1957 twelve locations along the Peace River were identified by the Wenner-Gren British Columbia Development Company as potential sites to build a dam. One of the sites, located 22 kilometres from Hudson's Hope, was judged to be the best location due to its geography. Gordon Shrum, a physics professor at the University of British Columbia, was chosen to conduct a study on the cost effectiveness of developing dams on the Peace and Columbia rivers. The study led to the conclusion that it would be cheaper to build on the Peace River, but only if a public company was used due to lower interest rates available to crown corporations. Construction When plans for construction were given the green light on the W. A. C. Bennett Dam (known as the Portage Mountain Dam during construction), clearing the soon to be reservoir was the first step in the process. It was a massive undertaking which was completed on the shoestring budget of five million dollars by the Forest Service Branch. When the water rose, hundreds of thousands of acres of cut trees floated on the lake surface The initial stages of construction required building a coffer dam, preparing the foundations and injecting grout into the ground to create a watertight seal, building a drainage system, and excavating to create a solid base for building. Over the course of construction, of rock and dirt were taken from the nearby glacial moraine by conveyor belt to create the dam relying primarily on gravity to hold it together. Upon completion, the W. A. C. Bennett Dam became one of the biggest earth-filled dams in the world stretching 183 metres tall, 800 metres wide, by two kilometres long (). When finished, the dam incorporated one of the largest hydroelectric generating stations. Components are located as far as below ground and includes 10 generating units located deep underground in the powerhouse. The Main powerhouse structure is named the G.M. Shrum generating station. It was designed to resemble a giant transformer to reflect its function and modern design of the 1960s. The project was widely seen as a success, especially considering its remote location far from civilization. The construction project was managed by Gordon Shrum, the appointed head of the newly created BC Hydro crown corporation. The provincial government had specifically created BC Hydro as a way of financing the project through lower interest rates available to crown corporations