The Brazeau Development is located on the Nordegg River approximately 70 km northeast of the town of Nordegg. The reservoir has a storage volume of 709 million m³ at its full supply level. The project, constructed in the 1960s is owned and operated by TransAlta.

The main works for the development include the Main Dam, four saddle dykes, spillway structure, outlet structure, 15 km long power canal with dykes, fuse plug auxiliary spillway, rubber dam, and powerhouse. The powerhouse has two turbine generator units with a capacity of 355 MW.

KCB was engaged to assess the potential impacts that induced seismicity caused by oil and gas activities could have on the stability and performance of the Brazeau Dam and its ancillary structures. Our assessment focused on the power canal dykes, the main dam and the spillway.

Services

• Geological and geotechnical review
• Instrument data review
• Spillway structure as-built documentation review
• Geotechnical investigation and laboratory testing program
• Stability and deformation analyses of the power canal dykes
• Stability and deformation assessments of the spillway structure exterior walls, center pier and gate hoist tower
• Preparation of reports