Conestogo Dam Rehabilitation Project

Located about 30 minutes northwest of Elmira, the Conestogo Dam was built in 1958 and is one of seven multi-purpose dams built by the GRCA to help reduce the impact of flooding year-round and augment river flows during periods of low flow.

Maintenance projects are regularly completed to ensure the dam is operating safely. Multiple projects have been completed to maintain and upgrade the dam over the years, including earlier phases of this multi-year comprehensive concrete rehabilitation project beginning in 2019. In 2021, an assessment of the upstream face of the dam showed that years of wind, water and ice exposure had resulted in concrete degradation. As a result, the GRCA contracted a company to repair portions of the dam. Work on the downstream walls of the dam was undertaken in 2019, 2020 and 2021, and on the road deck in 2022. Beginning in 2024, concrete repairs to the upstream (reservoir facing) side of the dam began. These repairs were completed in 2025. 

There is no major construction work to the dam anticipated in 2026. The GRCA does not anticipate an early drawdown of the reservoir in 2026, as was done in 2024 and 2025. 

The next phases of construction are tentatively scheduled for the fall of 2027 and fall of 2028. Both phases will involve the concrete rehabilitation on the downstream side of the dam. The reservoir may need to be drawn down as a part of these phases of construction, subject to final planning.

This webpage will be updated throughout the duration of the project and will reflect any changes to the construction schedule.