THUNDER BAY — Ontario Power Generation is warning anglers and snowmobilers about unsafe ice conditions developing on Dog Lake.
It's the result of a pending year-long shutdown of the Silver Falls Generating Station on the Kaministiquia River.
Water can't be passed through the 50-megawatt station while it undergoes an overhaul.
As part of the preparations for the work, OPG on Monday took the unusual step of opening the dam on Dog Lake, where the Kam has its source.
Over the next seven days or so, it's expected the lake level will drop between 10 and 25 centimetres.
Spokeswoman Tana-Leigh Harty says "This is not a normal practice. We're being proactive and letting the public know that conditions will not be normal, and they may encounter some unstable ice."
Harty told Tbnewswatch there's a possibility the ice could collapse, depending on its thickness.
"We want to get ahead of it, and make sure the public knows to stay away from the Dog Lake Dam area" waterways, she said.
OPG is required to follow the water level guidelines contained in the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry's area water management plan.
Harty said OPG will stay within those guidelines throughout the process of spilling water through the dam.
The objective, she said, is to avoid getting into a high water situation later in the year.
"We need to keep the lake level in a good 'sweet spot,' " she said. "Who knows what's going to happen with the spring thaw, or there could be heavy precipitation."
