Colliery Dams on Council Agenda Monday July 6 at 4:30

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The mayor has stated publicly

that only about 40 people

are actively involved

with the Colliery Dam Issue. 

He should know better. 

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The Park is on the Agenda once again this Monday, July 6 at 4:30.

The current topic will be regarding the stay and appeal process directing the City to choose one of two remediation options for the lower dam. The stay has been denied and there is a demand to choose between 2 options by July 24. 

It seems apparent that City Staff will be recommending the alternate emergency spillway (swale) for the far side of the bridge at the lower dam. It would empty into Harewood Creek and allow for more than twice the capacity of our existing spillway. The swale would be between 10 and 30 meters wide and up to 5 meters deep and would cost between $3 and $6 million.

Five Councillors, Fuller, Kipp, Hong, Bestwick and Yoachim have supported a proposal for work to be done at the middle dam this year and that a select committee be set up to establish what might be required at the lower dam. The proposal is similar to that put out by CDPPS on April 17 and we support their proposal. 

The Mayor, 3 councillors, and DSS do not support this proposal. 

We urge anyone who is available to attend the council session

this coming Monday at 4:30.

The mayor has stated publicly that only about 40 people are actively involved with the Colliery Dam Issue. He should know better. 

—  Jeff Solomon

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COLLIERY DAM PARK PRESERVATION SOCIETY NEEDS YOUR HELP

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COLLIERY DAM PARK PRESERVATION SOCIETY

NEEDS YOUR HELP

City of Nanaimo has every intention of pushing for destruction of the lower spillway at a price tag of over $8 million. This is by far a most invasive and costly option to fix a problem that has questionable benefit.

If the plan for the labyrinth design goes ahead it means that:

• the lower dam area will be shut off to the public for all of next summer

• both lakes will be lowered 5 meters during the construction period of 4 months which would be disastrous to the eco-system of the lakes

• the Labyrinth spillway being recommended will be almost 17 feet deep to manage the projected flow of a flood event that might occur in 35,000 OR 50,000 years. For much of the year we have about 1 inch of water in the spillway and rarely have more than one foot. Constructing the labyrinth spillway means blasting into the bedrock under the existing spillway and removing the bridge.

• When used, the low level outlet in the new spillway would draw down the water at the lower lake 10 feet, this likely would be used during peak recreational time. Drawing down water from the lower lake would only be a boost to the Chase River for a few days and would severely limit the recreational value of the lower lake during its peak usage. We have raised our concern for ensuring water flow into the entire system and we believe that this needs to be addressed and can be achieved by a comprehensive long term approach. This has become much more of a concern since the new reservoir has come online as there is now no overflow from the decommissioned reservoir. The Fish and Game Club have proposed options to enhance water in the river system and these have been on record for almost 2 years.

City of Nanaimo says they will only take some of the signs down. They are spending thousands more dollars to decide which signs should come down. Studies show the risk is minimal. They serve no purpose other than to project a sense of urgency that does not exist.

WE NEED YOU TO:

• become informed. There will be a lot of information that will be put on the City website that will help you understand the risk and the plans going forward. Please feel free to email City staff or myself with anything you do not understand. My email is solohunter@telus.net

• write Mayor and Council and insist that they stop this madness. It is important to take the time to make sure money is not wasted and that we develop a solution that does the least amount of harm to the park and its ecosystem.

• insist that the signs come down NOW. The risk is minimal.

• tell Council that you want public representation back at the table so that we have input into final decisions made. The options that have been presented to council do not address the mandate of the technical committee to be least invasive and cost effective.

• tell Council that we insist on the minutes for the Technical Committee meeting of June 27 be released with all amendments and additions as insisted by the Colliery Dam Park Preservation Society.

THIS IS NOT TIME TO BE PASSIVE. THEY WANT THIS TO BE LOCKED DOWN BEFORE THE ELECTION AND IT HAS BEEN IN MOTION FOR MONTHS. BE VOCAL NOW. 

