Debris Booms at La Romaine

The two booms were installed on the Romaine River, one upstream of the water intake, and the other upstream of the sluice gates. The purpose of both booms was primarily to protect the two structures from wooden debris, especially during the flooding period.

The permanently deployed booms were also designed to resist the environmental conditions including 1.2m thick ice, and act as safety booms to warn boaters away from the hydraulic structures during the summer months.

As the Debris Booms remain in the river year-round, it was also necessary for them to be able to resist the ice forces driven by wind, currents, and waves during the freeze-up, winter and breakup periods. The Debris Booms were both installed before the river diversion occurred, and were designed to withstand a water level rise of 50m during their first year of existence. The Debris Boom anchors were drilled on dry land before the water level rise.

Since 2013, these Debris Booms have retained the majority of the debris away from the sluice gates and water intake, have resisted the ice as expected, and have not required any maintenance.