HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1977-03-17, Page 23tat
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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)
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SIGNAL
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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)
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