Just six weeks prior one of the heaviest and most costly floods to hit the city, Toronto Hydro broke ground on its new underground transformer station. The Copeland Transformer Station will work as a crucial piece of the power deliver system feeding Toronto’s business core.

Concerns were raised, regarding the decision to build the transformer station deep underground, after the July flooding knocked out two stations in the west end. 16,000 people were without power for more than 40 hours following the stations being flooded.

To prevent a similar situation from occurring for the new station, precautionary measures have been put into place. The underground transformer station will be encased in a double concrete wall, to which Krystal Internal Membrane (KIM) has been added during the concrete batching process.

KIM is an integral crystalline concrete waterproofing admixture; and a PRAH (Permeability Reducing Admixture – Hydrostatic Conditions). When combined with water, KIM’s proprietary chemicals react to form millions of needle-like crystals. These crystals grow and fill the capillary pores and micro-cracks in the concrete, blocking the flow of water. As time passes and stresses form new cracks, any incoming moisture causes the crystals to reactivate – ensuring continuous waterproofing over the years.

Click here to see the ongoing time lapse images of the project in progress: