Wednesday, January 17, 2024

Cleveland Dam's Western abutment is set in rock whereas the Eastern 'abutment' is a valley



The construction of a US$25M seepage control blanket at the Cleveland dam in Canada is due to start in March 2001. The potential for seepage and instability of the east abutment of the dam was first recognized in 1954 when the concrete dam was built. The western abutment is set in rock, but on the eastern side the buried rock valley is infilled with silt, sand, gravel and glacial till. It is hoped that the seepage control project will make the dam safer.

https://www.waterpowermagazine.com/features/featurethe-case-of-cleveland-dam/ 

 

"Cleveland dam is a 91m high concrete gravity structure set in a deep bedrock canyon. Full reservoir supply level is at el. 146m and the dam crest is at el. 149m. In 1992, the dam was upgraded to pass the Probable Maximum Flood (PMF) and to withstand the Maximum Design Earthquake (MCE) event.

The dam impounds a reservoir extending 4.5km to the north where the Upper Capilano river flows into the reservoir. Typically 0.5km wide, the reservoir surface area is 2.3km2 at full reservoir level. Flow is controlled at the dam by a radial gate spillway, two mid-level intakes and outlets, and two low-level outlets."

 

"The dam is constructed in a bedrock canyon on the west side of the valley. Immediately east of the canyon is a wide, deep buried valley that extends about 2km (eastward from the dam to the base of Grouse Mountain. The buried valley extends to below sea level and is infilled with a complex stratification of silt, sand, gravel and glacial till. The west canyon bedrock is hard, moderately jointed granodiorite and quartz diorite with numerous inclusions of older sedimentary and volcanic rocks." 


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Additional Reading

 Metro Vancouver utilising hydro potential at non-powered dams 

 
05 December, 2012
Metro Vancouver in Canada is proposing to generate electricity from its dams during rain drenched months of the year. The supply of high quality drinking water will remain the first priority of a new water use plan for the Capilano and Seymour Watersheds, which includes the Cleveland dam. Built in 1954 to create Capilano Lake for water storage, the dam currently does not capture energy from spilled water.

Seismic upgrade of Seymour Falls dam

 
23 May, 2006
The Seymour Falls dam is a key element in Canada’s Greater Vancouver Water District’s (GVWD) network of three watersheds. The 45-year-old composite earthfill embankment and concrete slab and buttress dam was found to not meet current seismic design standards, so upgrades to meet the requirements of the Maximum Credible Earthquake (MCE) are necessary. Part one of our two part report describes the structure and looks at how the safety problem was identified and analysed through site investigation and liquefaction assessment 

 

08 December, 2005

The Case of Cleveland Dams Neil Singh, Ryan Douglas, Steve Ahlfield and Murray Gant describe the work involved in the construction of an RCC upstream blanket and plastic concrete cutoff wall at Cleveland dam in Canada


Monday, November 27, 2023

Vancouver, British Columbia, 1912 Licence Plates, Names, Addresses, are at the BC Legislative Library


 

