Rocks block the way to the China Creek Dam. Click here to see more photos. (Submitted Photo)

By Karen Boden

It will be days before a landslide near China Creek Dam is cleared away.
Tonnes of rock and mud came down on Island Timberlands land Friday, plugging the access road to the City of Port Alberni’s primary water supply.
Norm Meunier, the City of Port Alberni’s utilities superintendent, said geotechs are out assessing the damage and working to develop a plan of action.
Right now it’s too treacherous to touch anything, he said, and there’s no telling how long it might be before the dam is accessible again.
Fortunately, the city has been drawing water from the backup reservoir at Bainbridge Lake and can continue to do so.
“We haven’t even got the dam up and running after the Dec. 3 storm,” Meunier said.
Meunier said the experts will come back with an estimate on the amount of rock and debris plugging the landscape between the dam and the caretaker’s residence.
He said the slide is about 30 metres wide, 37 metres long and eight metres high.
Guy Cicon, city engineer, said that Island Timberlands representatives were supposed to have been at Monday’s council meeting to talk about logging in the watershed but were unable to be there.
The landslide has occurred below the intake so water turbidity hasn’t been affected, Cicon said, but the event is still “quite significant.”

Karen.boden@westcoaster.ca