Flooding concerns continue in parts of Sudbury

Parts of Greater Sudbury continue to deal with flooding concerns in the aftermath of the spring warm-up from a few weeks ago.

On Tuesday, Conservation Sudbury issued a flood warning for areas along the Vermillion River, the lower portion of Junction Creek, Lily Creek and Wanapitei River.

The warning includes areas like Chelmsford, Dowling, Val Therese, Whitefish and Wahnapitae.

Chelmsford’s Larchmont Drive is adjacent to the Vermillion River and has experienced flooding twice in the past two weeks. Currently, the campgrounds on that road, Destiny Vermillion River Campground, are completely flooded.

Many residents have been forced to leave their vehicles on dry land and access their properties by kayak.

Corey Purvis has a kayak parked near the water to get to his property, and a pair of rubber boots in his vehicle. He said he’s grateful his home is on higher ground on the street and didn’t experience any flooding.

Tim Johnston has lived in the area with his family for 15 years. He said he has never experienced flooding quite like this.

“It’s never come this high above the hill and right behind my gazebo you can see behind me here is a 10-foot drop underwater,” Johnston said, pointing to his backyard where his gazebo is half underwater.

Johnston’s wife, Kim, and his nine-year-old daughter, Diamond, use the kayak to access their vehicle to run errands.

“It’s hard for us to get to the end of the road now because it’s a river, kind of,” Diamond said.

She said she loves spending time by the water, but she said she feels a bit scared of the water levels at times.

“Just in case it comes up really high,” she said.

Heather Bouchard has lived in the area for 40 years. She said the area has seen worse flooding before.

“It’s been worse, it’s been better,” she said.

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In an email to CTV News, Conservation Sudbury said it expects water levels will remain high for the next few days, due to the more than 80 millimetres of rain that fell in the past week.

It said Greater Sudbury residents are encouraged to call 311 to report any issues with culverts or ponding on the roads.

The flood warning will remain in place until May 10.