Moose Jaw Times-Herald: More funding for CPR dam repairs

Council unanimously approves additional funding for repairs
 to the CPR dam during Monday's regular council meeting.
Times-Herald photo by Lisa Goudy

By Lisa Goudy

During the regular meeting of council on Monday night, council unanimously approved the funding of $110,000 for additional repairs to the existing CPR dam.

The engineering department presented a report to city council that said they are now able to identify and repair all of the leaks in the existing dam and are proposing injecting shotcrete to seal the leaks. Council approved the funding for the repairs to come from the flood control account, the flood control reserve account and the Capital Project SS-3 for storm sewer and upgrade replacement.

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Additional Comments

The engineering report presented to council gave a history on the damaged dam. The initial damage to the dam occurred on April 8, 2011 with a sudden flow of ice jam with spring flooding. The steel and board walkway was damaged as well as most of the logs. One of the piers of the dam was inclined, causing issues to put the logs back in place.

The dam controls the water level of Plaxton’s Lake during low flow periods, which creates a pond in the river channel used mainly for aesthetics in Wakamow Valley. The Wakamow Valley Authority promotes maintenance of the pond to protect the ecosystem, to encourage recreation and to conserve water against future drought.

As experienced during the last spring and summer, the report said the dam can still hold water pressure and sealing the leaks will hold the water. To complete the repair, the engineering department needs to build a temporary cofferdam with gravel and sand bags so the water level can be regulated through the duration of the repair as comply with regulations.

“This repair might last or be required to last a long time,” said Coun. Brian Swanson.