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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1977-03-17, Page 23tat be 6 Mi is b aver h hey to iu be gges s lose y,., h s, 'd a hrou ed DM_ a he R rs, p pre ,f of nted 'y F the Imp :ailing ling, t, Mc oad leading to the Four Seasons Camp Ground in engulfed' the road. The road, along thep Maitland(atp River rn was washed out over the weekend and the owner i loodpt:tin, was the only access to the cam o, forced to evacuate his home before water levels photo) re that was jammed well passed Sa the weekend and.water levels` »Liver. There was minor floods alrd Friday broke up welled in thehe Maitland in the Wingham area where water Levels rose 12 feet above normal but the levels -.hould subside during the week. (staff photo) Tbe Z5obrit}j SIGNAL .STAR 6 1 intuit' streams and tributaries feeding the Maitland River were taxed with spring thaw and runoff last week and eoptributed to the swollen levels of the river. Most of the snow is now melted and presents nokrunoff problems: (staff photo) 1'1 YEAR—t! fullR.SDAY, MARCH 17. 1077 SECOND SECTION Maitland floods plains Several cottage and homeowners l ytIda. along tl g aitland River Valley watershed were forced to evacuate over the weekend as flood waters reached their peak. • The Wingham area was the hardest hit and home and store owners were forced to evacuate their premises as flood waters rose 10 to 12 feet. above normal this year, filling flood plains in the area. In the northern watershed areas of , Listowel and Harriston, the river level is below normal for this time of year although the river has risen six feet above the normal level. The water levels peaked Monday night and moved through the Auburn-Goderich area through the mouth to Lake Huron, Last Friday, as tem- peratures lingered above normal, ice began to flow from the northern sections of the river and collected at the mouth within a few hours. Ian Deslauriers, resource manager of the Maitland Valley Conservation Authority, explained that last weekend was critical depending on the amount of rainfall received and where it was concentrated. Only a portion of the an Th is ' is the first year that 4.Itiici�aiec�„ £rainfall was the Authority. has illy received 'n theareaon the —61e' ni tte"' i'E"s'""enmar1 weekend alleviating some of system in gauging river the fear of flooding and the levels. The system is a ice jams dislodged. Deslauriers indicated that there still was a jam in the Wingham area that was responsible for the flooding in that town. "Most of the ice has'°moved through and it appears that the ice danger is over with" Mr. Deslauriers said, "rain is. the only potential danger we face now." The high water levels are beginning to subside and with the warm temperatures most of the snow 'runoff has gone. Deslauriers 'explained that the river would remain swollen most of the week and rain was the only potential hazard for future flooding. telephone ' hooked to a recorder that delivers in number codes the number of meters of water in the river and these figures can be converted to cubic feet per second to give an accurate account of the river flow.. Staff gauges are also used and the authority, in the process of updating its equipment each year, hopes that this year could justify the need for six more staff gauges to bring the total .to 12. Deslauriers explained that major flooding was averted with the ideal weather con= ditions of the past few weeks. Although temperatures have risen above seasonal norms night temperatures have also dropped to near freezing: te'We have been very for- tunate with the ideal weather conditions as it has been warm during the day and temperatures have dropped to near freezing at night,' he said. "All the melting oc- curring during the day has been freezing at night and therefore staged the runoff period. Wecan only hope it , continues.' There has been little damage in the Goderich area and County engineer Jim Britnell estimated that there were a few minor shoulder and road washouts in the county hut no bridges were damaged by ice jams. Water did rise over a road in Wawanosh at Balls Bridge. Crews will not begin work (continued on page 11A) n rill t ti't+it trrt�ter�rnM lrt�lit� ywoke the' jean over the weekend itlafid peitted lid the Goderieh 's.% i Wl uuy. a1 of flooding althoug the atilt of the week. (staff photo) S, Octet' tittle chance tit high to the end I or the fifth time in as many years residents and merchants in lower .town 'Wtngham,- bund themselves rescuing belongings and merchandise from the rising .water of the Maitland River. Rain early in the weekend and continued Mild temperatures resulted M a ' heavy snow melt and high water levels along the Maitland watershed. About IA Winghant lam lies had to be evacuated from -their homes at the peak of the flood. Damlage Was limited by early warnings of the approaching flood given by officials of the,Maitland Valley Conservation Authority. (Staff photo) tri°