Now, we face risk of flooding
Weather watching becomes full-time effort this spring
It’s not enough that our political and economic situation is a chaotic, confusing mess, the weather continues to hammer us.
I know some people in the area are still without power, or finding their power comes and goes and getting back to normal isn’t easy. For example, the power has just been restored at the Campbellford and District Curling and Racquet Club and it may take a while for the fitness rooms to get warmed up. The good news is that curling season ended on Saturday so it was time for the ice to melt anyway.
Fully recovering from the ice storm will take weeks or months. Earlier this week, Lower Trent Conservation announced that all trails in Seymour and Goodrich-Loomis conservation areas, and Proctor Park in Brighton are closed until further notice.
“Our staff will be working hard to assess the dangers to the public, remove broken trees, clear limbs, and make the trails safe for visitors again,” the conservation agency said.
Late on Wednesday, Lower Trent issued a flood watch statement for the Trent River warning residents that conditions are dangerous along the banks and there could be some flooding. The flood watch will be in place until next Wednesday, because we face lots more rain over the next few days.
The agency said we can expect 30 to 45 mm of rain in the watershed between now and Sunday.
“Water levels and flows for the Trent River are currently seasonal for this time of year, but due to the spring freshet (the increased influx of water to the system from melting snowpack in the northern reaches of the Trent Severn Waterway), flows and levels on the Trent River are high,” it said.
“With the current increased flow within the Trent River, the warmer temperatures and forecasted precipitation have the potential to raise water levels and increase flows further. Widespread flooding is not expected at this time; however, localized inundation of low-lying areas and poorly drained areas, and localized roadway ponding is possible.”
If you need more information, or spot something you want to report you can contact Lower Trent. “Daily water level updates are available at www.LTC.on.ca,” the agency says. “If you have concerns about water levels, please contact Lower Trent Conservation at (613) 394-4829. Anyone having concerns about water levels on the Trent River can contact Parks Canada (705)-750-4950 or trentsevern@pc.gc.ca.”
Watching the election
If you’ve paid any attention to the ongoing federal election campaign, you’ve no doubt seen that most polls show the Liberals appear to have passed the Conservative party and now seem to be in majority territory.
The website 338canada.com, which aggregates all the polls and applies algorithms to sort out what all the data mean, now shows a 90 per cent chance of a Liberal majority and a 9 per cent chance of a minority. It currently shows the Liberals winning 193 seats, 21 more than the 172 needed for a majority.
Here in our riding, Northumberland-Clarke, the trend toward the Liberals is also clear, but they started from a long way back. The current numbers here show a 90 per cent chance of a Conservative win, but that’s down from 99 per cent when the campaign started. See my earlier story here.
You can read all Trent Hills News stories anytime on the website.