Risk assessment of a hydraulic fill dam

The concerns expressed about the safety of the 85 year old 29 m hydraulic Coquitlam Dam in the Greater Vancouver area were described. Because of these concerns, and despite the fact that the dam meets the Incremental Hazard Classification criteria, B.C. Hydro carried out an evaluation with risk assessment. The processes employed and the results of the evaluation were described. It was found that although the dam was safe enough, in light of experiences with other dams, further evaluations will have to be carried out to verify these results. 2 refs., 6 figs