Walter Hardman Project
System Overview
The Walter Hardman Project is located within the Columbia–Shuswap Regional District 25 kilometres south of Revelstoke, B.C. It’s part of BC Hydro’s integrated generation system and produces approximately 37 gigawatt-hours (GWh) annually, which is enough electricity to serve 3,700 homes for one year.
The Walter Hardman Project was originally built by the City of Revelstoke in 1961 and was purchased by BC Hydro in 1972. The original project included Coursier Lake Dam and Reservoir, which stored water during high inflow periods and released it during low inflow periods. In October 2003, Coursier Dam was decommissioned due to dam safety requirements.
The Walter Hardman Project now consists of the following: a concrete diversion dam; a diversion channel that takes water from Cranberry Creek to Walter Hardman headpond; flow control structures located in the diversion channel; upstream and downstream saddle dams; the Walter Hardman Dam; the spillway channel; the power intake; and the Walter Hardman Generating Station on the banks of Arrow Lakes Reservoir.
We monitor operations at the facility 24 hours a day, seven days a week to manage water flows and forecasting. Reservoir management is controlled by our Operations Centre, and local facility maintenance and field surveillance are performed primarily by Stations Field Operations, Dam Safety, and Environmental Risk Management staff.