Large buildup of silt along river in Cambridge raising concerns

EDITOR’S NOTE: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated the job of the Parkhill Dam.

The Cambridge Rowing Club have to move the docks out further into the Grand River every year due to a building amount of silt along the edge of the river near Parkhill Dam.

The club doesn’t know if the silt is toxic or if it contains dangerous metals. The club’s President, Ron Dowhaniuk, has been in contact with Grand River Conservation Authority (GRCA) to try and find out.

The sluice gates at Parkhill Dam permanently closed about 20 years ago after the deaths of Constable Dave Nicholson and 12-year-old Mark Gage.

“That was a very dramatic event obviously for everybody involved so public safety was the concern and what the kids were doing, diving up stream and then coming through the sluices we wanted to stop that,” said Dowhaniuk.

As it was a very emotional time, Dowhaniuk doesn’t think the environmental impact of permanently closing the sluice gates was discussed.

“We were seeing the river potentially narrowing, what’s going to happen in another 10 or 20 years, is it going to be a marshland there?”

In a statement, GRCA said they are in contact with the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) on this matter. The local organization also mentioned it has no plans at this time for further studies or assessments.

Dowhaniuk is hoping to change that and get others, like the DFO, involved.

In a report from the GRCA released December 2024 said the Parkhill Dam was acquired in 1972 by the GRCA and is a “run-of-the-river” dam, which means it does not serve a flood control or flow augmentation function. The GRCA owns and operates 28 damns, seven of them are “used to manage flows with the watershed and are classified as multi-purpose dams.”

“There are currently no significant repairs or modifications planned for the Parkhill Dam with respect to GRCA’s dam safety and public safety management program,” it reads. “Regular inspections and engineering assessments have not identified dam safety or public safety works with respect to the Parkhill Dam that require addressing at this time.”

“The importance of controlling public safety hazards and the risk of drowning at GRCA structures is a top priority for the GRCA, and at this point, the option of re-opening the low-level outlets at the Parkhill Dam is not under active consideration.”

It went on to say the organization is considering alternative measures.

Parkhill Dam was originally built by two major mills operating in Galt.