Safety boom to be installed in Lake Victoria after draining event last summer

A safety boom was recently installed at the Fanshawe Conservation Area’s dam. Although quite larger than the boom to be installed at Lake Victoria, it is an example of what will stretch across the very end of the downtown water feature, near the RT Orr Dam.

CONNOR LUCZKA, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Lake Victoria will soon have a new safety feature upon its waters.

At the Stratford city council meeting on Feb. 9, representatives from the City of Stratford and the Upper Thames River Conservation Authority (UTRCA) presented a report on the dramatic draining of Lake Victoria that took place last summer – and what is planned to be done to mitigate those risks in the future.

The main feature is a safety boom system with a debris skirt, a visible barrier of bright yellow pontoons that would be anchored and buoyed near the RT Orr Dam. It would warn anyone in the river from dam hazards and also reduce floating debris from entering the gates.

City and UTRCA staff also agreed on a number of mitigation measures as well, including:

• More frequent dam inspections by city staff

• Updating dam operation and maintenance Standard Operating Procedures (SOP)

• Increased and clear lines of communications between city staff and the UTRCA

• Additional debris removal after storm events

The saga began on July 24, 2025, when a storm brought down over 30 millimetres of rain in less than an hour over the region. The rainfall led to the opening of the sluice gate at the dam, what it is designed to do; however, as lake levels receded and the north gate attempted to close, lodged debris prevented that from happening. The lake began to rapidly lower for a number of days, before the reservoir was low enough that staff could safely clear the debris and close the north gate on July 31.

As reported in the Sept. 5 edition of the Times, members of the Stratford Rotary Dragon Boat Festival, led by Robert Ritz, attempted to fill the lake by pumping water from an upstream quarry into the river system; however, the attempt wasn’t needed. On the very same day the pumps were scheduled to be turned on, higher than expected precipitation filled Lake Victoria to pre-drawdown levels.

When asked by Coun. Brad Beatty how the city can make sure an event like that wouldn’t happen again, Chris Tasker, manager of water and information management at the UTRCA, replied frankly.

“Ensuring that it absolutely cannot happen again is something that would be very, very costly. I’m not even sure whether it's possible,” Tasker said. “I think what's important is to be trying to balance the appropriate measures to reduce the likelihood of that happening. With any undershot gate, there's always the potential that something gets stuck in it.”

The safety boom is not without cost either. It is estimated to be about $350,000 and is included in the UTRCA’s draft budget, as well as the city’s 2026 operating budget. Notably, the project would be eligible for 50 per cent coverage through Water and Erosion Control Infrastructure (WECI) funding, making the projected municipal share approximately 50 per cent of the total cost, according to the staff report.