West Montrose folks to discuss Grand flooding

WEST MONTROSE — The Grand River Conservation Authority and Township of Woolwich will hold a public meeting in West Montrose to talk about recent flooding after a record rainfall.

Some residents have said they didn’t get enough warning that their homes might be flooded after heavy rain fell on the watershed on June 23.

The forecast was for 10 to 15 millimetres of rain, but upwards of 120 mm (12 cm) fell on some parts of the Grand River watershed.

“We’ve had a month to review the event, look at the data,” said conservation authority spokesperson Cam Linwood.

At the meeting, residents will hear the data and a detailed timeline of what occurred and how it was managed.

“There’s been a lot of hearsay about how the event unfolded,” Linwood said. “The event itself had so many moving parts.”

The meeting will be held Monday, July 24, from 7 to 9 p.m. at West Montrose United Church, 42 Covered Bridge Dr. It will begin with a presentation by the conservation authority’s director of engineering, Dwight Boyd.

Boyd also spoke at a June township council meeting in late June. He was asked to come to answer questions from concerned residents.

Conservation authority and municipal staff will be there to answer questions and speak to residents. The meeting will be chaired by Township of Woolwich Mayor Sandy Shantz.

Boyd will outline some suggestions for future improvements including their work on earlier warning of the flooding risk, and residents will be asked for their input on those suggestions.

“We’re also looking for feedback from residents,” Linwood said. “We’d like them to be a part of the process.”

Now that the conservation authority has seen a significant event like this, it has a better understanding of what will happen and which properties will be affected. Linwood said the situation was handled by the conservation authority as best as possible, given the magnitude of the rain and how quickly it fell.

Several homes in the village of West Montrose were affected by the flooding, along with West Montrose Family Camp trailer park.