Company reports progress in dealing with northern Ont. dam breach

While repairs are not yet completed, officials in Iroquois Falls said Thursday afternoon that progress has been made in dealing with a partial breach of the Twin Falls dam.

H2O Power said the breach occurred Wednesday afternoon. The power-generating dam is about 100 years old and is located on the Abitibi River.

“Leakage has been significantly reduced while the team is working to seal the breach completely,” the company said in a news release.

“Additional engineering resources are now on site to assist the team. Risk to the town and surrounding community remains low and H2O Power continues to monitor the situation diligently.”

Ron Cariglia, an engineer with H2O Power, told CTV News a few details of how the breach occurred.

“One of the wing walls that started (to) leak and immediately we invoked an incident management plan that’s run out of our Oshawa operations with a team onsite here,” Cariglia said.

“The group’s working tirelessly to get a temporary seal in. Obviously, public safety and (the) environment is of biggest concern to get that flow stopped ... Then we’ll be working with the engineers to establish a permanent fix (and) put things back into a good state of repair.”

“It’s part of the community (and) it’s a big part of the development of the town,” he added.

“We want to make sure it continues to operate.”

Iroquois Falls Mayor Tory Delaurier said the company notified them yesterday afternoon.

"They said there was a breach at the power dam and that it’s a Level 1 emergency. So that’s the lowest level,” Delaurier said.

“If it ever gets to a level 2 or 3, then we have concerns for the residents. But at this time there’s no concern ... I was told and they’re very confident that they can correct this problem."

While the danger is low, Delaurier said he was concerned by the news.

“It’s scary, to be honest with you,” he said.

“I was concerned but at the same time, the people that are in the know are telling me that things should be able to be fixed in a timely fashion so I’m very confident.”

“There’s water flowing, as you can see,” he added.

“They had to open up the dams a little to do the repair so that’s why you’re seeing a lot of water flowing at this time.”

CONCRETE REPAIRS

H2O Power was working on concrete repairs for an existing leak in the facility when problems developed.

“During the repair work earlier (Wednesday), the leakage increased, prompting our ongoing response,” the release said.

As part of the response protocols, H2O Power is passing increased water through the Twin Falls facility.

“As a result, Lake Abitibi water levels will recede, and water levels and flows downstream of the dam will continue at their present rates,” the company said.

“Conditions throughout the Abitibi River System will be similar to what is experienced during typical springtime conditions. These temporarily elevated flows are necessary in order to facilitate the management of the incident.”

Residents near or on Lake Abitibi and the Abitibi River System and its associated waterways are advised to take extra care while on the lake, particularly in shallow areas.

“We will continue to carefully monitor this ongoing situation until it is resolved,” the company said.