Thread by @Lidsville

We've got new aerial photos of #SiteC. They're hard for non-experts to read, so here's what to look for. Photos of the north bank continue to illustrate the porous nature of the sprayed-on shotcrete as the orange water stains show - water is coming through everywhere. 1/x #bcpoli

To review: why is water a problem at #SiteC? Because there's no bedrock. Dam is being built on a very unusual type of shale mud that seems hard as rock when dry, but when exposed to water becomes something else entirely, swells and becomes a loose gumbo with no shear strength...

Here's a closeup of the area that will be right under the dam, where it will cross the river & intersect this north riverbank. This dam core area is being excavated & will be filled with fill. It's very wet & shows signs of moisture entering from the gravel seam up the bank.

One of the concerns experts have raised with us is water getting under the dam, an occurrence that has caused some notable dam failures in the past. How deep will the replacement fill be? The substrate is weak shale so...4/x

This closeup shows a "wash" - water draining down bank. Seems small, but notice trucks for the scale - that's crews trying to repair it. And recall the instability of this shale bank when wet. Endless attempts to control water & erosion at #SiteC are costing us. #bcpoli 5/x

If you read the recent @AHNnewspaper story on progress at #SiteC you may have noticed it stayed away from any discussion of the north bank, focusing on south bank activities & work inside the river diversion tunnels. No mention of cost of the rush either alaskahighwaynews.ca/site-c/diversi…

@AHNnewspaper For reference, here's my prior thread on #SiteC dam erosion, with aerial photos from earlier in September.

It's amazing to us that BC Hydro is boasting about increased # of workers & round the clock work as if the rush & money aren't a sign of failure.

https://twitter.com/Lidsville/status/1169021458200322049

@AHNnewspaper Here's a west-facing shot of #SiteC, which shows the man-camp perched at the top of the north bank and also clearly shows pooling of water in the bench excavations all the way down. Plus CU. Again, that water is not safe on this material. #bcpoli

@AHNnewspaper Again, that Alaska Highway News puff piece? Seems Hydro's @sitecproject contractors took press out for a tour as a pre-emptive strike because our side has been illustrating too graphically how they are losing control of the N. Bank. And one final thing... #SiteC

@AHNnewspaper @sitecproject On #SiteC safety in the article: "We tell all our folks that you have the right to do a safety stop...It's a really good culture these days."
THIS RUNS 100% COUNTER TO INTEL WE GET FROM THE SITE, as recently as last week, & from multiple sources.
#bcpoli alaskahighwaynews.ca/site-c/diversi…

Some experts advising us just laughed when I asked them about this claim from #SiteC that any worker can call a safety stop. One just said 'HA! He'd be hauled out by the neck and on the bus! Working 24/7/365 on this dam, as they say, there's no time for stuff like that!' #bcpoli

....Thanks to artist Bill Horne for his riff on the Danger signs you see around the #SiteC dam site, and for his very accurate term for the Peace River Valley shale that the dam's being built on: "prehistoric jello." #bcpoli

...Wow. While we're still on the topic of worker safety up at #SiteC, of which we have heard many frightening firsthand tales from sources, now here's proof: a bad accident at #SiteC in August, & major fine from WorksafeBC for negligence.

https://twitter.com/SavePeaceValley/status/1175203070835224576

#bcpoli