16 years after it busted, Springbank Dam saga nears conclusion (2024)

The long saga of London’s broken Springbank Dam should be finished by year’s end, almost two decades after it busted during testing.

A report going to city council’s planning committee this week says the partial removal of the structure will start in July and be completed by the end of 2024.

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It’s been 16 years since the bolts in the newly overhauled dam broke during early testing, rendering the structure unusable and ending the plan to enhance the Thames River for recreational activities upstream.

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A fierce and lengthy debate followed to decide whether to fix the structure or to allow the river to flow naturally. While civil lawsuits flew and city hall dithered, time allowed natural vegetation and species to thrive.

In 2019, city hall was told the cost of removing the entire structure would be close to $6 million. City council opted for a partial decommission at half the cost. That will see the removal of the dam’s multi-tonne gates sitting on the riverbed, along with the hydraulic equipment and the control room. Left behind will be a concrete skeleton.

The staff report asks politicians to endorse a contract with Stantec Consulting to oversee the work and the restoration of 175 metres along the south bank of the Thames River, specifically “the environmental management, resident inspection and the construction administration.”

The consulting costs are estimated to be roughly $728,000, bringing the total of engineering services for the project to about $1 million.

That’s only part of the cost to finally make the dam just water under the bridge. Almost all the work for entire project will be covered by the $3.775-million legal settlement reached with the gate engineers, with an additional $1 million to be added to cover inflation in construction costs, the report states.

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Stantec has been working on the project since it was awarded the design contract in 2021 with the hope the work could be finished in 2022. But the design period was extended to secure permits from federal and provincial agencies, the report states.

Bank restoration began in March when 43 out of 128 trees had to be removed, including several large silver maples. They will be replaced with 74 native species of trees.

Part of the contract will go toward fish rescue at a cost of $40,000 and to the hiring of six ecologists and divers who will be assigned to search, rescue and document any freshwater mussels. If found, the mussels would be relocated downstream, in line with federal guidelines relating to the at-risk species.

jsims@postmedia.com

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