HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2018-6-28, Page 8PAGE 8. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JUNE 28, 2018.
Residents want clam saved, MVCA urges removal
By Denny Scott
The Citizen
While a group of concerned
citizens in Wingham want to save
and restore the Howson Dam, the
sentiment from other organizations
was clear: it has to go.
During North Huron Council's
June 18 meeting, letters and
presentations from individuals fell
on both sides of the issue. Those
arguing to keep it cited tourism,
aesthetics and individual memories
of the site, while those against
keeping the dam said it was a matter
of safety and flood prevention.
Several individuals spoke to the
issue saying the pond and dam were
part of what drew them to Wingham
in the first place 40 or more years
ago.
Dave Shaw, who moved to the
community 45 years ago, said that
the pond used to bring hundreds of
people in to swim, boat, fish and
enjoy other recreational
opportunities created by the dam. He
also said that he witnessed wildlife
through the site and has watched the
structure crumble over the years.
"Now my personal thought is it's
an embarrassment to our town," he
said. "People, whether from town or
passing through, would look up and
say what a mess and rightfully so."
He asked the council to start the
process to replace the dam and
restore the pond.
Ken Wood spoke about the safety
that can be taught to high school
students at the dam, pointing to a
recent drowning in Toronto and
saying that it could have been
avoided if the victims had been
better educated.
Sinclair Wardrop said there may
be funds available to help with the
cost, and said council needs to have
the foresight and drive to repair the
bridge.
Doyle Cullen lamented the loss of
the ability to launch a boat in the
community, saying that the loss of
the dam and pond has caused people
McKees mark
anniversary
PEOPLE AROUND
BELGRAVE
By Linda
Campbell
Call
357-2188
There were four -and -a -half tables
of shoot in play on Friday, June 22
at the Community Centre. The
winners were: high pink card, Mary
Ellen Keller; second high pink card,
Lillian Appleby; most shoots pink
card, Mary McIntosh; high white
card, Trudy Taylor; second high
white card, Judy Hahn and most
shoots white card, Roy Finch.
Thanks to everyone for
supporting our cards. We are
suspending cards for the summer
but hope to resume again in
September.
The community congratulates
and extends special anniversary
greetings to Paul and Linda McKee
on their 50th wedding anniversary
on June 21.
Paul and Linda McKee
celebrated their 50th wedding
anniversary with relatives and
friends at the home of Jeff and
Tracy's in Walton and enjoyed a
delicious supper and visiting.
to go out of Wingham for
recreational opportunities. He also
said that young people who used to
fish off the dam can no longer do so
as the township closed it due to
safety concerns.
Andy McBride, representing the
community group trying to save the
dam, questioned the study presented
by KGS Group Inc., asking why it
had classified the dam as such a
hazard when, in the firm's analysis
of the dam, there was information
contrary to such a classification.
After those deputations, Linda
Heron, representing the not-for-
profit Ontario Rivers Alliance, spoke
to council, saying that naturalizing,
or removing, the dam was the best
way for the municipality to proceed.
She said that KGS failed to
consider climate change in its
analysis and said that the dam was in
an even more precarious state than
originally thought.
Heron continually stated that
considering an 100 -year storm
wasn't a sufficient measure any
longer, refering to the fact that many
flood plain and dam rulings are
based on that metric. She said, with
climate change, a 1,000 -year storm
needed to be considered when
setting policy. Such a storm could
cause significant damage to the
existing dam structure, according to
Heron.
According to the Ontario Rivers
Alliance and Heron, naturalizing the
dam, the least expensive option for
North Huron going forward at
$436,000, would improve water
quality and temperature, aquatic
habitat and health, tourism
opportunities and sediment transport
through the river. She also said it
would increase resilience to climate
change and align with North Huron's
strategic plan.
Council had limited comments on
either presentation, with some
specific questions directed to Heron
she couldn't answer, however later
in the meeting, the Maitland Valley
Conservation Authority (MVCA)
weighed in on the issue via a letter to
North Huron echoing some of
Heron's statements.
The letter, penned by Engineer and
Flood and Erosion Safety Service
Co-ordinator, Steve Jackson.
labelled the dam as a danger to
upstream lands.
"The Howson Dam is an
obstruction in the river that increases
the potential for flooding of land and
development upstream of the dam,"
Jackson said. "It is expected that the
area upstream that is presently
located in the flood plain can be
reduced if the dam is removed.
"The dam is a bottleneck in the
flood plain which increases the risk
of flooding and flood damages
upstream of the dam," he continued.
Jackson went on to say that, if
North Huron Council considers
replacing the dam, a new flood plain
map should be created so the dam
can be designed to reduce the risk of
flooding of development and lands
upstream of the new structure.
In closing, Jackson said that
repairing the existing structure
would not meet the goals of reducing
flood risks upstream of the dam.
Council received Jackson's letter,
and took no immediate action aside
from collecting the comments for a
future staff report.
With the degradation of the dam,
North Huron is looking at least
$430,000 to remove it, or as much as
$7 million to replace it, with other
options at price points in between.
A fun day out
The Wingham Sportsman's Club hosted its annual fishing derby for Community Living's
Wingham branch last week. Dozens of fish were caught by those in attendance. (Denny scop
photo)
FROM BELGRAVE
PIP—*iv
Looking'for
t
Each year a committee chooses
communities to receive an award
honoured, please fill in the form
should win, if you like. If you have
I nominate
local heroes
33rd Annual
- Citizen of the Year Award
• Nominations Open
1 There are so many people out there who
do so much to improve their community.
This is your opportunity to show your
appreciation for all they do.
an outstanding citizen from each of the Blyth and area and Brussels and area
for contribution to the community. If you know someone you think should be
and send it in. You may attach a longer explanation of why you think your nominee
nominated someone before and they didn't win, we encourage you to submit again.
as Citizen of the year for
I feel she/he deserves this award because
Blyth Brussels
& area & area
Nomination Deadline July 31, 2018.
Name and phone number of nominator
info@northhuron.on.ca
Fax: 519-523-9140 Box 429, Blyth, ON NOM 1H0 or Box 152 Brussels, ON NOG 1H0