The Site C hydroelectric dam is the third of four major dams initially proposed in the mid-1950s for the Peace River Valley in northeastern B.C.

The three dams were designed to be part of a power-generating package that reuses water for each dam downstream.

The WAC Bennett on the Williston Lake Reservoir, near Hudson’s Hope (BC Hydro) Site A, the first in the series, became the W.A.C. Bennett Dam, which was built in 1967, 19 kilometres west of Hudson’s Hope.

When it was completed, the dam was the largest earth-filled structure ever built, creating the Williston Lake reservoir, the largest lake in British Columbia. Construction of the dam and reservoir sparked significant controversy because it flooded 350,000 acres of forested-land, causing loss of biodiversity and timber and mineral rights. It also resulted in the removal of a number of residents, including the Sekani First Nation, whose displacement

BC Hydro admitted in 1977, led to social isolation and had a significant impact on Sekani culture. The Peace Canyon dam lies just 23-kilometres downstream on the Peace River. It re-uses water that has already generated electricity at the Bennett Dam. (BC Hydro)