Deaths at Grand weir ‘preventable,’ region exploring safety measures
A Kitchener canoeist believes the deaths of Annette Martz and Rachel Taylor were preventable; if only someone had listened to her.
Anne Woolner, the trip co-ordinator and board member of a local canoe club, lobbied in 2020 for better safety measures on the Grand River in Kitchener, in the area of the Hidden Valley Low-Lift Station weir.
She told anyone who would listen, and even those that wouldn’t. She bounced from Grand River Conservation Area staff, the region, the City of Kitchener and even an employee of the Mannheim Water Treatment Plant, which is fed with water at the base of the weir, demanding they improve warnings for those approaching the dam-like structure.
Woolner said the first stage should be improving signage leading to the weir, posting large warnings on the actual Freeport and Highway 8 bridge to let water users know what’s coming. She said there is one sign near the Highway 8 bridge on the left, but it is frequently covered by branches from foliage.
As well, she feels there should be better signage indicating a portage opening on the left shore approaching the weir, used by canoeists and kayakers who want to continue down the Grand River. Besides making the portage sign bigger, the spot should be painted blue, so it is clearly visible, and a “P” painted on the cement.
Also, the white flags strung above the weir should be replaced with orange flags, as the white blends in with the sky, and a rope of orange buoys strung across the water above the weir.
Her buoy suggestion, Woolner claimed, was reasoned away with it would be pushed over the weir by ice in the winter. She said a simple solution is to remove it in late fall, until spring.
Her words in 2020 to recipients of her message was, “Don’t wait for a tragedy to happen before you do something.”
“As far as I’m concerned, they’re responsible for two women’s deaths. There are safety precautions that might have saved them,” Woolner said.
Martz and Taylor disappeared on July 13, at approximately 9:30 p.m., when a witness last saw them going over the weir near the Hidden Valley Low-Lift Station and calling for help. After going over the weir, the witness did not see them resurface.
Emergency services who arrived at the scene, approximately one kilometre downstream from the Freeport and Highway 8 bridges, determined “treacherous water conditions” were believed to be a factor in the women’s disappearance.
The weir, in essence, is like a lowhead dam, usually not visible upstream. That fact was something Woolner pointed out, saying only someone experienced in that part of the river would know it was there.
The base of the weir, like low-head dams, can create an underwater hydraulic cycle that is near impossible to escape unless it somehow spits a person out.
With a weir, water above picks up speed as it is goes over the top. Fastmoving water plunges to the bottom of the weir, forcing the water already there to surface. Water continues over the dam, causing a recirculating current. The recirculating current is known as a boil, which will repeatedly force any
thing caught in it under the water and back up again.
Making the Kitchener weir more dangerous are cement teeth at its base, used as icebreakers.
Two days following the disappearance of Martz and Taylor, the weir showed its power. Trapped logs thrashed in the water at the foot of the weir, loudly thumping into it and the icebreakers in the water.
Taylor’s body was found in Kitchener on July 15, and Martz’s, the next day in Paris.
Woolner feels if roped buoys had been placed 100 metres from the weir a few years ago, when she suggested it, the women may have been able to grab onto it until help arrived.
It appears now, though, people are listening.
The region sent a statement saying thoughts are with those impacted by the tragedy, but noted the weir plays an important part in ensuring the primary drinking water intake for the Mannheim Water Treatment Plant is always submerged, making nearly 20 per cent of the region’s water supply available to residents.
“After any incident involving regional facilities, the region conducts a review to see if any improvements can be made, and staff have started this process,” the statement read.
Regional Coun. Colleen James, chair of the region’s sustainability, infrastructure and development committee, also believed the fatality on the water was “completely” preventable.
She saw, first-hand, activity on the Grand River this past weekend indicating people need to be more educated on the dangers of the river. People near Blair’s Landing were seen going down the river on pool floaties, and there was no signage in the area warning people not to go in that area without a canoe or kayak, and none reminding people to wear life jackets.
“My instinct, right away, is that can’t be safe,” she said.
Her words were somewhat prophetic. Brant OPP found the body of a 58-year-old Cambridge resident in the Grand River Tuesday near Glen Morris. Police said the person was unresponsive when taken out of the water and was pronounced dead at hospital.
The OPP did not give a cause of death.
More signage and preventive education is the answer, James said.
“I think, from a regional perspective, looking into what can we do, it may mean we need to collaborate with the conservation authority in terms of getting signage around these areas to make sure that people know that the Grand River is dangerous,” James said.
“It can cost people their lives, we’ve seen it more than once, in previous years as well.”
Working to increase safety in the area is on the regional docket, James said. That may mean, for instance, exploring buoys and working with the conservation authority to see if there are enough preventive measures in place.
On the education side, James noted there should at least be a 10-minute tutorial available online to make people aware of proper water safety and what to expect on the Grand River.
“We have newcomers especially settled in this community. We are promoting the Grand River. Yes, it is something to do; it is an amazing adventure. It is active; it’s sporting as well. But again, there is major safety awareness that needs to happen so that people can enjoy the resource that’s available to them.”
James said this is an opportunity to ask questions, such as what can be learned from the tragedy and where has the region not been proactive enough to educate the people?
“We don’t need this to happen again.”
While the conservation authority prides itself on safety measures and signage around its 28 dams on the Grand River, the weir is owned the region, not the conservation authority.
The GRCA also does not own the rivers in the watershed, said Lisa Stocco, a spokesperson for the conservation authority, so some information on the river, including water levels considered safe for users, is out of its area of expertise and authority.
“Instead, we provide information on our website to help people make informed decisions about paddling or boating, such as the importance of being aware of river conditions. River flows can change quickly and without warning.”
Reports of river flows can be found at www.grandriver.ca.
“Suitability of river flows for paddling and paddling times depend on the experience and equipment of the paddler and the conditions at the time. We suggest that members of the public contact a local canoe outfitter for advice if they are unsure about whether it is safe to go paddling on the rivers.”