OPG’s Little Long Dam Safety Project receives industry recognition of excellence

At a glance

• In northeast Ontario, OPG is close to completing the Little Long Dam Safety Project.
• The important project will improve dam safety while ensuring continued reliable operations at OPG’s Lower Mattagami River hydroelectric complex.
• In recognition of the project’s work and innovation, OPG and its partners recently received the Canadian Dam Association’s Constructed Project Award of Excellence.

OPG’s Little Long Dam Safety Project has received the Canadian Dam Association’s (CDA) Constructed Project Award of Excellence for 2024.

The project, which is now close to completion, began construction in 2020 to improve dam safety on the Lower Mattagami River in the event of extreme weather.

Once wrapped up, the project will increase the discharge capacity at the Adam Creek spillway structure located on the Little Long Reservoir, about 90 kilometres north of Kapuskasing.

This work will ensure extreme floodwater can safely bypass OPG’s four Lower Mattagami River stations – Little Long, Smoky Falls, Harmon, and Kipling generating stations – in the event of large-scale flooding in the area. It also helps OPG comply with updated dam safety requirements established by the Province of Ontario.

The project team, comprised of OPG, KGS Group, Kiewit, and WSP Canada, were on hand to receive the award during a recent event held by the CDA.

The award, which is offered annually, recognizes one team or project that has made a significant contribution to the dam industry in Canada and to society through the design, construction, remediation, upgrading, decommissioning, reclamation, and/or closure of dams.