Dam A: A Memoir

A couple of engineers got together and decided to have a dam kid. They knew what they were getting into, and they thought a great deal about its future and the lonely, isolating life their child would live. He would rise to a level of importance and responsibility well beyond his initial comprehension. The care and attention he would require as he grew up, aged, retired, and faded away into his unknown future would be extensive and costly. This dam kid was born with a purpose. It would not be an easy life. Specialists would be required to monitor his health and help him grow. He would need to be flexible and adaptable to changing conditions throughout his life. This is mostly my story, but I will mention some things about other dam creations that I have heard about as I tell you about my life.

My childbirth was quite difficult. There was a tremendous amount of preparation just to find and prepare the right womb where I would live and be intimately connected to. It would be my anchor to life forever. I could never let go, or I would die. This would be the foundation of my existence. I was lucky. The site selection was extensive and carried out perfectly. My womb was prepared to ensure a successful birth and future. My birth was a success, and my parents were ecstatic. My purpose in life was about to be known.

I grew up fast, developing internal organs that would maintain my function and purpose, like filters, drains, pipes, leak control, and maintenance systems, along with the materials to keep it all together. There were more people and machinery than I could imagine, making sure I was given all the growing components, selected and placed perfectly in the right locations, and triple-checked, to be sure everything would work.

As I began to take form and others could see what I was becoming, I heard others calling my name. I began to understand my purpose. My name is “Dam A.” Apparently, a perfect name for a Canadien dam (Eh). I live at a gold mine in B.C. I was going to be holding back tailings, water, and other stuff. I now knew that I was entering the big leagues.

I was visited by so many people throughout my initial growing phase, which lasted about two years. There were specialists, government representatives, photographers, and more, all wandering over me, from my toes to my head and side to side, pointing, taking pictures, and even taking something, they called selfies. I felt quite special. A pipeline had been placed across my head and along my left side and down to my upstream toe. Apparently, I had a downstream toe as well, but this time, they were focused on my upstream toe. A ribbon was cut, and something came flowing out of the pipe and onto my toe. It tickled, and everyone cheered. They called it “tailings slurry.” A lot of happy faces around, celebrating my coming-of-age.

Over the next few days, the crowds of people visiting lessened. However, I was still visited frequently by engineers who looked me over, took notes on the accumulation of tailings upstream, and checked to make sure I was not developing any symptoms, such as leaks or high water pressure (similar to high blood pressure) and that my body remained intact. So far so good. No cracks forming. No leaks. No erosion. No settlement. I was doing my job perfectly, but the weather was getting colder as winter was approaching.

Late fall rain resulted in an accumulation of water on my upstream side, and tailings soon covered the entire length of my upstream toe. Large boulders had been placed there for my protection and were working perfectly, like a good pair of warm winter boots. A tailings beach was forming, draped over me like a blanket, with a large pond of water forming further away. The entire basin forming in front of me was turning white with snow as far as I could see, except for meandering streams of steamy tailings slurry flowing down towards the pond. Although it got quite cold and snow fell throughout the winter, I stayed warm and continued to do what I was meant to do.

By the time winter was over, the tailings beach had risen to about five metres below my crest (actually, my head). Spring showers came, and the pond moved up the beach, getting closer and closer to me. A large floating barge and pump station that had been constructed within the pond area last spring began pumping water out of the pond, and the pond moved further and further away from me. What a relief that was. Everything continued to work as had been planned.

When the snow finally disappeared, more life returned to the area, including trees, animals, and people. Along with the people were various types of equipment and materials, and I knew I was about to go through another growing phase. By the fall, I grew another five metres. Monitoring so far indicated that a minor amount of seepage was exiting at a low point of my downstream toe. I felt a bit embarrassed, but apparently, this was normal. Seepage was expected and would be monitored regularly for quantity and quality to be sure it was within an acceptable range. I heard them say that the seepage was expected to increase as I grew and the pond in front of me grew.

Today was a special day. My parents were coming to see me for their first annual inspection. I could not wait to see them and to show them how successful I was. I hoped my excitement would not lead to a loss of control over my seepage.

Their visit was very successful. They were proud. They commented on a few minor operational issues that could easily be modified for the future, but these concerns had nothing to do with me. My growth spurt was a success, and I would be able to continue as planned.

While they were with me, I heard them talking about another nearby older dam that had some major problems because their womb was not prepared adequately. A weak natural material in the foundation was not identified, resulting in devastating effects on the mine and the downstream environment. Surgery was required to identify and repair the problem. A section of the dam had to be rebuilt, and the entire tailings storage facility had to be reassessed and modified. They also talked about other older dams that had failed to serve their intended purpose, which were born in other parts of the world, causing environmental devastation and loss of life. It was quite evident to me that my parents were sad about these events and developed a commitment to provide their offspring with the best possible conditions to flourish. I knew that this commitment was given to me, along with the continued attention required as I grew up and evolved.

Hey! Were they just talking about other offspring? Do I have siblings? Maybe I will find out someday.

I continued to grow up over the years and remained healthy, except for minor erosion along my abutments. These were quickly noticed and patched up. Some additional instrumentation was inserted to monitor my water pressure. These were upgraded models that sent signals directly to the inspectors. I did not like it because it meant fewer visitors. It also meant that they trusted me more. After about twenty years of continued service, I heard rumors that the mine was about to shut down. I did not know what that meant for me. I still had a huge pile of tailings and a very large pond that needed to remain in place and be controlled. I still had to stay, and I was prepared to do so. I soon found out what it meant. Some changes need to take place. These were not only expected from my beginning but previously planned for the next stage of my life.

Numerous samples were taken, and tests were done on the tailings and seepage. As they had expected, the seepage coming out of me at my downstream toe was clean and could be discharged into the environment. However, the tailings needed to remain submerged to prevent the seepage from becoming acidic. The solution they had come up with was for me to grow a bit more and allow the pond to cover the exposed tailings beach in front of me. I also required some upstream reinforcement to prevent waves from eroding my crest. Large boulders were placed against my exposed upstream face for this purpose.

An additional treatment they thought necessary was to provide additional erosion protection at my abutments by diverting runoff from the area and adding large boulders to further protect them.

Another major feature was a permanent spillway around my left abutment that would control the release of pond water into the environment. With this spillway, the pond level would always be at a minimum height to maintain a water cover over the tailings and a maximum height to prevent damage to me from a major storm event.

Several other investigations and studies were conducted to determine whether other factors in the area could cause damage, such as landslides, avalanches, or earthquakes. A remote seismic monitor was located nearby to inform the engineers if a special inspection was required. There would be a period where regularly scheduled inspections were to occur.

This is where I am now. I protect a beautiful, pristine lake in the wilderness. It is lonely, but I am still visited periodically by engineers who check me over and others who come to enjoy the view and do things in the area, like hiking and fishing.

My parents visit seldomly, but I could see from their last visit that they were slowing down and may not return. On their last visit, they decided to write my story for me, and this is it. 

Irwin Wislesky, P.Eng., is an author and freelance writer.