GRCA increases reservoir storage
Posted Jun 26, 2017 02:08:28 PM.
Last Updated Jun 26, 2017 06:54:13 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Scattered thunderstorms rolling through our region this afternoon could contribute to rising water levels and ongoing floods in the Grand River watershed.
Cam Linwood with the Grand River Conservation Authority (GRCA) says, while the northern watershed is mostly receding now, the GRCA is increasing the water storage capacity in the large reservoirs just in case.
“We are certainly ensuring that our operational strategy is focused on instances where there could be some additional rainfall in the forecast and we’re keeping an eye on things,” he says. “Which is essentially why we’re making some more flood storage capacity in our reservoirs at this point, to ensure that we have capacity to deal with those events if they occur.”
Flows in the river through Waterloo region peaked at near record levels this weekend, having received up to 100mm of rainfall by Friday. However, flood warnings only continue for Haldimand County.
Residents are still urged to stay off the waterways.
“We are still maintaining a safety message,” Linwood says. “There’s still a significant amount of debris in the river as well from this event. So we want people to use an abundance of caution when you’re around the river.”
Linwood expects flows to return to more normal summer conditions by the end of the week, “however, recognizing that that rainfall may have an impact.”
