northspur

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The proposed 825 MW Muskrat Falls hydro project is located in the Lower Churchill River
Valley in central Labrador.
The project consists of an existing natural feature (the North Spur) and two new
concrete dams . The North Spur would provide a major part of the river impoundment
system (next slide). The current project ,and all alternatives, must use the North Spur.
The ground conditions at the North Spur are very unstable as they include significant
amounts of glacio-marine clay (Quick Clay) that is highly prone to liquefaction and
failure.
A significant landslide took place at the North Spur in 1978 with lesser slides in 1980 and
1981. A series of other major slides have taken place both upriver and downriver from
Muskrat Falls, the latest in 2010.
As of March 1, 2013, Nalcor had not conducted the geotechnical field work and collected
the data necessary to fully assess the North Spur instability problem and design a
suitable, cost effective solution.
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