CAMPBELL RIVER, B.C. – Residents walking along Elk Falls and the Campbell River system will hear a different sound later this week.

BC Hydro is testing out a new public warning siren system for the John Hart hydroelectric facility.

Utilities spokesperson Stephen Watson said they’re replacing the older 360-degree air raid siren sound with a “whooping sound” that is more directional, with the sirens facing upstream or downstream of the canyon or river.

“We’re going to a new system that’s more reliable and a little more directional. It’s identical to the same siren system we put in place in the Puntledge River a few years ago,” Watson said.

“We’re actually ready to test the first two sets of sirens, one by the John Hart Dam this week, Wednesday to Friday, and then another one by Elk Falls next week.”

He said the goal is to provide some awareness for residents, because hikers in the area will hear a new sound, different from the previous warning system.

“These tests will happen and then we’ll be doing some tests to a new siren upgrade at the powerhouse and downstream of Second Island along the Campbell River. We’re hoping by the end of this year, the new system will be (fully) in place,” he said.

Watson said there are no specific times when they will be conducting the tests, but residents should be aware of the new sounds they will hear.

“It will be sporadic, so for people that go up to Elk Falls, and walk around the trails up top there, they will hear it,” he noted.

Watson added that BC Hydro might also install some informational boards to explain the new siren warning system for people walking along the trails.

While the tests are being done, the old system will remain in place to warn people of sudden water flow changes.

The work is part of the final components of the John Hart Generating Station Replacement Project.

The following video clip, provided by Stephen Watson, showcases the siren sound emitted along the water. 

[video width="568" height="320" mp4="https://www.mycampbellrivernow.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/IMG_0200.mp4"][/video]

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COURTENAY, B.C. – It was a wet weekend on northern Vancouver Island.

The showers had an impact on both the Puntledge River and Campbell River. However, the impact was not as major as one might think, according to BC Hydro.

“The change in weather was certainly welcome. The issue is that while it has rained, given how dry things are there’s no real run-off,” said Hydro’s Stephen Watson, speaking on the Puntledge River system in the Comox Valley.

“What little run-off is coming into the Comox Lake reservoir is still small, in comparison to the storms we get in the fall.”

Watson said BC Hydro is still in a water conservation mode, providing flows down the Puntledge River at around 13 cubic metres per second.

“This week, the inflows into the reservoir are not looking to exceed around 13 cubic metres per second, so really we’re still releasing as much water or more than what’s coming in,” he said.

“But certainly this (the rain) is all helping to saturate the ground over time. At this stage, we’ll keep the conservation flows in place and hopefully be able to move up flows later on this month for salmon migration and spawning. We won’t do that until we’re confident that we can maintain those flows well into October.”

TRACKING THE CAMPBELL RIVER SYSTEM

Watson said the Campbell River watershed contains three reservoirs, and all of those reservoirs are low.

“The upper Campbell, Buttle Lake reservoir is certainly two to three metres below normal for this time of year,” he said.

“The river flow is only around 30 cubic metres per second, which is basically the lowest we can run it within our license.”

He said that flow rate would probably stay in place until early October.

“The little bit of rain that we’ve had is still not too much. We’re still kind of releasing more water than we’re getting into the system, but any little bit helps,” he said.

“Ideally we plan to increase flows quite significantly in early October for spawning migrating salmon in the Campbell River system, so we look forward to that rain happening.”

He noted that right now, the bit of rain seen over the weekend has not made a huge difference for Hydro operations around the Campbell River system.

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CAMPBELL RIVER, B.C. – BC Hydro crews have been working hard to observe the flow rates of the Campbell River in light of the extreme heat seen in the region.

“The Campbell River system has come through some dry periods, where we had March, the second driest and May which was the driest on record in terms of lack of precipitation,” said BC Hydro’s Stephen Watson.

He said the snowpack is gone, so crews have been dropping the river flow over time.

“That’s instrumental to the fish out migration as well as we’re looking at reservoir levels for recreation,” he noted.

Watson said the Campbell River is running at about 30 cubic metres per second, and will stay at that rate until about September.

“The upper Campbell reservoir, around Buttle Lake and lower reservoir at McIvor Lake are lower than normal for this time of year, and they’re actually going to go a little bit below what we target for recreation,” he said.

“It’s unfortunate given the lack of water, but for people that go up to those areas, certainly there is recreation that takes place, but the shoreline will be further out so it may be harder to put a boat in the water.”

Watson said it’s been a dry year, and crews are working through that.

He added that there are no specific safety notices in place through the Campbell River system, but advised people to always be careful when in and around water.

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CAMPBELL RIVER, B.C. – The first of three new turbines and generators at the John Hart dam is now online.

The John Hart Generating Station replacement project was first initiated in 2007, with construction beginning seven years later in 2014.

“We had that date of July 21st, 2018 as the target for the first turbine generator to go into service and we just made that date,” said BC Hydro’s Stephen Watson.

