Dam burst at hatchery kills thousands of fish

[danbouck]

Couldn't post under news.

 

Dam burst at hatchery kills thousands of fish; Roads also washed out in Normandale

Posted By Monte Sonnenberg

Posted 1 day ago

 

From The Brantford Expositor

 

Margaret Kruse witnessed a rare spectacle when she looked out her kitchen window in Normandale Monday morning - a deluge of water from a dam burst.

 

"I looked out my window and saw water rushing by and bubbling out into the lake a mile-and-a-half out," said Kruse, who lives at the mouth of Normandale Creek. "The water was filled with debris. I knew we were in trouble. I've never seen anything like this in my 12 years here."

 

She watched the water rush by for nearly 20 minutes. She didn't know that the dam on the reservoir at the Normandale fish hatchery, managed by the Ministry of Natural Resources, had just failed.

 

resident angry, disgusted

 

"I couldn't believe my eyes," she said. "It's always been just a little creek. But it was full of bridge sections and huge trees. The force was just something."

 

The breech occurred around 8 a.m. A 60-foot section of the berm on the west side of the dam gave way, emptying a 20-acre reservoir that was filled to a depth of 15 feet in places.

 

The resulting wall of water washed out the south bank of Front Road in the centre of Normandale, located near Turkey Point. It also washed out a section of Mill Road.

 

Property on both sides of Normandale Creek were badly eroded. Thousands of fish - mostly bass - were found dead in the mud, while the trout spawn in the flood zone was buried in silt or washed away. After the flood, Kevin Ponting of Normandale walked the length of Normandale Creek - also known as Potter's Creek - to the hatchery. The devastation left him angry and disgusted.

 

"We found thousands upon thousands of bass, catfish, perch and sunfish that were washed up dead," he said. "We rescued a few. We saved quite a few but the area back there is just littered with bass. The worst thing is the Ministry of Natural Resources knew that reservoir was full of fish, yet they did nothing."

 

Several homes and cottages in Normandale are no longer accessible by vehicle. However, Norfolk County expects to complete repairs and re-open the affected roadways by next week.

 

Eric D'Hondt, Norfolk's general manager of public works, said the ministry can look forward to a belt.

 

"Norfolk County is keeping track of all its costs and will be billing the province for the damage," D'Hondt said, adding large amounts of sand and gravel will be needed to correct the washouts.

 

Bill Baskerville, of the Long Point Region Conservation Authority, inspected the breech Monday morning. He said the berm failed because of a plugged spillway. Baskerville said evidence at the scene suggests water was washing over the berm when it caved in.

 

The immediate threat now, Baskerville said, is curious people falling into Normandale Creek. Banks along the flood zone are extremely unstable, he said.

 

"Any approach to the top of the banks that have been undermined could be dangerous," he said. "The best thing is to stay away."

 

MNR spokesperson John Cooper said it remains business as usual at the Normandale hatchery. The facility, which was opened in the 1920s, is the oldest of its kind in Ontario. Trout and salmon hatched there are released into Lake Ontario. The hatchery, Cooper said, used the reservoir as a settling pond for effluent from the facility.

 

The MNR hasn't decided whether it will repair the dam.

 

"They're more concerned about the damage downstream," Cooper said. "It's way too early to worry about that."

[chickenhawk]

wow....that is really unfortunate to hear! im gonna have to take a drive on saturday and check that out....

[Rich]

That really sucks. Used to be a great spot for brookies and bass. Too bad the government takes funding from the MNR so they can't properly upkeep these things.

[aniceguy]

That really sucks. Used to be a great spot for brookies and bass. Too bad the government takes funding from the MNR so they can't properly upkeep these things.

Who really is in control of Normandale Ringwood is an OFAH hatchery, and from what I understand Normandale is also under the control of OFAH...This will be an utter blame game in the weeks to come

[irishfield]

Yep... pull out the insurance policy and study it hard...

[CLofchik]

Atleast there's no problems with the hatchery. #'s are already low, don't need to lose what few trout are still stocked in Lake O.

 

And Ringwood might have the OFAH's name on it, but it's Metro East Anglers that do the majority of the work there.

[danbouck]

The article states that the MNR runs it.

[CLofchik]

The article states that the MNR runs it.

 

MNR runs Normandale and raises the majority of rainbow for Lake O, MEA/OFAH runs Ringwood and raises the majority of browns and all chinook stocked by Ontario into Lake O.