Success!! Gorrie Dam was removed in August of 2021.
Before: Gorrie Dam breached in June 2017 heavy rain event – scour hole.
Category Archives: Gorrie Dam
Update: Gorrie Dam on the North Maitland River to be Decommissioned
UPDATE: Gorrie Dam Demolition Underway, Toronto Star, 23 July 2021
The Gorrie Dam failed as the result of an extreme rain and flood event in June of 2017. The dam had failed before, so the ORA advocated for its decommissioning, rather than its repair.
Part of the earthen berm to the south of the dam failed in June 2017. In June 2019, after reviewing a study of alternatives for the dam, the Conservation Authority membership decided to begin the process of decommissioning the structure which is located at Gorrie Conservation Area.
It is crucial that we take action on infrastructure that would put citizens at risk, degrade water quality, threaten our fisheries, or that jeopardize the ecosystem services that healthy rivers provide.
The Maitland Valley Conservation Authority has decided to decommission the dam and will move ahead with decommissioning in 2021.
Maitland Conservation Moves Ahead With Next Steps at Gorrie Conservation Area, 6 July 2020, by Maitland CA.
Gorrie Dam Failure, North Maitland River
Gorrie Dam Breach – Scour Hole
It has come to ORA’s attention that the Gorrie Dam on the North Maitland River failed as a result of flooding during an extreme rain event on 23 – 24 June 2017, and that Maitland Conservation is considering its options. We understand that no one is more aware of the extremes of a volatile and changing climate than Conservation Authorities, and yours in particular; and we understand the pressure that Conservation Authorities and municipalities are under when communities rally to maintain their coveted mill ponds. However, it is up to all authorities to take a leadership role that places public safety and landscape scale ecological integrity above local individual or group interests.