Site C breaks monthly overall workforce record again

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — Site C has broken its monthly overall workforce record for the fourth time this year as it looks to complete critical milestones needed before filling the reservoir, hopefully, this fall.

The dam project had 5,985 people working for the site in May, compared to 5,705 in April when the record was last set.

Last month, BC Hydro’s Site C Community Relations Manager Bob Gammer said that the increase of Site C workers would continue as they look to prepare for the reservoir filling.

“The latest increase is reflective of the start of the busy construction season as we work to ramp activities on site to achieve key milestones that need to be completed in order to achieve reservoir filling,” said Gammer about April’s record-breaking workforce.

Gammer added that total employment is expected to decrease later this year as project milestones are completed.

According to BC Hydro, 967 people working on Site C in May were Peace region residents, accounting for 19 per cent of the workforce.

There were 3,944 people who were B.C. primary residents working on the project, accounting for 66 per cent of the workforce.

The number of apprentices increased from 290 in April to 323 the following month.

The report also provides the number of Indigenous people that worked on Site C, adding that workers voluntarily self-declared their Indigenous status to the employer. There were 496 Indigenous workers in May.

BC Hydro said 598 women worked on the dam project in May.

According to BC Hydro, the total workforce numbers include workers working off the dam site area, workers working from home and workers who may have been on-site at any one time in that month, who may have been on days off for other periods of time. Not all
workers were on site or in camp at one time.

Last year in its quarterly report, BC Hydro said it could begin the process of filling the Site C reservoir as early as this fall.

The process of filling the reservoir will take four months at a varying rate of 0.3 to two metres per day. Once completed, the reservoir will be approximately three times wider than the Peace River.

The deepest parts of the reservoir will be approximately 52 metres near the dam, with shallower areas around Hudson’s Hope being 18 metres.