Fortunately no one was injured when 100,000 cubic meters of rock slid down a rocky scarp near a hydroelectric facility northeast of Campbell River, British Columbia. But it was certainly a dramatic and destructive event; the rockslide covered approximately 350 meters of access road and crushed and ruptured the penstock (the structure that conveys water to the hydroelectric facility powerhouse) in several places.
After the slide, the road and penstock needed to be uncovered and repaired, including digging up and replacing most of the penstock—a rather daunting undertaking when working on a steeply sloped mountainside that has definite potential to dump tons of rock unexpectedly. To protect workers and new facilities, BGC was contracted to design and implement a slope monitoring system to provide early warning of potential landslides during repair work.
Read the full story here.