Watershed Conditions Statement - Water Safety - April 3 - 2020

Watershed Conditions Statement – Water Safety

DATE:    April 3, 2020

TIME:    3:00 pm               

Message sent on the basis of information received from:

• Kawartha Conservation Monitoring Network
• Trent-Severn Waterway
• Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry
• Environment and Climate Change Canada

Affected Municipalities:

• City of Kawartha Lakes
• Municipality of Trent Lakes
• Township of Scugog

The water levels in the Balsam, Cameron, Sturgeon and Pigeon Lakes continue to stay moderately elevated in response to increased inflows from the northern tributaries, such as the Burnt and Gull rivers.

As reported by officials of the Trent-Severn Waterway and Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, the Burnt and Gull rivers have peaked and are declining slowly. The snowpack in the headwaters of the Trent-Severn Waterway system has melted significantly. Current weather conditions, such as warm air temperatures and wind have reduced the rate of the snowmelt runoff and increased the amount of snowmelt evaporation. As a result, the inflow into Kawartha Lakes will continue decreasing slowly, maintaining steady water levels in the lakes.

Water levels in Lake Scugog are moderately elevated but stable at this time. The lake is expected to remain at the current level for the next 2-3 days before it starts declining.

Local rivers and streams within the Kawartha Conservation watershed are flowing at normal levels for this time of year.

No flooding problems are anticipated at this time. However, all near shore areas should be considered dangerous. Kawartha Conservation is warning all residents to stay a safe distance from all water bodies, as well as water structures such as bridges, culverts, and dams. Shorelines and banks are saturated and may be slippery and undercut. Currents in the vicinity of dams are swift and treacherous weak and unstable. Children should be warned of dangerous conditions and caregivers should maintain a close watch on children who are outside.

Trent-Severn Waterway officials are monitoring water levels and flows throughout the system very closely and make adjustments to the water control structures as required. Additional information from the TSW is available at the Water Management InfoNet web page https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/lhn-nhs/on/trentsevern/info/infonet.

For additional information on the Gull and Burnt rivers conditions please refer to the messages issued by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry athttps://www.ontario.ca/law-and-safety/flood-forecasting-and-warning-program or contact the Minden Area office at 705-286-5207.

This Watershed Conditions Statement – Water Safety – Kawartha Lakes will be in effect until Monday, April 6^th, 2020. 

Kawartha Conservation will continue monitoring water levels and flows and notify the public and municipalities within its watershed jurisdiction of any changes. We are in close communication with partner agencies such as the Trent Severn Waterway, Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, and neighbouring Conservation Authorities as to this situation.

If you are aware of or have concerns about flooding, please contact Kawartha Conservation at 705.344.0155.

Iryna Shulyarenko                                                             Emma Collyer

Hydrologist                                                                        Director, Integrated Watershed Management

Watershed Conditions Statement – Water Safety is a general notice that existing or potential conditions pose a risk to personal safety.  Watershed Conditions Statements - Water Safety may be issued when streams are flowing at or near bankfull levels, when ice conditions are unsafe, or when stream banks are icy, soft and/or slippery.