Halifax Water to start next phase of Sawmill Creek daylighting project this spring

The public had a chance to learn more about the next steps of the Sawmill Creek daylighting project during two public engagement sessions hosted by Halifax Water in Dartmouth on Wednesday.

The Sullivan’s Pond stormwater system moves stormwater from Lake Banook and Sullivan’s Pond and the upstream watershed to Halifax Harbour. The system was installed in 1972 to reduce flooding after Hurricane Beth the previous year flooded downtown Dartmouth.

But the corrugated metal pipes in the stormwater system are past their lifespan. Rather than replace the system of pipes, Halifax Water worked with Oceans and Fisheries Canada (DFO) and the community to design a project to daylight the Sawmill Creek and give a new passage for fish to swim from the Halifax Harbour to the system of lakes in Dartmouth.

Phase 1 of the project included daylighting the portion of the creek near Sullivan’s Pond.

Now, Phase 2 will start this year. That includes is the extension of the Dundas bridge and Canal Street to redirect traffic. Tender for that work will be awarded in May with construction starting in June. The work is expected to be done by October 2024.

Then, in 2025, a tender for the work on the stormwater channel under the Prince Albert-Portland-Alderney intersection will be awarded in May, the construction will start in June. That construction is expected to be finished in November 2025.

The final work will include a new bridge and road into Dartmouth Cove, an active transportation trail along Alderney Drive and Prince Albert Road, a new pond at the foot of Starr Park, and a cul-du-sac at Irishtown Road with a bridge over the creek to Prince Albert Road.

Once the project is finished, fish will be able to travel the creek from Halifax Harbour to Sullivan’s Pond. As Erica Butler wrote in June 2016, DFO required that the project include a fish passage so and trout gaspereau can move through to Sullivan’s Pond the lake system in Dartmouth. There are fish ladders every few metres in the project to make that passage easier for the fish.

Peter Maynard, a project engineer with Halifax Water, who was at the public engagement sessions at Findlay Centre on Wednesday said there are currently culverts under Hawthorne Street that prevent fish from getting to Lake Banook, but said that eventually will be fixed as well.

Coun. Sam Austin wrote about Phase 2 in his January e-newsletter:

I really like what I’m seeing, especially the possibility of having an area alongside the new pond where people can get close to the water. That the river was at the bottom of a steep bank and therefore had to be fenced, was a frequent request for improvement in Phase 2. Phase 1 was more constrained in terms of space, but in Phase 2, there is space alongside Prince Albert Road where HRM and Halifax Water can hopefully do better.

The total cost of the project is $30 million, which is being cost shared between Halifax Water and HRM.

Maynard said the project is designed to last at least 100 years, so double the lifespan of the stormwater pipeline in there now.

“Because it’s an open channel and has that long life, the operational cost of having to inspect the sewer pipe that’s underground are very much minimized. You can see what’s going on anywhere around. From an operational perspective, there’s a little less involved,” Maynard said. 

Jeff Myrick, manager of communications and public affairs with Halifax Water, told the Examiner about 100 people attended the afternoon session to learn about Phase 2. A few dozen more people showed up for the evening session. There were poster boards set up and a video of a flyover showing how the the completed project will look.

“Now that people have seen it done and how pleasing it is, people are actually excited,” Myrick. “From a planning perspective, it will look very pleasing when it’s done.”