Cleveland Dam
project details
Client Name:
Metro Vancouver
Location
North Vancouver
Completion Date
October 2019
Services Provided
Concrete repairs and spillway upgrades on the Cleveland Dam; environmental monitoring (with TRI).
the scope
Cleveland Dam is a 91 m high concrete dam atop Capilano River Regional Park in North Vancouver. Built in the early 1950s, its spillway of nearly 300 feet holds back the 670-acre, man-made Capilano Lake, a fresh drinking-water source for much of the Lower Mainland. In 2018, Metro Concrete Restoration won a $3 million Metro Vancouver contract to repair and upgrade the dam structure, with a scope that included concrete repairs on the Cleveland Dam spillway and coating of the training walls.
the solution
Before work began, the team assessed the walls and removed unsound or compromised concrete, then grouted and filled individual cracks to create a sound substrate. Stages 1 and 2 coated the inside and outside of the spillway walls with a cementitious waterproofing material, with access via a man-basket from cranes on the east viewing platform and the dam bridge. Stage 3 (summer 2019) prepped and patched the larger holes in the spillway to keep water from reaching the interior along the construction joints. To reach the challenging lower spillway, the team partnered with high-angle rope-access company Pacific Ropes. Metro Testing + Engineering and TRI supported the work with environmental monitoring to keep contaminated water, debris and material out of the fish-bearing river below and ensure compliance with the Metro Vancouver Environmental Management Plan.
the outcome
The $3 million spillway repair and upgrade — carefully sequenced around changing lake levels, with critical “dry” work targeted for August when levels naturally drop below the spillway — was scheduled for completion in October 2019, restoring and protecting a critical piece of the Lower Mainland’s drinking-water infrastructure.
