BC Hydro offering to buy 11 homes due to seismic threat

WATCH: Keith Baldrey discusses BC Hydro’s report with Sonia Sunger

The risk of a seismic hazard at BC Hydro’s Jordan River dam is so great that the crown corporation is offering to buy 11 homes that lie downstream from the site.

“The dams are safe,” says Chris O’Riley, executive vice-president for development at BC Hydro. “At the same time, we want to work with communities and improve the emergency preparedness of the communities and the people who live downstream.”

Jordan River is one of three sites, along with Campbell River and Bridge River, that have seen an increase in hazard, BC Hydro says. A six-year, $10 million study conducted by BC Hydro concluded the seismic hazards for dams in the Lower Mainland have stayed the same, while those on the Peace and Columbia rivers have decreased or remain stable.

Overall, BC Hydro owns and operates 79 dams at 41 sites across British Columbia.

“We’re very proud of the report. In general the message is good,” says O’Riley.

BC Hydro says three sites may be riskier than previously thought, and they now have a better understanding of ground movements that could take place during an earthquake, along with the threat of a tsunami following an earthquake further impacting those sites.

In response, BC Hydro is lowering the maximum reservoir level at Bridge River’s LaJoie dam by 16 metres. They’re also in the process of spending $700 million on upgrades to dams around Campbell River, including the John Hart and Ladore dams.

O’Riley says the report should remind everyone to make preparations in case a long-anticipated massive earthquake occurs near British Columbia.

“We all live in a seismically active part of the country, and we all need to be prepared.”