City of Cambridge approves $19 million Riverside Dam rebuild for 2025

The long-awaited rebuild of a Cambridge dam will finally happen, nearly five years after council originally voted to approve the rebuild.

Construction of Riverside Dam is expected to begin in 2025 at an estimated cost of $19.3 million. It was approved Tuesday as part of Cambridge’s 2023 budget. Due to debt financing costs, it is expected to lead to a 1.41 per cent tax rate increase starting in 2026.

The cost to rebuild the dam has more than tripled after it was originally pegged at $6.2 million.

In 2021, the price went up to $15.2 million due to necessary add-ons like valves for flood and sediment control as well as a fish ladder. 

At the time, council decided to take a more passive approach and monitor the 130-year-old dam at an annual projected cost of $30,000.

As part of the 2023 budget deliberations, council opted to cancel a $200,000 repair project as the dam continues to deteriorate quickly. Instead, council has reinitiated the design project for $525,000 “to advance the design beyond the completed 60 per cent design milestone,” a representative from the City of Cambridge said.

Not everyone is praising the multi-million dollar decision.

Christopher Bunt works for an environmental consulting firm focused on fish and wildlife monitoring.

He said the money could be spent in a better way.

“The best rest river restoration tool that exists is removing a dam. And restoring the river to its original form prior to it being impounded and blocked off,” said Bunt in an interview with CTV News.

The dam is considered controversial to some as it could prevent fish from moving along their natural pathways even if fish ladders are installed.

“And I can tell you there's not a single fish ladder in the world that's 100 per cent efficient at passing fish or restoring the connectivity in a way that people would hope,” said Bunt.