2025 CDA KCB Presentation Nechako Reservoir Case Study

January 7, 2026

An Operation, Maintenance and Surveillance (OMS) program and its implementation by the Dam Owner are essential for dam safety and to ensure reliability of flow control equipment, proper reservoir management and dam performance monitoring. An OMS program is also a key element of the overall dam safety management system. This paper presents a case study on how the Operation, Maintenance and Surveillance program is implemented by Rio Tinto (RT) on the Nechako reservoir in British Columbia, Canada and outlines improvements which have been made in the last few years. The perspectives of the Owner (RT Management and Operators) and the Engineer of Record (Klohn Crippen Berger) are highlighted with respect to program compliance with regulations and guidelines. The Nechako Reservoir is located in west-central British Columbia and is owned and managed by RT. The reservoir is contained by ten earth dams and one radial gates spillway, used for flow control. The reservoir was impounded in 1953 to provide water for the 1000 MW of installed capacity at the Kemano Hydroelectric Power Plant for the Kitimat Aluminium Smelter. The Kitimat/Terrace area is the traditional territory of four First Nations, and twelve First Nations’ traditional territories encompass the watershed, with whom RT is actively engaging and discussing dam safety. Seven of the ten Nechako Reservoir dams are classified as “Extreme” consequence facilities according to CDA guidelines and BC Dam Safety Regulation. Kenney Dam is the highest dam in the Nechako reservoir system, being a 96-m-high rockfill dam with an upstream impervious core.

Bagneres, B., Cheung, E. 2025 " Improvements in Dam Safety Management Systems – The Nechako Reservoir Case Study,” in Proceedings of the CDA Annual Conference, September 29 – October 1, 2025, Saskatoon, Sask: Canadian Dam Association [Presentation]