The boat channel at the Westmeath boat launch will not be dredged out, agreed council for the township of Whitewater Region.
Two years ago, a former councillor had a complaint about the depth of the handmade dyke, said environmental services manager Steve Hodson at a recent environmental services committee meeting.
He set in motion to get permits, and yet, two years later, nothing has yet been accomplished.
The Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) provided a permit, but it has certain conditions that must be met, such as floating silt curtains must be installed and the material dredged out must be trucked off site, Mr. Hodson said. The slurry will have be dewatered or trucked off-site in sealed containers.
Mayor Hal Johnson questioned why the material would have to be trucked away.
“Do they feel the Ottawa River is a controlled substance or a contaminated substance?”
Mr. Hodson doesn’t know the reasoning behind why it has to be trucked off.
He noted Bellows Bay is shallow and after spending a large amount of money to dredge it, once the boats get out a few hundred feet, they are back into shallow water.
“My fear is we are going to spend a tremendous amount of money on this, we’re going to dredge down one or two feet along this dyke, and then we’re just going to get back into shallower water,” Mr. Hodson said. “I don’t have a good feeling about the project.”
Chief Administrative Officer Christine FitzSimons noted there is $50,000 in reserves for this project. If council decides not to go ahead with the project, it can be left in reserves until another project is decided upon.
Mr. Hodson suggested the money remain in reserves for upgrades to the boat launches.
Mayor Johnson was surprised to hear only $50,000 was in reserves.
“That $50,000 won’t even set the controls in place,” he said. “We’ll need closer to $2 or $3 million.”
Councillor Chris Olmstead agreed, noting the scope of this project is out of Whitewater’s framework.
Mayor Johnson noted the boat launches were built by the federal government and when maintenance was required, they were turned over to the municipality.
Mr. Hodson and Councillor Daryl McLaughlin recalled that the former treasurer looked around to secure funding for the project, as well as people to do the project, and nothing was found.
“The money there is just a little kick in the bucket,” he agreed. “We’ve done enough. Leave the money there until budget time.”
