Despite sounding like faint praise, a report on the dam at the northeast finger of Maxwell Lake has indicated the dam is safe –– “reasonably,” according to consultants.
“Given the downstream impacts [from failure], it triggered a dam safety review,” said North Salt Spring Waterworks District (NSSWD) operations manager Ryan Moray, who delivered the news to NSSWD trustees on Nov. 21. The dam had been recently reclassified as a “high-consequence dam” by B.C.’s dam safety program, which requires professional reviews every 10 years.
“It’s quite detailed in nature,” Moray said of the 196-page report, “but it boils down to a handful of components we’re recommended to look at in the next three to five years.”
Those include a closer examination of the structure of the dam, the installation of equipment to measure underground water pressure and the addition of some material along one section to avoid potential water “overtopping” during extreme weather events.
“These are all minor in nature,” Moray said, “but they will come at a cost.”
Within the report’s Dam Safety Review Assurance Statement, the consultant provided the district with formal assurance the dam was “Reasonably Safe,” a professional practice term meaning all normal dam safety management measures were being implemented –– as opposed to “Not Safe,” which would have indicated deficiencies requiring urgent action.
“I’m happy to report the consultant said the dam is reasonably safe,” chuckled Moray. “Technically we need to do some things there, and I’m thinking a good time to address that is during our [water treatment] plant construction, when we have equipment on site. That could all come together nicely.”
The Maxwell Lake water treatment plant project could be partly funded through grants under the new $6-billion Canada Housing Infrastructure Fund, Moray said he’d learned, noting its relationship with the expansion of drinking water availability. NSSWD trustees directed staff to apply for that funding support and continue investigating whether other projects within the district might be eligible.