City community services moving to Wolfe St.

The community services department is moving out of City Hall and going into the former offices of Peterborough and the Kawarthas Economic Development on Wolfe St. The building on Wolfe St. is owned by the city, and was vacated recently because PKED is moving into new offices at the VentureNorth building on George St. PKED has recently changed its name from Peterborough Economic Development (PED). As of May 15, the following city departments will be located at 210 Wolfe St: community services administration, recreation, arts culture and heritage, heritage preservation and sustainability. The staff telephone numbers and the email addresses of employees will remain the same. The new offices will be open the same hours are previously, at City Hall: 8:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. Free parking is available on Wolfe St. or in the visitor parking lot across the road.

With 40 to 70 millimetres of rain in the forecast for Thursday and Friday expected to cause localized flooding, Otonabee Region Conservation Authority (ORCA) upgraded the flood watch issued Tuesday to a flood warning Wednesday.

Environment Canada issued a special weather statement, prompting the change, ORCA flood forecasting and warning duty officer Gordon Earle said.

Although five straight days of rain are predicted, most of it is expected to fall Thursday – as much as 50 mm – and Friday.

The flood warning was issued for all waterways, lakes and rivers in the conservation authority’s jurisdiction after areas north of the city saw 100 to 150 millimetres of rain fall in April and another 40 to 60 mm over the first days of May.

Peterborough itself got 100 mm in April – the norm for the month is 68.6 mm. If it rains as much as weather prognosticators predict, the norm for May – 81.5 mm – will be exceeded as well. At this point, the soil is largely incapable of absorbing any more water.

“The ground is saturated at this point. The water table is very high,” Earle said, explaining how the coming “deluge” of rain will translate mostly to runoff in streams and waterways that are already at above-average levels.

No major flooding is expected, but minor localized flooding is possible, he said.

As for the Trent-Severn Waterway, water levels on feeders such as the Burnt River, for example, are at the same peak levels they saw during the snow melt.

“We’re back into that kind of condition,” Earle said.

The difference is that the coming rainfall will add to the water levels of local waterways, including the Otonabee River, with a little more than two weeks to go before the navigation season begins, he said, adding that Parks Canada is doing everything it can to mitigate the situation.

The 44 reservoir lakes in the north, which are used to draw water into the system starting in June to maintain minimum navigable levels when evaporation levels surpass the amount of precipitation, are already maxed out.

“They are already full,” Earle said, adding that there is only so much that can be done when Mother Nature is involved. “You cannot plan for this amount of rain.”

The season isn’t shaping up to be anything like the historic drought the region endured for months last summer, Earle noted. “So far, it doesn’t look like we have any concerns about a repeat.”

The flood warning applies to the City of Peterborough as well as Douro-Dummer, Selwyn, Asphodel-Norwood, OtonabeeSouth Monaghan and Cavan Monaghan townships, as well as parts of the City of Kawartha Lakes and Trent Hills.

Officials are asking everyone to avoid lakes, rivers and creeks as high levels, fast flows and water temperatures just a few degrees above freezing pose a safety risk.

“It’s a deadly combination,” Earle said.

Dams, culverts and other watercontrol areas should also be avoided, he added, pointing that the words Stay Away From the Edge translate to a handy acronym - SAFE. “I’d hate to see a tragedy as a result of watershed conditions.”

To report flooding, call 705-7455791 ext. 228, or 911 in a flooding emergency. You can also email orcafloodduty@otonabee.com.

Otonabee-South Monaghan Township issued a notice about flooding along Division Rd. and Drummond Line on Wednesday. BaseLineRoadbetweenMacGregor Bay Rd. and Drummond Line was closed and the township urged motorists to use caution on Sweeney Line between Old Norwood Rd. and Division Rd. as water rises.

NOTE: Otonabee Conservation’s website is at www.otonabee.com.