The District of Summerland announced it has been awarded a grant from the Province of British Columbia’s Community Emergency Preparedness Fund – Disaster Risk Reduction – Climate Adaption funding stream in the amount of $1,939,590 to upgrade the Isintok Dam spillway.
Design work has been completed by Kerr Wood Leidal Engineering Consultants and construction of the project is scheduled for 2024.
The associated work will include replacement of the existing concrete spillway structure, excavation of the spillway channel to make it wider, replacement of the culvert through the access road with a single span bridge, installation of riprap in the modified section of the spillway channel and at bridge abutments, and installation of a remote monitoring system for reservoir level, dam outflows, precipitation, wind, and temperature.
Engineering reviews in 2020 to 2022 confirmed that the Isintok spillway is undersized, has become deteriorated and poses a flood risk to the community of Summerland. The Provincial Dam Safety Office ranks Isintok Dam as a ‘very high consequence’ dam, meaning it has the potential to cause significant impact to human life, the environment, and properties in an extreme inflow event. With continued downstream development, there is potential for it to be considered an ‘extreme consequence’ dam.
“The Isintok spillway is at the end of its serviceable life, and moving forward with this project will help improve the safety and security of our water supply. We appreciate the provincial government for their investment in this critical area,” says Mayor Doug Holmes.
Featured image: (District of Summerland)