Residents who live along the Capilano River corridor may hear Metro Vancouver testing its new Cleveland Dam alarm system over the next two weeks.
The alarms are one part of an interim system of safety improvements Metro is putting in place in the wake of last year’s Cleveland Dam disaster, which killed a North Vancouver father and son who were fishing on the river when a series of software and human errors at the dam led to its spillway suddenly opening.
In a release, the regional authority says testing will go between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday to Friday, with no testing to occur on weekends.
They will be starting at the Cleveland Dam, and making their way down to the Capilano Hatchery, the Highway 1 bridge over the Capilano and the Lions Gate Wastewater Treatment Plant, spending up to two days testing at each site.
Each test of the alarms will last between 90 seconds and seven minutes, Metro says.
By coincidence, the river is expected to swell over the next few days as Environment Canada has issued a special weather statement including heavy rainfall, Metro noted.
Public consultations on the larger suite of long-term safety improvements in Metro’s plans will remain open until July 30.
“We encourage the public to provide feedback on their experience of the testing by participating at metrovancouver.org/clevelanddamsafety,” the release states.
