French River officials hope worst is behind them with flood
Officials in the municipality of French River appear to be cautiously optimistic that the worst is behind them following a flood warning that’s been in place for almost a week now.
At least three roads are underwater and a few properties are under threat from where nearby waterways have spilled their banks.
“In terms of water levels, it seems like things are peaking right now,” CAO Marc Gagnon told councillors in an update Tuesday night.
“Lake Nipissing seems to be under control, it has pretty well reached the peak of the levels and we are still observing high water levels within Wolseley Bay which has peaked as well and is slightly on the decline. Dry Pine Bay is also sort of levelling off."
- Download the CTV News app now
- Get local breaking news alerts
- Daily newsletter with the top local stories emailed to your inbox
Gagnon said they saw a slight increase of about two cm in both of those areas from the rain on Tuesday.
"But with the rain being the lesser amount of rain being called for this week, we are being optimistic in that we can get things under control," he added.
"And then slowly maneuver Lake Nipissing back down to the proper levels and reducing the pressure on the French River at the same time.”
According to Gagnon’s research, Dry Pine Bay was pushing 634 cubic metres per second during the flood of 2019 and things are currently sitting at 546 cubic metres per second.
He credits a lot of the work to the volunteer firefighters and public works staff, who alongside Team Rubicon Canada, have been filling and laying out another 500 sandbags in low-lying areas.
The mantra has been to be proactive rather than reactive.
“So we’re going in there to help principal residences, not secondary sheds or any other garages or anything like that, just to make sure. It’s been working great, they have more work to do tomorrow. They’ve replenished our sandbags and another 200 is available,” he said.
Councillor Dean Wenborne sits on one of the watershed committees that involves the dams heading up to Lake Nipissing.
He said the situation was dire for those communities along the lakeshore.
“It’s kind of interesting that in our conference calls, that all around the lake, we got thanks here in French River for being willing to take some water to relieve them on the lake,” Wenborne said.
“I know it doesn’t make the people who are hurting here feel any better but that is the case and I think we did the right thing and they appreciated at the dam that we were saying we could take some added pain to relieve the situation because it was dangerous on the lake.”
The town has been putting up the Team Rubicon volunteers on the second floor of the arena.
“I think that’s great to have volunteers offer to do that, it’s a lot of hard work,” said Deputy Mayor Renee Carrier.
“I just want to go on the record to say how much as council we appreciate our volunteer firefighters and our staff that came out on the weekend, they were quite visible and the feedback that we’re getting from residents is one of appreciation,” said Mayor Gisele Pageau, who added they’re also grateful to the veterans who volunteer through Team Rubicon.
Council will get a recommendation to formally thank the volunteers of Team Rubicon once the situation is over.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Judge in Trump's hush money trial threatened to throw witness out of court for behavior on stand
Michael Cohen testified Monday that he stole tens of thousands of dollars from his ex-boss Donald Trump’s company, an admission defence lawyers hope to use to undermine Cohen’s credibility.
What is BORG drinking, and why is it a dangerous trend? An expert explains
If you've been to a party lately and haven't seen someone drinking a BORG, you're likely not partying with college students.
The world's best airline is paying staff a bonus of 8 months' salary
Singapore Airlines will reward its employees with a bonus worth nearly eight months of salary, a person familiar with the matter told CNN on Friday.
Oilers win Game 7 over Canucks, advance to Western Conference Final
The Edmonton Oilers weathered a late Vancouver Canucks charge on Monday night, beating the hosts 3-2 to win their seven-game second-round playoff series in the decisive showdown.
McGill says pro-Palestinian protest outside senior administrator's home 'crosses the line'
McGill University has denounced a pro-Palestinian protest held Sunday outside the home of one of its senior administrators.
Red Lobster probes 'endless shrimp' losses after bankruptcy filing
U.S.-based restaurant chain Red Lobster has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in a Florida court after securing $100 million in financing commitments from its existing lenders, the company said on Sunday.
Katy Perry sings goodbye to 'American Idol'
Katy Perry said her goodbyes on 'American Idol' after seven seasons. On Sunday night’s live 'idol' season finale, a medley of Perry's hit songs were performed, including 'Teenage Dream,' 'Dark Horse' and 'California Gurls.'
Microsoft's AI chatbot will 'recall' everything you do on a PC
Microsoft wants laptop users to get so comfortable with its artificial intelligence chatbot that it will remember everything you're doing on your computer and help figure out what you want to do next.
Judge cites error, will reopen sentencing hearing for man who attacked Nancy Pelosi's husband
A federal judge will reopen the sentencing hearing for the man who broke into Nancy Pelosi's San Francisco home and bludgeoned her husband with a hammer after the judge failed to allow him to speak during his court appearance last week.