The Blind River Dam controls the water levels for the lower Blind River and Lake Duborne. Located about 300 m upstream of the Blind River outlet into the north channel of Lake Huron, the dam is owned by the Ministry of Northern Development, Mines, Natural Resources and Forestry and operated, along with its adjacent 100 kW hydroelectric generating station, by the Town. Located within the Town of Blind River, the dam is integral to power production, spring flood control, fisheries protection, and recreation in the area.

History

The original Blind River Dam was built more than 100 years ago on private land to operate a sawmill. The first concrete structure was built in 1939 and operated by the Town until 1966 when the Government of Ontario agreed to take ownership.

The dam was rebuilt in 1974 as a concrete structure with moveable winches on rails. During the construction, a fish slide was replaced with a fifth control gate. Since construction, the dam has seen major renovations with the addition of a generating facility and an overflow gate in the west bay in 1998 and concrete rehabilitation in 1999.

Currently, the dam consists of three stop-log sluices, one mechanical gate and the two-unit hydro generating facility. The station sends power to municipal buildings located on Martin and Hudson Streets. Water levels are maintained by placement or removal of stop logs, or by adjusting the mechanical gate.

Learn more about the Blind River Dam by viewing our Blind River Water Management Plan.

2015 Blind River Dam leakage

In 2015 the Ministry sought to address excessive leakage occurring in gates 3, 4 and 5 of the dam. Work was completed from August to September 2015 to seal the leaks and rehabilitate the dam's gates.

View the Ministry's documents presented to Town Council during a presentation on Sept. 8, 2015:

Water level reports

View our recent Blind River Dam water level reports. Please contact us at info@blindriver.ca or 705-356-2251 if you would like to view reports from previous years.

