WECI Program Committee visits SNC sites

Members of the provincial Water and Erosion Control Infrastructure (WECI) program committee, along with SNC staff, inspect the Crysler Dam as part of a tour of of dams and other flood and erosion control structures in the South Nation watershed.

PHOTO CREDIT - Nation.on.ca

Finch - Sep. 14, 2011 - The provincial Water and Erosion Control Infrastructure (WECI) program committee toured several sites in the South Nation Conservation watershed recently, getting a look at their financial contributions at work and prioritizing possible new projects.

Comprising five conservation authority representatives, one from Conservation Ontario and one from Ministry of Natural Resources, the review committee visited SNC dams at Chesterville and Crysler where many WECI-funded improvements have been implemented. Committee members also stopped at Morrisburg where erosion repair work was funded by the program.

Water control structures require ongoing maintenance to ensure they’re functioning effectively and continuing to protect people and property. That’s where the WECI program comes in with $5 million in matching annual capital investments to maintain provincial dams and other flood and erosion control installations. Highest ranking for project funding goes to projects required to avoid structural failure.

So far this year, SNC has received $70,000 in WECI funding, covering 50 per cent of the costs of dam safety assessments at Chesterville, Crysler and the Plantagenet weir, along with new marker buoys.

Terminating the tour, the committee visited Augusta Township where SNC applied for a WECI grant in 2008 to address flooding issues. While the request was denied, the committee still asked to view the site and be briefed on the issue.

A 13.5 km section of the South Nation River flowing through Augusta has been declared a municipal drain; the flow is impeded and flooding is a problem which SNC hoped could be resolved in part with WECI help. Despite being turned down, necessary flood relief projects are moving forward on three problematic reaches totaling four km.

SNC staff guiding the tour provided demonstrations on use of safety equipment funded by WECI, explanations of past program-assisted projects, and briefings on possible future projects including new stop logs and lighting repairs at Chesterville, and erosion repair on the north side bank at Crysler.

Sandra Mancini, SNC Director of Planning and Engineering, is pleased with projects underway to date and looks forward to future WECI partnerships.