ig AES AM AL ON OE FRESH TURKEY SALE PROFILE WEDNESDAY, December 1992 1B Under Pre==«:re As they drive by or over Hugh Keenleyside Dam, few people are aware that below them are tunnels that are 1,324 feet below sea level. These tunnels, also known as gal- leries, can on occasion, be a beehive of activity, and this has been the rule, not the exception, since October. If a person were to go below to the galleries today, they would find a geologist and three rotary diamond drillers hard at work drilling holes which will allow piezometers, instruments which measure pressure, to be installed. There are already many piezometers in place. The gauges were installed when the dam was built in 1969, but constant techno- logical upgrading is part of BC Hydro’s safety initiative, and so, some of the older piezometers are now being replaced. Besides installing piezometers, the drillers are also drilling drain holes, which will relieve some of the pressure and excess water. The drillers are also taking core samples of the concrete to collect data which will help determine if the concrete can still withstand enor- mous pressure. Pressure and water seepage are a very normal component of a healthy dam, and Crippen Con- sultants Senior Geotechnical Engineer, Emanual Reyes, is cer- tain Hugh Keenleyside Dam is in good health. "The concrete has perfect bondage, and it is in very good con- dition." Klohn-Crippen Consulting Engineer, Ray Wong is in agreement with Reyes. Wong said the dam is in good health, and adding piezometers will continue to verify that health. “The dam has always been in healthy shape. We're just adding the gauges to make sure they're still performing.” Drillers take concrete and bedrock samples, called core sam- ples, from the inside walls of the tunnels, and the bedrock of the river, These core samples are then subjected to various tests and will reveal important information to the geologist. The drilling team is expected to drill a total of at least one hundred holes, and will be working in the galleries until the end of January 1993. This team is part of BC Hydro’s ongoing effort to perform safety inspections on a regular basis. BC Hydro West Kootenay Pro- duction Area Manager, Rick Larsen, said that safety inspections are an important part of Hydro’s operation. “We have an extensive dam safe- ty program. It is a responsible way to manage a structure like this, we take safety seriously.” Hydro’s safety program includes monthly meter readings, Civil inspections done by a Civil inspec- tor, an annual and comprehensive inspection and also weekly inspec- tions. Larsen said it is important to keep up with technological changes, and BC Hydro is keen on initiating and utilizing new technology. “When we come down here we make sure all the features are still functioning. Look at all the techno- logical advancement over the last year. There will be even more coming up in the next couple of years. We will be upgrading any deficiencies and making design improvements.” Hugh Keenleyside Dam was designed to withstand extreme conditions, such as an carth- quake, and when constructed, it employed a unique construction technique which was judged Cana- da’s outstanding civil engineering achievement in a 1970 competition. The dam was named*is honor of retiring Hydro chairman, Dr. Hugh Keenleyside, who had shouldered chief résponsibility for Columbia MANDARIN ORANGES EDWARDS COFFEE Product ee P ki 3 a of China. Grind. : Bottom left: a Tonto Drilling worker, Frank Kerkhoff, and Rick Larsen inspect a River Treaty power developments. Mr. Keenleyside passed away last Regular, Fine Top left: BC Hydro West Kootenay Production Area Manager, Rick Larsen looks out over Arrow Lakes from the dam's control room. or Extra Fine drilling hole. i Ig a myriad of wires, Tonto Driller, Guy Pouliot, prepares to drill a 300 g pkg. 9 Ib. box CRAGMONT POP @ SHRIMPMEAT Assorted B.C. Flavours. Fresh 12 Pack ea of 355 mL Tins, Plus Deposit. 1.32/ 100 g Above: Engineer, Manuel Reyes, inputs data into a computer. Bottom: Geologists Manuel Reyes (I), and Ray Wong (r), walk a length of a gallery on their way to work. NALLEYS IN STORE BAKERY MasterCard. FRENCH : BREAD Advertised prices in effect at your neighbourhood Castlegar Safeway store. Quantity rights reserved. Some items may not 400 g- be exactly as shown. Story Karen Kerkhoff Photos John Van Putten