Muskoka Lakes Township is sitting on a potential environmental disaster and it’s going to cost millions to fix it.
That was the word from Township staff as council agreed during their latest meeting to a consulting engineering assignment for the design of the Burgess Dam Rehabilitation to Tulloch Engineering Inc. for $197,233.00 plus HST.
However, there was a great deal of concern among council that $200,000 was just a drop in the bucket and the final cost to repair the dam would likely be $3 million at minimum.
The dam, which the Township owns, was built between 1917 and 1922 and was badly damaged during the flooding in 2019.
“You want to know what keeps me awake at night? This is it,” said Ken Becking, Director of Public Works. “If we lose that dam the water level in Lake Muskoka will drop by nine feet, that is a fact. I cannot tell you when or if that’s going to happen but I would not stake my reputation on that.
Coun. Ruth Nishikawa said she opposed the motion as it was a piecemeal approach to the much larger dam rehabilitation project with unknown costs.
“How much have we spent on this already and how much more will it cost?”
Coun. Glenn Zavitz said he wouldn’t vote to approve the study either. Initial estimates for the rehabilitation of the dam alone were pegged at $2.1 million. Still, Zavitz speculated that when all is said and done, it was likely to cost well in excess of $3 million.
“We’re spending $200,000 to get what? He said. “We’re looking down the jaws of something quite large. I don’t know why we’re not looking at selling it to someone now.”
Becking said the dam could potentially generate revenue after rehabilitation, but he said it will likely never be more than a “break-even” proposition.
Becking said many of the questions from council had already been dealt with during the previous council.
“Whether we like it or not…we own it. We have an obligation to maintain that dam. That is a fact,” he said.
Council ultimately voted 7-3 to approve the study.
Burgess 1 Dam is located north of the North Bala Falls Dam and west of Muskoka Road 169 between Portage Street and River Street. It was constructed between 1917 and 1922 and was purchased by the Ontario Power Commission in 1929 which operated the dam until 1957. The Township purchased the dam in 1963 and in recent years the Township has leased it to various companies who have operated it as an active hydroelectric generating station.
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Jack Lord says
Tho dam was damaged in the 2019 flood which was allegedly partly caused by poor water management upstream. Was an insurance claim made?
Seems Public Works concerned about a 9 foot drop in Lake Muskoka if the dam breaks. Shouldn’t they be more concerned about the people downstream with the resulting tsunami? Many examples of people swept away by dams failing.