Silver Lake protest

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Port Dover residents are divided over the fate of a small, man-made lake that’s been part of the landscape for more than a century. The dam that created the lake is falling apart but no-one seems to know what to do about it or who’s responsible.

For 150 years, Misner’s dam has held back a portion of the Lynn river in Port Dover and in doing so led to Silver lake. The small shallow lake has been a fixture of the community for decades. It held a rowing club and hosted dragon boat races, but no more… Silver lake, is vanishing.

The water in Silver lake has been intentionally drained and now the crumbling concrete has sparked concern that the structure will collapse, even though an inspection beneath the water line showed the barrier was still sound, it was decided to lower the water level. The lake is also battling the effects of the collapse of the Ivey dam years ago. The silt from farm fields near Simcoe, now flows down the Lynn river and into Silver lake, covering its shallow bottom, but it doesn’t reach the harbour in Port Dover.

In the last couple of weeks someone broke into the dam control area and put 2 stop logs back in place, temporarily raising the water in Silver lake. It’s an example of the frustration here, no one seems to know what to do with the dam, or the lake. Half a dozen different authorities including the Long Point Conservation authority, the County of Norfolk, and the Ministry of Natural Resources, all have some jurisdiction over the dam but none of them will claim ownership.

The Ministry says it’s official position is that it would prefer a full environmental assessment to be undertaken by the County of Norfolk. It would also like the dam to be decommissioned. The county can’t afford the assessment and knows that removing the dam would not be a popular option.

So for now the Mayor says, “the county is pursuing action to put the water level of Silver lake back down to the level suggested in the consultants report, in the interest of public safety. ”

Additional video: More from Tim Rodger & Gary Malpass:

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