Chilly nights keep floodwaters at bay; Nottawasaga / Simcoe

[Spiel]

Chilly nights keep floodwaters at bay

 

Mar 13, 2008

Laurie Watt / simcoe.com

 

 

 

Warmer days and cold nights are not only getting the maple syrup flowing – but they’re stopping the banks of rivers from overflowing.

 

The chances of a flood are low, as the forecast for the next two weeks calls for overnight lows below freezing, said Nottawasaga Valley Conservation Authority water resources technologist Brian Smith.

 

“We’re not too concerned yet. We do have a lot of snow and a lot of water within that snow. Snow density is more important (than volume). There’s a lot of water out there,” he said, adding the NVCA will be measuring snow Monday to get a sense of amount of water runoff that is stored in the snowbanks.

 

“The forecasts are (calling for) below-freezing temperatures at night. That would be perfect. The snow would go slowly. (But) If we have warm days and nights for a continued period, like we did in January, everything runs off and if that’s mixed with rain, that increases the potential for flooding.”

 

The Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority is reporting higher than usual water levels for the lake this spring, due to the January thaw. The lake is already one foot (0.3 metres) above normal, and that’s expected to grow as the spring melt occurs. Friday, melt was expected to add to that, but the LSRCA agreed the colder forecast will stabilize the snow pack.

 

Simcoe County’s emergency planning manager Cathy Clark noted Lake Simcoe is one inch below its capacity, but that the Trent-Severn Waterway Commission has the gates at Washago wide open to lower the lake’s level and send water into Georgian Bay.

 

“It is a concerted effort,” she said of the LSRCA-waterway commission work. “It’s definitely at the forefront of my file.”

 

Clark is also working with lower-tier municipalities to ensure they have plans in place, should a sudden warm spell, along with rain, hit the area.