Multiple investigations are underway to determine what caused the Cleveland Dam to suddenly release a torrent of water into the Capilano River, but it's clear that this fatal incident stands apart from other recent dam disasters in B.C. Past dam disasters caused by structural failureThat means what happened at the Cleveland Dam is likely quite different from other high-profile dam accidents B.C. Those have tended to be the result of structural failures — the province says there's an average of one or two dam failures annually across B.C. on August, 5, 2014, following the collapse of the Mount Polley mine tailings dam. But sudden discharges of water caused by human or mechanical error have been responsible for some major environmental and human tragedies around the world as well.

Source: CBC News October 02, 2020 23:26 UTC