Lift Lock opens today

Waterway remains closed between from city to Burleigh Falls and from city to Trenton

The Peterborough Lift Lock will open for the season to boaters on Saturday as Parks Canada continues to phase-in the opening of the Trent-Severn Waterway after the deluge of rain over the past month.

The Peterborough Lift Lock and Lock 20 Ashburnham will open Saturday, meaning boaters will be able to navigate from Little Lake to Trent University and back.

The opening of the waterway had been scheduled for May 19 but was delayed a week due to the rain.

On Friday the stretch of the waterway between Lock 28 at Burleigh Falls in Peterborough County and Lock 42 at Couchiching in Simcoe County opened for navigation.

In addition to the two Peterborough locks, Saturday will also see the opening of the fabled Big Chute Marine Railway at Lock 45 as well as Locks 44 and 46, meaning boaters will also be able to navigate between Burleigh Falls and Georgian Bay at Port Severn.

The stretch between Peterborough and Burleigh Falls through Lakefield between Lock 22 Nassau Mills and Lock 27 Young’s Point will remain closed on Saturday due to high water, as will the stretch between Lock 19 Scotts Mills in Peterborough and Lock 1 in Trenton.

Another 28.1 millimetres of rain fell Thursday in Peterborough. There has now been 161.1 mm of rain so far this month in Peterborough, on top of 100.3 mm in April.

The Trent-Severn Waterway is a 386-kilometre system that links Georgian Bay to the Bay of Quinte on Lake Ontario.

The locks that are closed to boat traffic will be open to land-based visitation, according to Parks Canada spokeswoman Karen Feeley.

“This staged opening of the waterway will most importantly protect boater safety, and help to prevent further shoreline erosion and property damage experienced by local residents and businesses,” Feeley stated.

“Parks Canada will continue to work diligently to open the entire system for navigation and will open individual lock stations in stages as soon as it safe to do so. Updates will be provided regularly and communicated widely.

“All visitors are encouraged to always exercise caution around water but especially now with water flows less predictable and stable than during regular navigation season.”

Boaters can get current information on wait times and moo ring availability on Twitter at@TSW Boat er Info or @VTNSInfoNav.

Lockage is free to boaters for the whole season on the Trent-River Waterway and the Rideau Canal system in the Ottawa area as part of Canada 150 celebrations by the federal government.

The Otonabee Region Conservation Authority issued a water safety statement update Friday warning of unsafe conditions on the Kawartha Lakes and the Otonabee River watershed because of above-normal water levels and cold water temperatures.

A state of emergency that had been in place for a month due to flooding in Minden Hills was lifted on Friday.