Work will begin later this month on a project to bring the 60-year-old Luther Dam up to modern safety standards.
The work on the dam in the Town of Grand Valley in Dufferin County, is expected to take about six weeks and will cost about $300,000. The contractor on the project is Drexler Construction Ltd. of Rockwood.
Luther Dam is one of seven dams owned by the Grand River Conservation Authority to reduce flood damages and augment river flows during the summer and fall.
The project will involve raising the height of the dam about one metre to provide more protection against waves spilling over the top. The downstream embankment will be reshaped to have a lower slope to address some settling that had taken place over the decades.
Access to the dam area and the road on top of the dam may be limited during the construction work.
The dam was built in 1952 and creates a large reservoir and wetland area that is at the core of the Luther Marsh Wildlife Management Area. The reservoir takes up 1,500 hectares of the 5,915 hectare management area. It is well known as a major bird habitat with more than 130 species nesting there.
