September 28, 2026 - Update on offshore incident
Following the incident that occurred on the evening of Wednesday, September 23, both excavators have been retrieved from the water. The first was recovered at approximately 12:00 p.m. on Friday, September 25, and the second was recovered at approximately 3:45 p.m. on Saturday, September 26. There were no observed fuel, oil or hydraulic fluid spills during the recovery operations, and environmental measures remained in place on land. Mechanics were on site over the weekend inspecting the machinery. The Town’s contractor continues to work on site cleanup and installing ballasts on the pipe staged at Lora Bay
September 24, 2026 - Town responding to offshore incident
Just prior to 10:00 p.m. on Wednesday, September 23, personnel working for the project’s marine contractor were repositioning equipment on the temporary in-water clear stone berm. During this work, a section of the berm became unstable causing an excavator to enter the water. During the initial recovery effort, another portion of the temporary berm became unstable, resulting in a second excavator entering the water. It has been confirmed that no injuries resulted from the incident. A full media release has been published regarding the incident.
View Media Release
September 21, 2026 - New barge to be deployed this week
The Town's contractor is continuing to progress on dredging through the daytime and overnight shifts as weather conditions allow. Progress has been hindered by equipment malfunctions at times. To help offset this, a new heavy-duty barge and excavator is expected to be deployed early this week to assist with the dredging of the deepest remaining sections. Further offshore, some of the sections of pipe that will sit on the lakebed have been sunk and staged in their approximate positions. These will be shifted into position for final installation once the buried section of pipe has been installed.
September 11, 2026 - Implementation of night-shift dredging operations and extension of in-water work permit
The project contractor has recently implemented a three-barge operation to increase the rate of offshore trenching and dredging work. Despite these additional resources, challenging lakebed conditions, water conditions and machinery downtime continue to affect daily production rates.
To help advance the work, the contractor will be introducing night-shift dredging operations beginning Friday, September 11. The night shift will operate from 7:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. using the primary barge and excavator only. This approach will allow offshore trenching activities to operate on a near-continuous basis, subject to weather conditions and established safety requirements. Overnight work will begin approximately 290 metres offshore and will progress into deeper water over time. Work closer to the shoreline will be completed during daytime hours only. All work will continue to be carried out in accordance with applicable approvals and environmental protection measures.
The public may notice additional activity and lighting associated with the offshore work during overnight hours. The Town recognizes this may affect nearby residents and lake users and appreciates the community’s patience as the project team works to complete this critical infrastructure project.
The Town has also received approval from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Ministry of Natural Resources and Grey Sauble Conservation Authority to extend the in-water work permit until Wednesday, October 14, 2026.
September 4, 2026 - Dredging update and mobilization of second excavator
The Town's contractor has reported that they have completed 28 metres of dredging in the first four days of this week. A second barge and excavator is being delivered to the Grey Street road allowance, and is expected to be operational shortly. The second excavator will assist with the remaining dredging and the completion of backfilling following the pipe installation to ensure that production targets are met. Work will continue throughout the long weekend in accordance with the hours presented to and approved by Council for in-water and onshore work.
A new section has been added to the top of the project page to highlight dredging progress. This content will be updated on a daily basis, Monday to Friday, and a summary will be included in the weekly progress email.
August 28, 2026 - Weekend work plan for August 29-30
The Town's contractor has completed work on the valve chamber located in the Grey Street road allowance between Bay Street East and the shoreline. In line with the Staff Report presented on Tuesday, August 25, the contractor's in-water work hours will extend as late as 7 p.m. on Saturday, with the addition of 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Sunday. The weekend work plan calls for ballast preparation work at Lora Bay Park and the continuation of in-water dredging work off the shoreline of the Grey Street road allowance.
August 21, 2026 - Weekend work plan and lookahead schedule
The contractor again expects to work extended hours from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. this Saturday to continue in-water dredging, weather and water conditions permitting. They also expect to be performing general site maintenance activities at Lora Bay Park. Looking ahead to next week, the primary areas of focus will be the continuation of dredging, with some material deliveries to Lora Bay Park and the Grey Street site expected later in the week.
August 14, 2026 - Weekend work plan and lookahead schedule
The contractor expects to work extended hours from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. this Saturday to continue in-water dredging, weather and water conditions permitting. They also expect to be performing general site maintenance activities at Lora Bay Park. Looking ahead to next week, the primary areas of focus will be the continuation of dredging and the installation of concrete ballast weights.
August 12, 2026 - Transition to barge dredging underway
The Town's contractor has reached the stage of the dredging where they have begun to transition to excavating from a barge. A temporary in-water berm has been constructed from clear stone to serve as a work platform for the dredging up to this point. This berm has allowed the machinery to stay out of the water while completing the shallow dredging, minimizing contamination from grease and other foreign substances that might be present on the excavator. The contractor is currently completing the work associated with the temporary berm, and it is anticipated that the dredging operation will fully transition to the barge within the next week.
The clear stone used to construct the berm will be removed following completion of this portion of the work, and the recovered stone will be reused as part of the required pipe bedding. Additional material will be placed on top of the bedding to prevent it from washing up onto the shore. Following installation of the new outfall, the shoreline and work area will be restored in accordance with the project requirements.
