Heavy rains and melting snow caused some limited flooding, but little damage in the region.
Flood waters that spilled over the banks of the Maitland River in Harriston and the Conestogo River in Drayton were already receding by Monday, officials report.
With waters rising and rain in the forecast, the Maitland Valley Conservation Authority (MVCA) issued a flood watch for Harriston on April 11 at 10am.
The watch covered not only the Harriston trailer park, the first area of town to be flooded any time the Maitland rises, but also areas in the eastern portion of the town that were affected by flooding in 2008.
In an email to the Advertiser, Minto CAO Bill White said “there was a tremendous amount of work that went into making sure people and property were protected, starting with the emergency plan prepared by the county and implemented locally.”
White said detailed planning actually began on March 20 with a combined emergency exercise and flood operations meeting involving the county and other partners.
“We talked specifically about watershed conditions and what steps would need to be taken in the event flooding occurred,” said White.
“Mayor (George) Bridge and the fire chief (Chief Chris Harrow) went door to door and delivered our flood control pamphlet shortly after that to the most vulnerable areas and talked about the idea of evacuation.”
When it became apparent flooding was imminent last Friday, Minto’s flood operations group met and the Minto Fire Department went door to door again and prepared residents of the Harriston trailer park for an evacuation.
Only five trailers remain in the park, which is scheduled for closure due to ongoing flooding concerns and liability issues.
Residents of four of the trailers had left by Saturday afternoon and spent two nights at a local hotel, while the other went to stay with relatives.
Town officials stayed in touch with the residents, who planned to return to their homes on Monday, White said.
Water reached the edges of the trailer park by Sunday morning, but flooding peaked and waters began to recede.
“Since we never reached Stage 2 evacuation, with the trailer park clear we were able to focus on monitoring the river and preparing if the river rose more than projected,” said White.
The MVCA provided patrols and updates every three hours to the flood operations group. Minto Fire and town media releases were coordinated and social media messages linked “to ensure there was consistent messaging,” said White.
Minto public works staff worked through the weekend to make sure sewage pumps kept working and water supply was maintained to residents, who, as of Sunday, had been asked to limit their use of the sewage system, which was at capacity.
Westario was on standby in case power had to be shut off, and OPP and EMS workers were prepared in case roads needed to be closed and a broader evacuation became necessary.
“Overall we were pleased with the amount of preparation and how the flooding has been handled to date. We will need to be alert for the coming weeks if rainfall is excessive,” said White.
By Tuesday, the MVCA had downgraded the flood warning for Harriston and the Maitland and Nine Mile River watersheds to a watershed conditions statement. The MVCA says both watersheds received less than 10 millimetres of rain, and levels in Harriston were continuing to drop.
The Grand River Conservation Authority (GRCA) has also been dealing with high waters in its watershed.
In an April 14 press release, the GRCA stated officials had been in communication with Mapleton Township and asked the township’s flood coordinator to warn residents in the Level 1 flood zone in Drayton about possible flooding.
While the Conestogo River did spill over its banks in some areas, but there were no major problems in Drayton, said Mapleton Fire Chief Rick Richardson on Monday.
“The water came up the bank at the agricultural society building and flooded the playground area and the pavilion across the river, but peaked Sunday morning” before receding, Richardson said in an email to the Advertiser.
“We had no damage or no evacuations to take care of.”
A flood watch message issued on April 11 was extended through Monday and the GRCA said flooding could persist in low-lying as the spring runoff continues.
The upper Grand River watershed received 20 to 40mm of rainfall late Saturday and early Sunday, on top of the already saturated landscape, causing river flows to rise quickly Sunday morning.
The Grand River experienced high flows in the past week, notably in Centre Wellington, as observed in Fergus and Elora. The river breached its banks in several areas, but no major flooding was reported.
The GRCA stated on Monday that with reservoirs reaching capacity, discharges were being increased into the Grand, Conestogo and Speed Rivers to maintain storage for future rainfall.
On Tuesday the GRCA stated that while river levels were expected to recede slowly, a flood warning message remained in effect for the Grand, Conestogo and Speed Rivers.
Town officials stayed in touch with the residents, who planned to return to their homes on Monday, White said.
Water reached the edges of the trailer park by Sunday morning, but flooding peaked and waters began to recede.
“Since we never reached Stage 2 evacuation, with the trailer park clear we were able to focus on monitoring the river and preparing if the river rose more than projected,” said White.
The MVCA provided patrols and updates every three hours to the flood operations group. Minto Fire and town media releases were coordinated and social media messages linked “to ensure there was consistent messaging,” said White.
Minto public works staff worked through the weekend to make sure sewage pumps kept working and water supply was maintained to residents, who, as of Sunday, had been asked to limit their use of the sewage system, which was at capacity.
Westario was on standby in case power had to be shut off, and OPP and EMS workers were prepared in case roads needed to be closed and a broader evacuation became necessary.
“Overall we were pleased with the amount of preparation and how the flooding has been handled to date. We will need to be alert for the coming weeks if rainfall is excessive,” said White.
By Tuesday, the MVCA had downgraded the flood warning for Harriston and the Maitland and Nine Mile River watersheds to a watershed conditions statement. The MVCA says both watersheds received less than 10 millimetres of rain, and levels in Harriston were continuing to drop.
The Grand River Conservation Authority (GRCA) has also been dealing with high waters in its watershed.
In an April 14 press release, the GRCA stated officials had been in communication with Mapleton Township and asked the township’s flood coordinator to warn residents in the Level 1 flood zone in Drayton about possible flooding.
While the Conestogo River did spill over its banks in some areas, there were no major problems in Drayton, said Mapleton Fire Chief Rick Richardson on Monday.
“The water came up the bank at the agricultural society building and flooded the playground area and the pavilion across the river, but peaked Sunday morning” before receding, Richardson said in an email to the Advertiser.
“We had no damage or no evacuations to take care of.”
A flood watch message issued on April 11 was extended through Monday and the GRCA said flooding could persist in low-lying areas as the spring runoff continues.
The upper Grand River watershed received 20 to 40mm of rainfall late Saturday and early Sunday, on top of the already saturated landscape, causing river flows to rise quickly Sunday morning.
The Grand River experienced high flows in the past week, notably in Centre Wellington, as observed in Fergus and Elora. The river breached its banks in several areas there, but no major flooding was reported.
Those in Grand Valley weren’t so lucky, as the Grand River breached its banks there, closing Water Street (Dufferin Road 25) and flooding area yards and basements.
The GRCA stated on Monday that with reservoirs reaching capacity, discharges were being increased into the Grand, Conestogo and Speed Rivers to maintain storage for future rainfall.
On Tuesday the GRCA stated that while river levels were expected to recede slowly, a flood warning message remained in effect for the Grand, Conestogo and Speed Rivers.
