Grand River Conservation Authority (GRCA) is installing devices to keep people safe near dams.
The installation of safety devices is an annual spring procedure for the GRCA. Staff are installing the public safety devices, specifically warning booms and buoys, upstream of GRCA-owned dams to alert paddlers, anglers and boaters to stay away.
Dams can pose serious threats to public safety, and can even result in fatalities if safety signals are ignored.
Water surges through gates and valves or over the dams, creating strong undertows and currents around the structures, which can be extremely dangerous.
The GRCA owns and operates 28 dams in its watershed, There are more than 100 dams in the watershed that are not owned by the GRCA. These dams may not have the same safety devices in place that are encountered at GRCA-owned dams.
At GRCA dams, safety devices that are provided include a danger sign upstream of the dam and a sign that indicates there’s a portage ahead - for sites that are deemed navigable.
There are also signs located at the upstream and downstream portage locations, and typically more danger signs closer to the dam. At dams with a tailwater fishery, there are also warning signs downstream of the dam warning of changing river flows. These are placed at angler access points and coordinated with groups such as Friends of the Grand River.
"The annual installation of these public safety devices is one of the many ways the GRCA educates the public about the dangers around dams and is one part of our robust dam safety program," said Katelyn Lynch, the conservation authority's director of water infrastructure. "This year, the GRCA also hosted a Public Safety Around Dams Workshop, delivered by the Canadian Dam Association. Municipal staff from across the Grand River watershed, as well as staff from Transport Canada and the Ministry of Natural Resources, joined GRCA staff at the workshop."
More information about safety around dams is available on the GRCA website. Copies of the GRCA’s River Safety Rules booklet for children is available by contacting the GRCA Administration Centre.