2018 water level reports

DateWater LevelNumber of Logs OutComment

Jan. 9, 2018

0.63

7

Dock

Jan. 16, 2018

0.69

7

Dock

Feb. 16, 2018

0.60

5

Dock

Feb. 20, 2018

0.56

4

Dock

Feb. 23, 2018

0.58

4

Dock

Feb. 26, 2018

0.60

4

Dock

March 2, 2018

0.67

5

Dock

April 6, 2018

0.61

5

Dock

April 9, 2018

0.57

4

Bridge

April 10, 2018

0.60

4

Bridge

April 30, 2018

0.59

22

Bridge

May 3, 2018

0.60

20

Bridge

May 4, 2018

0.67

28

Bridge

May 6, 2018

0.80

31

Bridge

May 9, 2018

0.67

28

Bridge

May 14, 2018

0.65

26.5

Bridge

May 16, 2018

0.62

18.5

Bridge

May 22, 2018

0.84

7.5

Bridge

May 28, 2018

0.80

9.5

Bridge

June 4, 2018

0.72

9.5

Bridge

June 11, 2018

0.73

5

Bridge

June 13, 2018

0.75

5.5

Bridge

June 18, 2018

0.71

6.25

Bridge

June 27, 2018

0.66

3

Bridge

July 3, 2018

0.65

0

Bridge

July 11, 2018

0.63

0

Bridge

July 16, 2018

0.60

0

Bridge

July 20, 2018

0.57

0

Bridge

July 25, 2018

0.55

0

Bridge

Aug. 1, 2018

0.50

0

Bridge

Aug. 6, 2018

0.50

0

Bridge

Aug. 13, 2018

0.48

0

Bridge

Aug. 17, 2018

0.46

0

Bridge

Aug. 20, 2018

0.44

0

Bridge

Aug. 22, 2018

0.43

0

Bridge

Aug. 24, 2018

0.42

0

Bridge

Sept. 4, 2018

0.46

0

Bridge

Sept. 17, 2018

0.47

0

Bridge

Sept. 21, 2018

0.49

0

Bridge

Sept. 26, 2018

0.50

0

Bridge

Oct. 1, 2018

0.63

2

Bridge

Oct. 5, 2018

0.72

3

Bridge

Oct. 9, 2018

0.68

5

Bridge

Oct. 12, 2018

0.68

8

Bridge

Oct. 17, 2018

0.68

10.5

Bridge

Oct. 22, 2018

0.65

19

Bridge

Oct. 26, 2018

0.72

22

Bridge

Oct. 31, 2018

0.71

19

Bridge

Nov. 5, 2018

0.68

16

Bridge

Nov. 9, 2018

0.69

17.5

Bridge

Nov. 14, 2018

0.68

15.25

Bridge

Nov. 21, 2018

0.67

12

Bridge

Nov. 26, 2018

0.74

13.5

Bridge

Dec. 5, 2018

0.67

12.5

Bridge

Dec. 10, 2018

0.64

11

Bridge

Dec. 18, 2018

0.62

11

Bridge

Dec. 21, 2018

0.64

6

Bridge

Dec. 28, 2018

0.65

4.5

Bridge

2019 water level reports

DateWater LevelNumber of Logs OutComment

Jan. 2, 2019

0.69

6

Bridge

Jan. 7, 2019

0.65

3.5

Bridge

Jan. 16, 2019

0.68

4.25

Bridge

Jan. 23, 2019

0.62

4

Bridge

Jan. 28, 2019

0.65

4

Bridge

Feb. 6, 2019

0.66

3

Bridge

Feb. 15, 2019

0.67

3.5

Bridge

March 4, 2019

0.64

4

Bridge

March 11, 2019

0.60

4.25

Bridge

March 18, 2019

0.61

5

Bridge

March 25, 2019

0.66

13.5

Bridge

March 27, 2019

0.62

14

Bridge

April 3, 2019

0.61

14.5

Bridge

April 8, 2019

0.68

17

Bridge

April 10, 2019

0.77

25

Bridge

April 15, 2019

0.74

33

Bridge

April 22, 2019

0.93

33

Bridge

April 25, 2019

0.98

35

Bridge

May 3, 2019

0.91

35

Bridge

May 6, 2019

0.81

33

Bridge

May 10, 2019

0.74

33

Bridge

May 15, 2019

0.69

22.5

Bridge

May 29, 2019

0.69

22.5

Bridge

June 3, 2019

0.65

17.5

Bridge

June 12, 2019

0.61

14

Bridge

Dec. 4, 2019

0.70

13

Bridge

Dec. 6, 2019

0.65

11

Bridge

2020 water level reports

DateWater LevelNumber of Logs OutComment

June 1, 2020

0.55

0

N/A

June 2, 2020

0.55

0

Log Sealing

June 3, 2020

0.55

0

Log Sealing

June 4, 2020

0.53

0

Log Sealing

June 5, 2020

0.58

0

Log Sealing

June 6, 2020

0.62

0

N/A

June 7, 2020

0.65

0

N/A

June 8, 2020

0.65

0

N/A

June 9, 2020

0.64

0

Log Sealing

June 10, 2020

0.65

0

N/A

June 11, 2020

0.65

0

N/A

June 12, 2020

0.70

0

Log Sealing

June 13, 2020

0.62

0

N/A

June 14, 2020

0.64

0

N/A

June 15, 2020

0.65

0

N/A

June 16, 2020

0.66

0

N/A

June 17, 2020

0.67

0

N/A

June 18, 2020

0.68

0

N/A

June 19, 2020

0.70

1

N/A

June 20, 2020

0.73

3

N/A

June 21, 2020

0.67

3

N/A

June 22, 2020

0.65

1.5

Log Sealing

June 23, 2020

0.65

1.5

N/A

June 24, 2020

0.66

1.5

N/A

June 25, 2020

0.66

0

N/A

June 26, 2020

0.66

0

N/A

June 27, 2020

0.66

0

N/A

June 28, 2020

0.67

0

N/A

June 29, 2020

0.66

0

N/A

June 30, 2020

0.66

0

N/A

July 1, 2020

0.66

0

N/A

July 2, 2020

0.66

0

N/A

July 3, 2020

0.68

0

N/A

July 4, 2020

0.68

0

N/A

July 5, 2020

0.68

0

N/A

July 6, 2020

0.66

0

N/A

July 7, 2020

0.67

0

N/A

July 8, 2020

0.68

0

Log Sealing

July 9, 2020

0.66

0

Log Sealing

July 10, 2020

0.70

0

Same level at dam

July 11, 2020

0.70

1

N/A

July 12, 2020

0.71

1

N/A

July 13, 2020

0.72

2

N/A

July 14, 2020

0.70

2

N/A

July 15, 2020

0.67

4

Heavy rain

July 16, 2020

0.65

2

N/A

July 17, 2020

0.65

0

N/A

July 18, 2020

0.65

0

N/A

July 19, 2020

0.69

4

Heavy rain

July 20, 2020

0.74

4

N/A

July 21, 2020

0.71

4

N/A

July 22, 2020

0.69

4

N/A

July 23, 2020

0.67

3

N/A

July 24, 2020

0.69

3

N/A

July 25, 2020

0.69

3

N/A

July 26, 2020

0.70

3

N/A

July 27, 2020

0.69

3

N/A

July 28, 2020

0.68

2

N/A

July 29, 2020

0.67

2

N/A

July 30, 2020

0.67

1

N/A

July 31, 2020

0.68

1

N/A

2021 water level reports

2022 water level reports

2023 water level reports

2024 water level reports

GENERATING STATION REPORTS

December 2022
January 2023
February 2023
March 2023
April 2023
May 2023

 

 

 

 

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