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JOIN US FOR A DEMONSTRATION AT

THE SARC (ANNEX) BUILDING ON 

DUNSMUIR STREET (City Hall)

1:00 ON WEDNESDAY AUGUST 06TH 

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MAKE UP SIGNS. TELL THE CITY THAT WE ARE NOT GOING AWAY—

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH

IT IS TIME TO STOP WASTING TAX DOLLARS

GET RID OF THOSE DAM SIGNS

TELL MAYOR AND COUNCIL TO STOP WASTING OUR DAM MONEY   

For more information and to answer any questions please Join us on Sunday at 1pm at the lower Colliery Dam.

Colliery Dam Park Preservation Society Temporarily Withdraws from the Technical Committee

It has become increasingly clear over the last few months that that the technical committee is not being directed by the goals of least invasive and cost effective measures for dam remediation.  Our questions are no longer adequately answered and our input disregarded.   We cannot support the current process which we do not feel is credible.

Although a comprehensive analysis has determined that our dams are in good condition and pose little risk to the community, the City is unwilling to step away from their entrenched position.  They have refused to retract their emergency message and take down inappropriate signage. Initially they had stated that the major concern was an earthquake.  This has proven untrue.  Now they are stating that we must remain on emergency status because of a hypothetical storm event.  This type of fear-mongering does not lead to appropriate and practical decisions and has nothing to do with promoting safety. Furthermore, City of Nanaimo also continues to pursue remediation measures in excess of what may be required with corresponding excessive costs.

CDPPS have acted as representatives from the community which has not yet been fully engaged according to the mandate of the Technical Committee. The lack of transparency with this process has long been a major issue of concern. The public have not had an opportunity to partake in this process and have a real say in planning. The Public (via Colliery Dam Park Preservation Society) has been given token representation at the Committee level with no actual authority in the decision making process.  There is no consensus regarding the options that are being considered which have dramatic cost and impact factors. Nor is there sufficient allowance for other, potentially more appropriate options. To date there has been absolutely no information volunteered to the public at large with respect to options or related costs. This is not acceptable. This is our community’s public park and these are our tax dollars at stake.

Colliery Dam Park Preservation Society has stated that:

● there is no urgency in making any decision regarding the park immediately as the risk has been qualified and it is minimal

● that all documents from engineering consultant Golder and minutes from meetings be released for public consumption.

● that current options which are being considered and related costs be made public

● that the technical committee re-convene in a month’s time to review and plan accordingly.

For Contact:

Jeff Solomon

CDPPS  250 753-0554

Press Release — A New Progressive Path Towards a Constructive Plan for Preserving the Heritage Value and Social Benefits of Colliery Dam Park

The Colliery Dam Park Preservation Society would like to thank the City staff and Council for developing a plan which will provide immediate risk mitigation and give the City and other concerned stakeholders time to discuss and develop long term mitigation solutions. We are optimistic that we are on a progressive path towards a constructive plan for preserving the heritage value and social benefits of having these dams in the park for the future.

The short term risk mitigation developed for the dams is a very thorough plan and one that may produce the added bonus of being a template for an emergency plan for the whole city. As any event that would be of a scale that would cause the dams to fail would also be one that would cause wide spread devastation in the city, creating a city wide emergency preparedness plan would be a sensible move. We are grateful that the people in Harewood will have the benefit of this plan but we think all of Nanaimo residents should also have the same consideration.

As we move forward the Colliery Dam Park Preservation Society is hopeful that common sense and cost effective methods will be pursued, while keeping residents safe from actual and real risks as a priority. As there is new information regarding the status of the dams, which should decrease the consequence rating, common sense would indicate repairing the dams could be a fairly straight forward and cost acceptable option.

The Colliery Dam Park Preservation Society has attempted throughout this process to support the efficient use of tax dollars. We are hopeful that this will be a goal that we all work towards as we develop a plan for the future of the middle and lower Colliery dams. Our community has worked tirelessly and without cost to the city to provide research information that would assist City staff and we look forward to combining our resources with those of the City to find solutions. The Colliery Dam Park Preservation Society supports the safe upgrading of the middle and lower Colliery dams in a manner that uses practical methods and is not only mindful of tax dollars spent but also considers other important factors such as the values and needs of other major stakeholders.

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