John Day Dam Gallery Leakage Repairs

The upstream Drainage Gallery in the John Day Dam has been plagued by leaking monolith joints since shortly after the Dam was commissioned. In winter months, leakage was so severe that the gallery would be inundated with water such that there was 12″-18″ of standing water covering the walkway.

SCOPE OF WORK
Emagineered Solutions, Inc. won the contract to perform chemical grouting of these joints and install new joint seals on the surface of the gallery. The scope of repairs also included replacing nearly 4000 LF of air and water piping, and upgrading portions of the lighting system that had been damaged by years of exposure to water spray from the joints.

RESULTS
ESI successfully stopped flow through the joints using hydrophilic polyurethane grout injected deep into the joints. Once flow was stemmed, the wall surface in the gallery was repaired with polymer-modified cementitious mortar to provide a smooth sealing surface, and a robust seal and cover plate system was installed. Utitilities and lighting were replaced with close coordination with the facility operators to minimize any disruption to services. The project was successfully completed in May 2022.