A new hydro dam and power house, owned and operated by Abitibi-Consolidated, has been inaugurated in Quebec, Canada.

SNC Lavalin, one of Canada’s largest engineering-construction firms, undertook the design and construction of the entire facility which is located on the Aux-Sables river. The new dam and power house replace the original flood-damaged 2.4MW capacity station which was built in 1916.

Abitibi-Consolidated accep-ted SNC Lavalin’s proposal to rebuild the facility on a turnkey basis under a lump sum contract valued at C$8.76M.

During floods in July 1996, peak flows of about 700m3/sec breached the dam and flooded the hydroelectric plant and switchyard, causing severe damage.

The new facility includes a 4.5MW plant, a gated spillway with five bottom sluices and a free overflow weir with a total capacity of 1000m3/sec, which is the estimated peak flow for the probable maximum flood.

SNC Lavalin started work on the plant in September 1996 and it proceeded according to schedule.

The water retaining and spillway structures were built before the 1997 spring floods and work on the power house commenced in the summer of 1997.

The power station was commissioned on schedule in May 1998.