Cleveland Dam testing underway in North Vancouver along Capilano River

NORTH VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – If you are hiking or fishing along the Capilano River below the Cleveland Dam on Monday or Tuesday, you will likely hear some intermittent alarms.

The Metro Vancouver regional district is doing the final round of operational testing for a public alarm system, meant to warn people of rapidly rising water if the spillway gates malfunction again.

Sirens will be tested between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. at five locations between the dam and the mouth of the Capilano River. The alarms will be tested for up to seven minutes each time.

The sirens are located at the top of the dam, at the Capilano River Fish Hatchery, at the Trans-Canada Highway Bridge over the river, and on the northeast side of the bridge on Marine Drive crossing the Capilano river.

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Another two alarms are still being planned.

The system was installed last month after a father and son were killed when the dam opened without warning on Oct. 1, sending a surge of water rushing down the river where the men were fishing.. The goal is to try to prevent another tragedy like the one last October.

A preliminary review a week after the deaths found the “clearest contributing factor” that led to the drownings was “human error related to programming of the control system for the spillway gate.”

Metro Vancouver says the alarms include audible and visible signals to let people know when the dam is set to open.