Professional Documents
Culture Documents
I. INTRODUCTION.
There is currently resurgence in the construction of hydro
power facilities in Canada and around the world. This
construction activity is straining the resources of hydro
consultants, to the extent that many are understaffed and their
engineers are overworked. Furthermore, there is a paucity of
senior hydro engineers due to the lack of hydro activity during
the dry years between about 1977 and 1997, when few
hydro plants were built. During this period, many hydro
engineers either retired or sought employment in other fields.
Consequently, there is a risk that design and construction
mistakes will be made due to a lack of knowledgeable senior
hydro engineers at both utilities and consultants. For example,
about 15 years ago, the author was asked to review 7 prefeasibility studies, and four contained serious errors.
The risk of errors has been recognized by most large
utilities, and is being addressed by the use of Review Boards
consisting of a few very senior engineers with considerable
hydro design and construction experience. Review Boards are
not a new concept; they have been used on many large hydro
developments such as Tarbela in Pakistan (1968-76), the
Columbia River Storages in British Columbia (1962-73) and
at Churchill Falls where the Dyke Board has been in
continuous service since 1969, monitoring safety of the dykes
and underground structures.
Review Boards are usually cost effective in that they often
find errors or improvements that more than cover the Board
expenses. Also, they provide peace of mind to the owner that
is more valuable than the cost of the Board. However, there is
a general perception that they add cost to the development,
due to a preference for a more conservative design. This is not
always the case, as the following 2 examples will illustrate At one utility, it was the practice to encase the turbine steel
spiral case with reinforcing bars designed to take the full
J. L. Gordon is an independent hydropower consultant residing at 102
Blvd. St-Jean, Pointe Claire, Quebec, Canada. H9S 4Z1
(email: jim-gordon@sympatico.ca).
Air vent
Removable concrete slab
Reservoir extreme
flood level
Plywood sidewalk
Propane torch
(B)
(A)
(A)
(B)
Efficiency
Output, kW.
Head, feet
10
15
20
25
Vortex
Flow direction
(A)
(B)
Personal communication:
[2] From Dr. R. P. Benson, P. Eng.
XIII. BIOGRAPHY.
Jim Gordon graduated from Aberdeen University in 1952 with a first class
honors degree in Civil Engineering and commenced work with Montreal
Engineering. During this time he was the Chief
Design Engineer for 6 hydro projects which
received awards for excellence in design by the
Association of Consulting Engineers of Canada.
He has worked in 15 countries, and for 9 years he
was the Vice-President Hydro, retiring in 1990.
Since then, he has practiced as a private
consultant, providing advice to consultants and
hydro utilities on design, cost, mechanical
equipment selection, and has served on Review
Boards for Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro,
Hydro Quebec, Brookfield Renewable Power,
Manitoba Hydro and BC Hydro. He was awarded
the Rickey Medal by the American Society of Civil Engineers, and the
Distinguished Service Award by the Canadian Electrical Association. He has
authored or co-authored 86 papers covering a wide range of subjects, from
vortices at intakes, to turbine cavitation and generator inertia. He has been an
invited speaker at 27 seminars, and is the author of 43 Lessons learned
columns published by HRW (Hydro Review Worldwide).