  4858 License Plates   


Page 93 of 95

4686 * R. G. Walker, Tait's Mill, South Westminster.
4687    R. J. Cromie, Osler Avenue, Shaughnessy Heights.
4688    McPhail & McKenzie, Abbott Street, Vancouver.
4689    J. E. Tucker, Shaughnessy Heights.
4690 * F. R. Arkell, Kerrisdale.
4691    J. A. Conkey, 622 Pacific Building.
4692    F. Noble, 602 Hastings Street West, Vancouver.
4693    Bert Ford,   1285 Pender Street, Vancouver.
4694    Star Laundry Co. Ltd.,  1115 Pender Street, Vancouver
4695    A. C. Cameron, Room 2, Stanfield Building, Vancouver
4696    J. B. Saint, Stevenson
4697    G. A. Fairbairn,    715 Georgia Street, Vancouver
4698    G. A. Fairbairn,    715 Georgia Street, Vancouver
4699 * A. J. Desrosiers, 1603 Seymour Street West, Vancouver
4700    John Rice,             1027 Pender Street West, Vancouver
4701    Foley, Welch & Stewart, 1043 Pender, Vancouver
4702    A. Goldberg, 1159 Beach Avenue, Vancouver
4703    R. Lee Stewart, Union Bank of Canada, Vancouver
4704    J. C. Talbot, Barnet.
4705    W. W. Dresser, 438 Pender Street West, Vancouver
4706    K. K. Peiser, 2707 Carolina Street, Vancouver
4707    Blank  
4708   W. Doherty,  675 Tenth Avenue West, Vancouver
4709   J. McGeer,    251 Eighteenth Avenue East, Vancouver
4710   H. van der Poel, Archibald Auto Co. Vancouver
4711   Robin Hood Mills Co., Ltd., corner Smythe and Beatty St. Vancouver
4712   D. A. Smith, 931 Granville Street, Vancouver
4713   D. A. Smith, Ltd., 931 Granville Street, Vancouver
4714   G. B. Milne, 509 Carnarvon Street, New Westminster
4715   F. D. Elkins, 201 Pacific Buildings, Vancouver
4716   W. Erickson, 1254 Hornby Street, Vancouver
4717   L. A. Jones, 1287 Richards Street, Vancouver
4718   J. L. G. Abbott, 209 Winch Building, Vancouver
4719 * W. A. Callaghan, 622 Granville Street, Vancouver
4720   A. W. Bishop, 401 Welton Building, Vancouver
4721   W. L. Gowan, Young Road, Chilliwack
4722   C. R. Drayton, 1600 Burnaby Street, Vancouver
4723   Baron Alain de Langsdorff, Vancouver Club, Vancouver
4724   W. A. Cox, 776 Granville Street, Vancouver
4725   E. S. Lee, Shaughnessy Heights, Vancouver
4726   A. E. Godfrey, 512 Richards Street, Vancouver
4727   C. W Wiegand, 1339 Burnaby Street, Vancouver
4728   C. Wilson, K.C., Shaughnessy Heights, Vancouver
4729   Le Roy & Nation, 1254 Hornby Street, Vancouver
4730   W. H. Forrest, 2590 Point Grey Road, Vancouver
4731   Wilkinson Co., Ltd., 846 Beach Avenue, Vancouver
4732   H. E. Ridley, Shaughnessy Heights, Vancouver
4733   A. J. Clare, 20 Broadway  West, Vancouver
4734   W. Brown, 222 Fourth Avenue, New Westminster
4735   G. E. Trorey, 651 Hastings Street West, Vancouver
4736   B.C. Electric Railway Co., Ltd., Carrall Street, Vancouver
4737   G. H. Ferguson, 1342 Broadway West, Vancouver

Page 94 of 95

4738  M. D. Brown, 1402 Robson Street, Vancouver.
4739  A. Martin, Thirty-fourth Avenue, Kerrisdale
4740  Lewis & Sills, 265 Hastings Street East, Vancouver.
4741  R. C. Proctor, Balsam Street, Kerrisdale.
4742  B.C. Electric Railway Co., Ltd., Shanghai Alley, Vancouver
4743  B.C. Electric Railway Co., Ltd., Shanghai Alley, Vancouver
4744  B.C. Electric Railway Co., Ltd., Shanghai Alley, Vancouver
4745  M. Fitzpatrick, Begg Motor Co., Vancouver
4746  J. W. F. Kohnson, Shaughnessy Heights, Vancouver
4747  E. G. Hazell, Begg Motor Co., Vancouver
4748  Ideal Sash & Door Co., 665 Sixteenth Avenue West, Vancouver
4749  H. Christman, 237 Empress Hotel, Vancouver
4750  J. H. Chalmers, 715 Georgia Street, Vancouver
4751  W. D. Brydone-Jack, M.D., 1946 Main Street, Vancouver
4752  R. C. Macpherson, c/o Post-office, Vancouver
4753  McDonald & McPhee, Hazelton 

------------------------------

 For a general search:

THE BC LIBRARY


Wednesday, November 8, 2023

Which came first? Westcoast Transmission Building or a South Vancouver double wide carport

The Carport: 1963 - 1965

Common Features.  Similar time frame.  No supporting 'walls'.

City of Vancouver by-law requires the Inspector measure the 'wall' adjacent to the Lane. There are no walls.  Nothing to measure.

The carport design tripled the parking spaces at the single family home. The garage was existing.

@ 1646 East 56th

And, withstood Typhoon Freda

The double carport three 'joists and posts' are made of steel, welded to a steel plate (20" X 20") which is in turn bolted down, with nuts, to the reinforced concrete pad.  The retaining wall to the north (behind the car) is reinforced concrete, so too, is the retaining wall supporting the original garage.

