Daisy Lake Dam

Risk: Moderate

Located just south of Whistler, the Daisy Lake Dam, on the Cheakamus River, presents a catastrophic dam failure hazard to Squamish. Before flowing into Howe Sound, The Cheakamus River connects with the Squamish River which passes directly through the community of Squamish. BC Hydro monitors and controls flow levels from the Daisy Lake Dam. The lowest lying areas are more vulnerable to any emergency release or dam failure scenario, but inundation areas and depth of inundation are dependent on the nature of the hazard event – e.g. an emergency release due to storm/flood scenario compared to a release due to a severe earthquake event. BC Hydro has mapped eight inundation scenarios to assist emergency planning.

Catastrophic dam failures are rare, but can cause immense damage and loss of life when they occur. Failures are often attributed to poor design and severe weather events which cause water levels to exceed the maximum capacity of the dam.