“It’s the first of three generators that are now available to BC Hydro to utilize. The next two will come online later on this summer and October. October is the timeline where the new facility is to be commissioned so it’s on schedule and on budget.”

[caption id="attachment_25296" align="alignleft" width="200"] Paul Sawyer from InPower BC, and Stephen Watson from BC Hydro, stand beside the newly commissioned John Hart Generator 3. Photo courtesy Stephen Watson.[/caption]

The project cost is over $1-billion. In April, water was introduced into the 2.2 kilometres of underground tunnels at the John Hart site.

In May, new valves on the downstream side of the John Hart dam, and a new water bypass facility, were put into service.

The new underground powerhouse will take over from the older six-unit generator powerhouse. The new facility will result in a near 10 per cent increase in power output, while using the same amount of water flow.

Watson said it’s been a “massive project”, with the excavation of rocks to create the tunnels and the underground powerhouse cavern.

He noted that was about 300,000 cubic metres of rock.

“We peaked at about 500 people working at the site last June,” he said.

“We’re now down to maybe a few hundred as we move towards the end, but still a lot of focus, with a big focus on safety. We’ve achieved 3.2 million person hours of work without a loss of time accident.”

On September 16th, BC Hydro and contractor InPower BC will co-host a sold out community site event and allow 1,240 people to see the underground powerhouse.

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CAMPBELL RIVER, B.C. - Seismic upgrade work is continuing at the John Hart dam.

BC Hydro crews are moving forward with the design of the seismic upgrade project.

"We're getting close to nailing down the design of the upgrade, so it can withstand a one in 10,000 year earthquake," said utilities spokesperson with BC Hydro, Stephen Watson.

"To fill in some data gaps, we're going to be doing some drilling within the John Hart reservoir, and in around the John Hart dam."

He said that work will begin the week of July 9th and last for about three months.

Motorists driving around the dam, given that the road is now open again, will see some activity, but BC Hydro is not anticipating any road closures.

"We look forward to having this information to fill those data gaps so we can move on with the design, so that we can eventually go through upper management's approval for funding, regulatory processes and potentially start working on seismically upgrading the dam as early as 2021," Watson explained.

The dam upgrade project also includes a new overflow spillway under the road deck at the spillway section of the dam, upgrades to the concrete dam like the deck-pier connection, and a full replacement of the spillway gate works - including gates and the hoist tower structure.

Watson said that the utility has been consulting with First Nations in the area, as well as a liaison committee in the Campbell River region.

"We're moving things along as we can, and as more information is provided, then we'll have a bit of a wider reach," he said.

"We anticipate going to the BC Utilities Commission, maybe around 2020 so there's still some time. We're still moving along here as far as seismically upgrading the dam."

Watson said while this design process is underway, there are no safety notices in effect for visitors to the area.

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Another big move has been made at the John Hart Generating Station.

Crews working at the replacement project shut down Generator 5 as the project nears completion.

BC Hydro spokesperson Stephen Watson says shutting it (Generator 5) down at this time is necessary to commence work inside the substation.

"We're now at a place where we're starting to transition from old to new. To do that, the old generation will feed power supply to the existing substation.

In order to do that, we need to shut down some of the existing units."

Watson says heading into new year, the rest of the generators will be shut down as Hydro aims to complete the project by next fall.

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B.C Hydro is getting set to ramp up flows down Elk Falls Canyon.

Spokesperson Stephen Watson points out this is to accommodate migrating salmon passing through the Campbell River system.

"There's some good fish habitat between the falls and the John Hart Generating Station.

So beginning Tuesday (tomorrow) and Wednesday and the following eight weeks after that, we'll be increasing flows from about four cubic metres per second to seven."

Watson also notes Hydro will be ramping up flows at the Canyon from October 2-6 for scheduled maintenance.

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Things are progressing well on decommissioning the Salmon River diversion.

The process began after local First Nations expressed concern over a lack of concern regarding a lack of Coho, Chinook and Steelhead making their way past the timber crib dam.

That's according to BC Hydro, who've released a report on project updates on Tuesday.

Hydro spokesperson Stephen Watson notes one big accomplishment outlined in the report regards the crib.

"We just had an achievement with the removal of it (timber crib), so now we're in the process of re-contouring the river bed."

Watson points out the next step is to return river flows back to normal.

"Once that's done (re-contouring the river bed), we're going to move the river flows back to that position and then we're going to re-contour and re-mediate the right bank."

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All is running smoothly in the Campbell River system.

The Upper Reservoir/Buttle lake is operating at just over 219 metres, while the Lower Reservoir/McIvor Lake is holding steady at just over 176 metres.

B.C Hydro spokesperson Stephen Watson notes the outlook for the system heading into the summer and fall continues to look good.

"Now we're in the process of drilling into the sub-surface rock plug area."

"We have a nice approach into the new water intake and we'll blast out that rock plug later on in the year."

However, Watson says now, it's time for the tedious work.

"All the wiring that needs to take place, that becomes the focus."

"It's not as glamorous as the other work, but it's just as important."

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