The Town of Ladysmith is delaying the removal of a dam on Holland Creek after the province warned of a “significant threat” to spawning salmon.
The creek supports major runs of chum salmon and minor runs of coho and steelhead, according to the Environment Ministry, as well as being a source for the town’s water.
Ladysmith had planned to remove the Mackie Road Dam on Sept. 4 after a recommendation last year by B.C. Dam Safety that it posed a risk of failure and the best option was to remove it.
The decommissioning of Mackie Road Dam has now been moved to next summer, according to the town.
“While the risk of dam failure remains, it is not imminent, therefore protection of fish spawning is the higher priority,” the town said in a statement.
No work has started on removal.
The 1.5-kilometre section of the North Loop of the Holland Creek/Heart Lake Trail that was set to be closed during the removal process will remain open to the public until work begins.
The decommissioning is expected to cost about $600,000. Ladysmith said in its statement that the delay will mean additional costs, but it’s not clear what they will be.
The project is being funded with a $2.75-million grant from the provincial government to remediate three weirs of concern along Holland Creek, including the Mackie Dam.
The Mackie Road Dam is a 3.8-metre-high and 12-metre-wide abandoned timber-crib structure near the intersection of the Holland Creek Trail and Mackie Trail.
The dam is believed to have been built more than 70 years ago by the Wellington Collieries Company for coal-mining water supply or control. Wellington Collieries was a coal-mining company incorporated in 1902 to take control of coal-mining operations in Ladysmith and Wellington.
At some point, the Town of Ladysmith became the dam’s owner through ownership of the surrounding land, the town said.
The Mackie Road Dam removal will also include pulling out and spreading sediment to blend in with the existing creek channel. Fish barriers would be removed and replaced with deadwood and pools to provide fish habitat.
There is another abandoned dam upstream, the Colonia Drive Dam, along with the town’s water intake dam even farther upstream. Both dams require work for compliance with dam safety regulations, although both projects are a lower priority, said the town.
That work will include concrete repairs, stream-bed improvements, signage, fencing and flood- erosion protection.
