section5-04

Throughway Management

Condition of Waterway Assets

Parks Canada national historic canals/waterways, associated locks, dams and bridges are important for 25,000 square kilometres of drainage basin, affecting more than 100,000 private landowners and countless communities.

Parks Canada has worked to complete full inventories of waterway assets and their condition ratings. In most cases, a preliminary condition rating has been completed (visual with minimal or no engineering work) but secondary inspections have not been done in all cases. For waterway assets, true asset condition and the cost of recapitalization can only be determined after engineering studies are completed. When two thirds of the asset is under water, engineering assessments are both complicated and expensive.

Parks Canada received a significant amount of money to recapitalize its assets. The condition ratings and estimated replacement/recapitalization costs on which the submission was based were incomplete and the Agency now has a capacity challenge (funding, expertise) in order to ensure that all assets are maintained in at least fair condition.

Specifically with regard to dams, the maintenance of these assets has been a priority for Parks Canada given that they are critical to managing water levels and are considered high risk in terms of public health and safety. Table 39 summarizes the condition ratings of dams. Currently, 58% of dams are rated as being in fair to good condition. With respect to the remainder, 40% are rated as being in poor condition while 2% have been closed due to public safety hazards.

Table 39: Status of Dams

Waterway	Length (Km)	Number of Dams*	% By Condition Rating
			Good	Fair	Poor	Closure
Trent-Severn Waterway	386	162	13	28	58	1
Rideau	220	68	29	68	3	0
St. Ours	1	7	71	29	0	0
Chambly	20	6	67	17	0	17
Lachine	14.5	5	0	0	80	20
Total	641.5	248	20	38	40	2

* 4 dams in the Rideau Canal and 1 in the Trent-Severn Waterway have been excluded as they did not have a condition rating.

The Bolsiver Dam on the Rideau Canal, as an example, was assessed as being a health and safety risk and Budget 2005 funding was allocated to recapitalize it. Costs have escalated as preliminary engineering studies were completed and construction bids came in higher than expected. The costs of recapitalization are now estimated at $12 million.

To address the recapitalization needs of these assets, a review and assessment of Parks Canada’s Dam Safety Program was undertaken in 2005-2006. A number of recommendations were made to improve the management of these assets using a two-phased approach. Phase 1 (1-3 years) includes establishing a core capacity within the Agency to manage dam safety accountabilities, developing a dam safety policy, establishing a monitoring and evaluation program and identifying intervention priorities as well as developing and implementing emergency plans. Phase II (3-10 years) will focus on developing a capital program to provide for routine maintenance of these assets on an ongoing basis.

Progress during the first year of Phase 1 focused primarily on building capacity in this area of the Agency. Work on the development of a dam safety policy and monitoring and evaluation program will be initiated in 2007-2008.

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