Dredging at Port of Orillia creating unsafe ice conditions: OPP

Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) and the city are urging people to exercise caution while dredging is underway at the Port of Orillia.

“For anyone planning on visiting (the downtown waterfront) for snowmobiling, ice fishing or sightseeing, be aware of ongoing dredging operations that (are) resulting in thin ice and open water,” the OPP Highway Safety Division posted on X.

“There is ice out on Lake (Couchiching), but there is no frozen-solid ice here,” Sgt. Kerry Schmidt notes in a video conversation with a city worker.

The worker explains the dredging is taking place in an effort to remove sediment from the port and that ice is being broken to allow that to happen.

Danger - Open water in the Port of Orillia #NoIceIsSafeIce
For anyone planning on visiting https://t.co/InacD0mLoM for snowmobiling, ice fishing or sightseeing be aware of ongoing dredging operations that is resulting in thin ice and open water. @OPP_CR @cityoforillia ^ks pic.twitter.com/LHPiaCFUKu

— OPP Highway Safety Division (@OPP_HSD) January 10, 2025