3 the Peak, social media feeds and door to door notification to alert residents in the inundation areas.

The Stamp River Dam is located in a constriction in the outlet channel from Great Central Lake. The original dam was constructed around 1925 and the present dam configuration is the result of works in 1957 that included raising the dam and constructing a fish ladder.

Responsibility for the above stages rests with the local RCMP at the beginning of the response. The Alberni Valley Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) will assume the coordination of the incident response as soon as possible.