Work to raise level of La Gogue dam 95% complete |27 March 2021

Ms Victor (Photo: Louis Toussaint)

Following several delays due to various technical issues, along with other factors, the La Gogue dam will now be commissioned at the end of this year, the Public Utilities Corporation (PUC) has announced.

To date, 95 percent of the extension work to increase the amount of water stored by the reservoir from 600,000 to 1.6 million cubic metres has been completed.

Being carried out by Sinohydro and overseen by the PUC, the work consists of raising the dam’s dyke by 6 metres with an artificial waterproofing system consisting of a membrane anchored in a trench dug in the existing core.

Project manager for the PUC, Erna Victor, explained that among the various reasons for delay included protest by truckers, weather conditions, as well as the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

She explained that on account of the various delaying issues, work were pushed back with the rainy season being the main constraint.

As for the Covid-19, Ms Victor explained that experts involved in installing the PVC membrane could not enter the country due to the restrictions which were in place.

Additional work also had to be carried, name piling work to stop seepage.

Seepage in soil engineering is the movement of water in soils, often a critical problem in building foundations.

It depends on several factors, including permeability of the soil and the pressure gradient, essentially the combination of forces acting on water through gravity and other factors.

It is to note that in November last year, the cabinet of ministers approved additional works on the La Gogue dam.

These included remedial works to control seepage on the right side of the embankment and provide for stability measures on the south saddle.

Roland Duval