Ontario’s Ministry of Natural Resources has confirmed inspectors visited a dam that sparked a heated debate between neighbours on the boundary of Cambridge and Puslinch. Officials said they are still reviewing the findings from the Aug. 21 inspection. Irish Creek lies along Townline Road and, at one time, used to be a popular spot for swimming, fishing and playing hockey. “The Little Dam,” however, is on private property. Neighbours were outraged when part of the structure was cleared out, causing water to flow downstream. The property owner told CTV News that clearing the spillway was “necessary” for safety reasons, citing the significant rainfall this summer. Les Holdway said high water levels were forcing the secondary spillway to run non-stop, which threatened the structural integrity of the earthen wall. He also explained that the previous owner had removed the original floodgate controls and blocked the drainage point. That, Holdway said, made it much more difficult to manage the water level. “All I did was clean out the dirt behind it and then take the moss, which is about a foot and a half thick, out of the top by hand, and the water came through,” he said on Aug. 19. “Now it is down to a level that’s manageable.” The Ministry of Natural Resources told CTV News on Thursday that they are still reviewing the findings from their recent inspection and cannot comment any further on the matter. With reporting from Heather Senoran
