Silver Lake rehabilitation one of the ‘biggest projects’ ongoing in Waterloo core

A long running project in Waterloo Park, the Silver Lake rehabilitation is a multi-million-dollar effort, with public consultation on the project stretching back to 2018. As the work in that city’s urban park continues, Waterloo’s Ward 7 councillor Tenille Bonoguore called the project “one of the biggest” going on in the core right now, as she said she can’t think of anything like it that’s occurred in the park in over ten years.

Speaking to the project, Bonoguore said Waterloo Park has been like a “kid’s daydream” for the past year because of the presence of every type of construction vehicle, digger or hauler you could imagine. And that equipment was certainly needed, as Bonoguore said efforts to keep Silver Lake clear of silt have seen crews dig out the entire lake, as well as old infrastructure that the councillor said had been damaged by previous storms and left unsafe to the general public.

“It’s about a five-million-dollar project – and the idea is we want the lake to be clean, we want it to be nice to visit and we also want it to be functional. So, the changes that are being made now… the idea is to stop it from silting up quite so frequently.”

As part of the improvement effort in Waterloo Park, Bonoguore said several trees also had to be torn out of the surrounding area – an experience that she said was particularly difficult for the community to have to experience. In that process, Bonoguore said it quickly became clear that several of the trees in the area of Silver Lake were in much worse shape than what city staff had originally anticipated.

“There’s going to be replanting, which is a big thing.” Said Bonoguore. “They’ll be replanted with trees with a longer lifespan – with a focus on native trees and native plants as well.”

Bonoguore said the project is still in the “teething pain” stages now as it stands, though she maintained that the long-term results will be great – as she said the area is already beginning to resemble a robust lake once again. According to the councillor, the finished project will include a boardwalk that will be able to take visitors out across Silver Lake, including a loop by the grist mill so people no longer have to leave the park to visit.

“I’m actually really excited about the underwater work that’s been done: the effort to reshape the lake itself, creating that upstream lake cell where they can clean out sediment there as well.” Said Bonoguore. “I’m looking forward to it becoming a clean and beautiful lake. We haven’t seen it like that in a really long time – so that in itself is going to be great.”

The Ward 7 councillor said she expects the improvement work around the lake to be done by the Fall of this year, with work on the nearby park around the area of Lions Lagoon to happen afterward. Bonoguore said she expects the complete areas should be finished by the first half of 2022.