The carport roof was raised afterwards by cutting the steel posts, to allow a Fifth-Wheel Rig to park there.  Look closely a flat steel plate that has been inserted into the 'I' posts on both sides.

And, withstood Typhoon Freda

 As to that 'inverted mine shaft' on Georgia Street ...

Concrete core, with reinforced steel, just like the carport.

The Qube

Construction Date:  

     1968/01/01 to 1969/01/01

Description of Historic Place

The Westcoast Transmission Building consists of a twelve-storey dark-glazed rectangular tower suspended by cables from a central concrete entry/elevator core. It is prominently located on a multi-leveled plaza on the north side of West Georgia Street in downtown Vancouver.

1 https://vancouver.ca/home-property-development/electronic-permit-applications.aspx

2 https://vancouver.ca/files/cov/dev-build-app-form.pdf

3 https://vancouver.ca/your-government/protection-of-trees-bylaw.aspx

4 https://vancouver.ca/files/cov/schedule-e-1-owners-undertaking-letter-building-bylaw-2019.pdf

5 https://vancouver.ca/files/cov/schedule-b-assurance-professional-design-field-review-building-bylaw-2019.pdf

6 https://bccodes.ca/vancouver-bylaws.html

7 https://free.bcpublications.ca/civix/content/public/vpbl2019/1434693682/1477837751/?xsl=/templates/browse.xsl

8 https://vancouver.ca/files/cov/2019-008-siting-requirements-for-on-site-infiltration-system.pdf

9 https://vancouver.ca/your-government/parking-bylaw.aspx

10 https://vancouver.ca/home-property-development/zoning-and-land-use-policies-document-library.aspx#sections 

11 https://vancouver.ca/files/cov/2000-011-detached-garage-and-parking-slab-elevations.pdf

12 https://vancouver.ca/files/cov/2019-008-siting-requirements-for-on-site-infiltration-system.pdf

  

Friday, September 1, 2023

Sunday, August 27, 2023

Thursday, August 24, 2023

The killer side of Cleveland Dam's release of water: Two lives lost downstream


 

The week BEFORE the loss of two lives, this video shows the uncharacteristic results of a heavy rainfall on Friday where Metro Vancouver had lowered the gate incrementally, until they were satisfied with their results.

Possibly the lives lost the following week was because Metro Vancouver (staff) defaulted to the previous week's lowest settings.


 

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The Greater Vancouver Water District does a 'dry run' drill every six months to ensure that their new warning system is functioning properly by announcing verbally:

THIS IS A DRILL ...... THIS IS A DRILL

I wonder why there isn't an 'invitation' to the general public to participate in the drill process, such as having to get up and leave a freshly laid picnic adjacent to the river;  fishermen standing at the river's edge with a fish on the line.   Metro Vancouver's game plan is LEAVE AT ONCE.  Don't stop to pick up your belongings.  Just drop your fishing gear, leave and seek out the safety of high ground.

In reality, there are NO further instructions for the public posted anywhere.

Two lives lost..... and all that Metro Vancouver has done to protect their employees, and the public, is lip service ("express approval of or support for (something) without taking any significant action.")

Sort of reminds me (1950s-1960s) of the fire drills at school where the Fire Department showed up at Lord Tennyson and later Kitsilano, but we all knew that it was just a drill, and it only happened once a year.

There has Never been a Drill at Capilano River Regional Park, not even for the staff.  

Fire Department / North Shore Rescue training, YES, but that has always been well planned out before hand.


Text Message alerts

the alerts are available to the general public for the real thing, but in the trying-it-out phase twice a year did it actually work? 

 

UPDATE

 

Cleveland Dam Safety Enhancements Program Notifications

 

 

https://metrovancouver.org/services/water/cleveland-dam-safety-enhancements-program-notifications

 

and

 

https://metrovancouver.org/river-safety 


The Capilano River is an ever-changing and sometimes unpredictable force of nature.

Know the risks of being around the river and learn how to avoid them.

Friday, August 4, 2023

Thursday, August 3, 2023

E Photo____ Delbrook Plaza Bench

 


Saturday, July 29, 2023

D Photo____ Capilano River Regional Park


 

 


 

 


 

Thursday, July 27, 2023

Monday, July 24, 2023

B Photo____Capilano River Regional Park