Colliery Dam Options Explained

Engineer Explains Options For Colliery Dam

Lorne Gale addressed a full house at the John Barsby multi-purpose room to explain the options which are available instead of removing the Colliery Dams. There are several options available which could see the issue of safety addressed while at the same time retaining the dams and the two lakes they create in the park.

The standards being insisted upon by the Dam Safety Branch, in typical engineer's fashion seem to be almost excessive to the point of unbelievable (that is my official uneducated layman's opinion) as they are calling for a standard that would withstand an event with the possibility of happening once in 10,000 years! If such an event did occur, perhaps Colliery Dams would be the only thing left to let future travelers know that anything had ever existed in this place, as surely the rest of Nanaimo would be nothing but a pile of rubble.

Anyway, this incredibly high standard can still be met and the purpose of the current studies commissioned by the city is to compare the costs of complete removal of the dams as well as the cost to rehabilitate the dams. The cost of rehabilitation based on the engineers report done in 2010 was said to be in the order of $1,000,000.00. With the addition of added spillways to deal with a major rain event, the cost to rehab the dams was still thought to be in the $3,000,000 range. This is compared with the current estimated cost of $7,000,000 to remove the dams.

Question For City of Nanaimo Staff & Council

Given that the hazard these dams are feared to present is so extreme that they have to be either removed or have millions of dollars spent upgrading them, why has this hazard not be reduced by simply lowering the levels of the water in the dams right now, instead of waiting at all?

City hall logic makes my mind wobble!