Thread by @Lidsville

Lots of #SiteC intel coming in. As we learned earlier, there's a huge drill on site. Contractor Henry Drilling is boring holes 100' deep & 9' in diameter at the spillways & generating station. We wonder if it's a last ditch attempt to stop structure moving via "shear keys"..

But it raises the Q why work ever continued during the review of #SiteC by Peter Milburn (whose report should come out soon, tho we have no idea what its terms of reference are or if public will ever be able to see it in its entirety). Horgan did this with the BCUC review too.

.If the Milburn review is looking at whether #SiteC can be fixed at all, why is over $100m still being spent a month on the project? Is this a review in good faith? The fact Horgan didn't call for a tools down during the BCUC review either is causing many to feel deja vu. #bcpoli

Here is the explanation of how shear keys work: (see whole thread) #SiteC #bcpoli

https://twitter.com/Lidsville/status/1297984202072141824?s=20

New messages from engineers & constructions experts today who've worked in the area & are familiar with the cohesionless Peace River shale. All independently said same thing: digging deep holes worsens the risk; can introduce water into the deep shale, which destroys its strength

"...they still can't get it! This shale reacts to water and destroys itself. Filling the holes with concrete, if that's their plan, does nothing but add weight unless they find solid rock base down there..."

..."The only possible way to use this shale for a foundation [or shear key] is to drive steel friction piles into it. The concrete they need to support would overload these piles, and there is no way to place them under the concrete now, even if they wanted to..."

Final note: not only has BC Hydro never built on material like this shale, but neither has any of the engineering corps they've contracted to build #SieC. No other earthfill dam of this size has been built on shale this bad anywhere, as far as we know, & def not in an L shape.

Engineers & construction friends add that we really don't know what they're planning with these holes & BC Hydro isn't saying, so who knows. Given the famous secrecy around #SiteC, all we can do is guess. "But it should've been game over as soon as movement was found on the site"