Water levels down, but Thames River still unpredictable
Water levels continue to drop, but a stubborn ice jam — combined with Tuesday’s potentially nasty weather — will make for continued unpredictability on the Thames River, officials say. There has been no change at the mouth of the river in Lighthouse Cove, west of Chatham, with an ice jam remaining as of Monday, according to the Lower Thames Valley Conservation Authority. A localized state of emergency, which the Municipality of Chatham-Kent declared on Friday, remains in place. Municipal infrastructure and engineering services staff were on scene Monday morning assessing conditions on the river in West Kent. Measurements at Pump Road, west of Chatham, indicate water levels have dropped 24 inches in a 24-hour span, and 54 inches since the high-water mark that was recorded on Friday evening, municipal officials said. Dike conditions continue to improve due to the drop in the levels. Dikes on the north side of the river are stable.
Two small areas of seepage are occurring on the south side near St. Peter’s Church but have slowed. Pump Road will remain closed due to ice conditions on road. Railway officials are also assessing the conditions of the railway bed in the Jeannette’s Creek area as there are several large areas of seepage occurring adjacent to the flooded farmland. Municipal crews, contractors and Conservation Authority staff kept vigil throughout this past weekend, repairing dikes and patrolling the area. Environment Canada has issued a weather warning for southern Ontario, advising that a Colorado low is expected to move through the region Tuesday. This was followed by a freezing rain warning. Snow will change briefly to ice pellets, with two to five centimetres’ accumulation, before changing to freezing rain in the early hours of Tuesday. Freezing rain will continue for several hours before changing to rain later Tuesday morning, the national weather agency said.
Tim Dick, director of drainage for Chatham-Kent, said there are many factors that will come into play to determine how the storm could affect the Thames, including how quickly the precipitation comes down.
“What is the nature of the precipitation? Is it all rainfall? Is some of it frozen when it comes down? Is some snow, sleet?” he said. “The issue also is how permeable or not is the ground.
“One would think with this cold weather, a lot would sit on top of the ground. But we won’t know that until it comes. Our intentions are to closely monitor and we’ll react accordingly based on what the event brings.” Environment Canada is forecasting a high of 6 C and a low of -4 Tuesday. Daily highs are expected to remain above freezing until Saturday.
West Kent Coun. Mark Authier said he’s been impressed with municipal crews, contractors and the Conservation Authority. He said the situation has been “more of a wait and see” over the weekend, but added the banks have been getting saturated, with some requiring clay to repair.
“The ice has dropped a bit again, which is great. But as far as flow, there’s nothing happening,” he said.
Authier said the uncertainty is difficult on everyone: “You just don’t know.”