Mica Dam Safety Review ‣ TULLOCH

Mica Dam Safety Review

Location: Revelstoke, BC
Discipline: Engineering
Markets: Energy

Completed: 2019

TULLOCH performed a Dam Safety Review for the 244-metre high Mica Dam, the tallest dam in Canada and the second tallest in North America. As the Owner’s Engineer, we performed a comprehensive safety review of the dam and dam systems. Our services included site inspection and engineering assessment of the dam and appurtenant structures, evaluation of the existing instrumentation systems, review of flood and earthquake studies, review of historical design, dam safety studies and action plan recommendations.

Mica Dam is a hydroelectric earth-fill embankment dam located on the Columbia River approximately 137 km north of Revelstoke, B.C.

Supporting structures that form part of Mica Dam consist of a concrete-lined spillway chute and flip bucket, a gated spillway inlet structure, 1080MW underground powerhouse, intake structure, six penstocks and two discharge tunnels. Mica Dam was built as one of three Canadian projects under the terms of the 1964 Columbia River Treaty and is operated by B.C. Hydro. The reservoir created by the dam is Kinbasket Lake. Water from the dam flows south directly into Revelstoke Lake, the reservoir for the Revelstoke Dam.