August 7, 2026 - Dredging resumes along with stockpiling of clear stone
The Town's contractor has completed installation of the modified turbidity curtain layout, and has resumed dredging operations. They have also begun stockpiling clear stone and are using it to build a temporary in-water berm. The clear stone will be used for bedding and backfilling around the buried section of the new outfall pipe when it's installed. Clear stone deliveries are expected to continue until the beginning of September at both Lora Bay Park and the Grey Street North site.
The contractor expects to work extended hours from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. this Saturday with site maintenance being completed at Lora Bay Park, and dredging continuing at the Grey Street North site, pending water and weather conditions.
July 31, 2026 - Limited weekend work plan
In accordance with Council's direction, the Town's contractor will be limiting working hours this weekend to those allowed by the Town's Noise By-law. They plan to work 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, August 1, and a full day 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Monday, August 4. Planned work activities for Saturday include pipe fusing and site maintenance at Lora Bay Park, and turbidity curtain installation off the Grey Street road allowance. In-water dredging is currently expected to resume on Monday, August 4, weather and water conditions permitting.
July 30, 2026 - Water sampling results and pipe sinking in Lora Bay
The Town has received analysis results of water samples taken on Monday, July 20 from two locations at the Grey Street North installation site. The analysis measures total suspended solids which is a standard gauge of turbidity and water quality. Measured quantities were 15 mg/L north of the dredging zone and 35 mg/L south of the dredging zone. The Town is working with an independent Environmental Consultant to provide the review and feedback of the analysis.
View Results
At Lora Bay Park, Deepsix has partially filled the staged pipe with water to position it just below the water surface. This is a planned measure designed to reduce the effects of wave action by allowing wave energy to pass over the pipe rather than be resisted by it. Additional visual markers and buoys are being installed to clearly identify the pipe's location for residents and recreational watercraft operating in the area.
July 30, 2026 - Approval of amended construction plan
The amended construction plan formulated by the Town's contractor has been reviewed and approved by the Town’s engineering consultant, the Ministry of Natural Resources, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, and local Conservation Authorities.
The turbidity curtain will be redeployed in a modified configuration to support completion of the remaining dredging work. The revised configuration will place remaining, usable curtain sections along both sides of the dredging corridor. The offshore end will remain open to reduce pressure from wind and waves, improving the system’s resilience during changing lake conditions. The contractor plans to begin reinstalling the turbidity curtain system and resuming dredging as early as Thursday, July 30, pending suitable weather and water conditions.
Maintaining environmental and public health remains paramount in the amended plan. Continuous turbidity monitoring will remain in place during dredging. If the monitoring system detects turbidity levels in exceedance of approved thresholds, response actions will be implemented, up to and including temporary suspension of dredging. The Town has also engaged a third-party consultant to complete water quality testing periodically along the shoreline outside the dredging corridor.
More details can be found in the full media release linked below.
View Media Release
July 24, 2026 - Update on next steps and weekend work plan
Following the weather incident that occurred on the weekend of July 18, the Town continues to work with its contractors and engineering consultant to formulate a plan to resume installation of the new outfall without impacting the overall project deadline. The Town has been in contact with the Ministry of Natural Resources, Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Conservation Authorities and other agencies that will need to review and approve the amended plan. Details will be shared once the plan has been finalized and approved at all levels.
The contractor expects to work extended hours from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. this Saturday to continue pipe fusing at Lora Bay Park and to perform general maintenance at the Grey Street North site. Water quality testing was completed at the Grey Street North site earlier this week. Results will be shared to the project page when available.
July 17, 2026 - Extended Saturday hours for shoreline dredging
The contractor expects to work extended hours from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. this Saturday to continue shoreline dredging, weather and water conditions permitting. They currently have approximately 70 metres of the dredging completed. Pipe fusing is also expected to restart at Lora Bay Park next week following delivery of materials.
July 10, 2026 - Turbidity monitoring alert
Earlier today, the Town's contractor was alerted of excess turbidity in the water in the area around the dredging site. They inspected the turbidity curtains and identified a minor failure which was immediately secured. The turbidity curtain installation includes a monitoring system which will continue to alert staff of any future issues.
July 9, 2026 - Extended Saturday hours for shoreline dredging
The contractor expects to work extended hours from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. this weekend to continue shoreline dredging from the Grey Street North road allowance, weather and water conditions permitting. In accordance with Council's direction, no work will be conducted on Sunday.
July 8, 2026 - Shoreline dredging to begin this week
Dredging for the installation of the offshore section of the new outfall pipe at the Grey Street North road allowance is expected to begin on Thursday, July 9. Turbidity curtains have been installed in the Bay to prevent sediment from drifting in the currents once dredging begins. A subcontractor was on site today completing fish rescues from within the curtained area. At Lora Bay Park, pipe fusing activity will temporarily pause as the contractor waits on delivery of additional materials.
July 2, 2026 - In-water Work Permit window opens and weekend work at Lora Bay Park
The Town's permitted window for in-water work has opened as of July 1, and the marine work contractor has begun placing anchors and equipment in the water off the north end of the Grey Street road allowance. The contractor has also informed the Town that they will be working extended hours from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. at Lora Bay Park to complete pipe fusing on July 4, July 11 and July 18. No work will be conducted on Sundays over these weekends.
June 1, 2026 - Contractor mobilizing to Lora Bay Park
Clearway Construction has begun mobilizing to Lora Bay Park to start the assembly of the new outfall pipe for the Thornbury Wastewater Treatment Plant. They will be working this week to install security fencing and place equipment.
