The Independent Staff

Repairs to the dam at Bridgeview Park mean the water in Petrolia’s flats is lower than normal.

Kevin Baker, the director of lands for the St. Clair Region Conservation Authority, says recently the wooden logs which formed part of the dam at the south end of the lake began rotting. Town of Petrolia workers found a tree lodged in the wooden logs which are meant to open and close the dam. They realized the logs in the dam were rotted out.

The conservation authority went looking for a replacement but knew it would be very expensive to replace. So they went looking for a local solution.

Baker says the Authority worked with John Duff Industries to fix the problem. They created aluminum logs which have replaced the logs. Baker says the aluminum logs seem to be working although the water is still lower than normal.

The authority may have to add another “log” to keep water levels higher.