Water fears ease on Nipissing

[kickingfrog]

http://www.nugget.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1525406

 

 

 

 

Water fears ease

Posted By Dave Dale

Posted 8:00pm Apr 15, 2009

 

 

Lake Nipissing was taking in as much water as it was losing Wednesday for the first time in almost two weeks, allowing dam operators a brief reprieve from a potential flood situation.

 

Phil Hall, a Ministry of Natural Resources land and water specialist, said the inflows and outflows were finally “balanced” after a “good run of weather.”

 

But Hall said the French River is at its flood limit with the bait shop at Wolsley Bay only a few centimetres away from wet floors.

 

“The river was very high,” he said after returning from a field trip to see first-hand how Lake Nipissing’s outflow is affecting shoreline properties.

 

He said the dams on the French River operated by Public Works Canada are allowing the near-maximum amount out of Lake Nipissing.

 

The lake is still 60 centimetres higher than the optimal level for this time of year, he said, although it’s 5 cm below the summer operating level.

 

“We’re three weeks ahead of where we like to be and the ice is still intact.”

 

Hall is one of a couple dozen people who hold a teleconference call every week to get an idea where water levels are and what can be done about it.

 

Federal, provincial and independent dam operators, as well as community represenatives and various agencies participate in the strategy sessions.

 

A day-long rain followed by wet snow April 3 and 4 gave watershed managers something to worry about with the lake rising by more than 8 cm a day and dams spilling maximum volumes.

 

Cold weather followed and tightened up the system, although Hall said one heavy rain storm could present challenges.

 

Snow readings indicate there’s about 83 cm of saturated snow in the Ombabika Lake area, which feeds the Sturgeon River that provides 60% of the Lake Nipissing’s inflow.

 

“They’re still in winter mode up there,” Hall said.

 

Giving everyone room to breathe, he said, is the fact the temperature has been ideal for “sublimation,” the process of turning snow directly into gas that rises into the atmosphere instead of water running into creeks.

 

“It’s been perfect melting conditions . . . it certainly helped us out.”

 

The forecast for the next five days also offers reason for optimism, Hall said, and they hope to keep the French River “rolling” for another three weeks.

 

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