Qualla: Jordan River Dam https://qualla.com/jordan-river-dam en-us © 2026 Bendyline Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:21:12 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_m/c/0/x/g/jordan-river-dam-wp/hero-small.webp Qualla: Jordan River Dam https://qualla.com/jordan-river-dam Jordan River Dam: Introduction https://qualla.com/jordan-river-dam/ Photo credit Colin Stepney, CC BY-SA 4.0. At 126 feet from top to bottom, the Jordan River Diversion Dam was the tallest dam in Canada when it was completed in 1911. That superlative has long since passed to others, but the dam's significance has not diminished. Sitting on the Jordan River on the southwestern coast of Vancouver Island, it was the second hydroelectric development on the island and the project that transformed Victoria from a city powered by the modest Goldstream Powerhouse into one with genuine industrial electricity. More than a century later, the Jordan River system still generates 35% of Vancouver Island's hydroelectric capacity -- a remarkable lifespan for infrastructure built when the province was barely forty years old.

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Image: Colin Stepney | CC BY-SA 4.0

]]> Sat, 21 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/c/0/x/g/jordan-river-dam-wp/c0xg-jordan-river-dam-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full Jordan River Dam: Powering Victoria's Ambitions https://qualla.com/jordan-river-dam/ Photo credit Colin Stepney, CC BY-SA 4.0. Before the Jordan River Dam, Victoria drew its electricity from the Goldstream Powerhouse, a small facility that sufficed for a colonial capital but could not keep pace with a growing city. The Vancouver Island Power Company, a subsidiary of the British Columbia Electric Railway,...

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Image: Colin Stepney | CC BY-SA 4.0

]]> Sat, 21 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/c/0/x/g/jordan-river-dam-wp/c0xg-jordan-river-dam-powering-victorias-ambitions.mp3 0:06 2 full Jordan River Dam: The Tunnel Transformation https://qualla.com/jordan-river-dam/ Photo credit Colin Stepney, CC BY-SA 4.0. In 1971, the entire water conveyance system was rebuilt. The aging wooden flume and its accompanying railway were dismantled, replaced by a seven-kilometer tunnel bored through the rock. A new penstock fed a new powerhouse, built across the river from the original. A Japanese-bui...

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Image: Colin Stepney | CC BY-SA 4.0

]]> Sat, 21 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/c/0/x/g/jordan-river-dam-wp/c0xg-jordan-river-dam-the-tunnel-transformation.mp3 0:06 3 full Jordan River Dam: Fish, Water, and Competing Claims https://qualla.com/jordan-river-dam/ Photo credit Colin Stepney, CC BY-SA 4.0. In 1996, the provincial government initiated a Water Use Planning program, requiring British Columbia's water licence holders to demonstrate they could manage the environmental impact of their reservoirs. The Jordan River's planning process, launched in 2001, placed fish habitat ...

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Image: Colin Stepney | CC BY-SA 4.0

]]> Sat, 21 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/c/0/x/g/jordan-river-dam-wp/c0xg-jordan-river-dam-fish-water-and-competing-claims.mp3 0:06 4 full Jordan River Dam: Living in the Evacuation Zone https://qualla.com/jordan-river-dam/ Photo credit Colin Stepney, CC BY-SA 4.0. A 2014 BC Hydro study delivered sobering news: the Jordan River Dam faces a high risk of seismic dam failure. Vancouver Island sits in one of North America's most active seismic zones, where the Juan de Fuca tectonic plate is being forced beneath the North American plate in a sub...

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Image: Colin Stepney | CC BY-SA 4.0

]]> Sat, 21 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/c/0/x/g/jordan-river-dam-wp/c0xg-jordan-river-dam-living-in-the-evacuation-zone.mp3 0:06 5 full