GRCA calls in the heavy artillery to prevent flooding
Posted Feb 15, 2011 04:19:20 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The Grand River Conservation Authority is getting some help from the Canadian Coast Guard to prevent flooding in Port Maitland and Dunnville.
It has called in the Canadian Coast Guard Ship Griffon to help break up ice where the Grand meets Lake Erie. GRCA spokesperson Dave Schultz says ice can sometimes block the mouth of the river and cause serious flooding in the area.
This isn’t the first time the ice breaker has been used. Schultz says the Griffon visited the Grand twice in February 2009. It cleared out the mouth of the river ahead of a warm spell, but had to return a week later after the mouth became jammed again.
Schultz says the ice breaker’s work won’t really affect things at our end of the river but he says the GRCA is keeping an eye on water levels in the region with some warmer weather on the way this week. He says anyone living in a flood prone area should be on alert and he’s reminding residents to stay away from river banks.
