The decision is years away but the process of making a decision on what to do with New Brunswick’s Mactaquac Dam has begun.

NB Power has until 2030 to replace or remove the dam but the utility says the decision needs to be made soon, and is turning to the Canadian Rivers Institute for advice.

The institute will analyze NB Power’s options, which include rebuilding the dam or restoring the river. The institute says similar questions are being asked about aging dams around the world.

“So, the science that we’re going to do here in the river…this is the science that the rest of the world is going to come and be part of,” says Allen Curry of the Canadian Rivers Institute. “They’re going to come and want to see what we’re doing here.”

Operating since the late 1960s, the dam’s reservoir or head pond has become home to communities in and out of the water.

A group known as the Friends of Mactaquac Lake want to preserve both and are pleased NB Power is going to the Canadian Rivers Institute for advice.

 “Any review that we’ve done of Rivers Institute science and publication, we have no problem with,” says Larry Jewett of the Friends of Mactaquac Lake.

“We think they’re very science-based. They tend not to want to take positions but basically report the science and let the politicians do what they usually do.”

Despite their endorsement of the Canadian Rivers Institute, the Friends of Mactaquac stand by their assertion that the dam, and the lake behind it, must be maintained.

“If they were to ever look at taking it out, there’s a huge risk down river from Mactaquac Dam, environmentally, especially,” says Jewett.

“The Canadian Rivers Institute has a long history of doing great work and being an independent research body, so I certainly trust the work that they’ve done in the past and look forward to seeing what they’re going to produce,” says Stephanie Merrill of the Conservation Council of New Brunswick.

NB Power will make its decision based on the institute’s review. That decision, due in 2016, must then be approved by regulators and the government.

With files from CTV Atlantic's Andy Campbell