Warning signs have been installed at the Hope Mill dam - please obey the signs.
WARNING SIGNS ERECTED AT HOPE MILL DAM
Otonabee Conservation has installed warning signs at the Hope Mill dam [Indian River] to identify public safety hazards on and around the dam and provide public notice that swimming, wading and boating are strictly prohibited.
The Hope Mill is a very popular area with the public. But engaging in such activities as swimming, wading, boating and fishing at this location may pose a very real danger to public safety. Hazards associated with the dam may not be easily recognized. Otonabee Conservation has installed the warning signs as a safety measure to safeguard the public from harm.
The water flowing through the dam produces a sufficiently strong, fast and turbulent current to pose a serious risk of injury or death. While the surface of the Indian River may seem gentle at times, the unseen water hazards pose very real dangers.
There are currently nine warning signs in place on the property. The signs are marked with the word “DANGER” and the international warning symbol of a bright red diamond. The warning signs read: “Dangerous Water - Keep Out - Access Beyond this Point May Result in Drowning”; “Dam Outflow - Keep Away”; and, “Dam – No Trespassing”. Several of the signs also include pictographs and additional wording identifying that swimming, wading and boating are prohibited in the water immediately upstream and downstream of the dam.
The signs are bright and visible.
Otonabee Conservation recognizes that the signs may seem like an inconvenience to some people, but the signs are a necessary public safety measure, and the public is asked to respect the warnings.
The warning signs are part of a public safety plan developed by Otonabee Conservation to deter the public from accessing hazardous areas on and around the Hope Mill dam, to heighten public awareness about the hazards that exist on and around the dam, and to address the Regional Coroner’s recommendations from the drowning incident (that occurred at the Hope Mill dam, August 2005). Otonabee Conservation is also planning the installation of additional gates, fencing, grid barriers and safety booms to restrict access and reduce the risk to public safety.
The Hope Mill dam is owned by the Otonabee Region Conservation Authority [Otonabee Conservation] and is operated to supply water-power to the sawmill on an occasional basis throughout the year.