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
Canada to launch 'national action plan' to fight auto theft
The federal government is launching what it calls its 'national action plan' to combat auto thefts, which will include stronger penalties for thieves, and increased information sharing between police agencies, government officials and border enforcement.
U.S. Supreme Court rejects appeal from former Guantanamo detainee Omar Khadr
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected an appeal by a Canadian-born former Guantanamo detainee who was seeking to wipe away his war crimes convictions, including for killing a U.S. soldier in Afghanistan.
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.
Iran's president and foreign minister die in helicopter crash at moment of high tensions in Mideast
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and the country's foreign minister were found dead Monday hours after their helicopter crashed in fog, leaving the Islamic Republic without two key leaders as extraordinary tensions grip the wider Middle East.
Michael Cohen says he stole from Trump's company as defence presses key hush money trial witness
Former Donald Trump attorney Michael Cohen admitted Monday to jurors in the Republican's hush money trial that he stole tens of thousands of dollars from Trump's company as defence lawyers seized on the star witness' misdeeds to attack his credibility.
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.
Woman, 35, in critical condition after her truck collided with a Via Rail train near Montreal
A 35-year-old woman is in critical condition after the pick-up truck she was driving was struck by a Via Rail passenger train Monday morning in Quebec's Monteregie region.
Investors watching posts from 'Crypto King' in the wake of fraud, money laundering charges
Former investors of the self-styled “Crypto King” say they are watching his social media accounts and worried his displays of wealth are signs he’s spending their money, even now, as another large expense tied to Aiden Pleterski has triggered a previously unreported lawsuit.
Almost 2 months after it destroyed Baltimore's Key Bridge, the Dali cargo ship has been moved
The cargo ship Dali is being moved from the site of its catastrophic collision with the Francis Scott Key Bridge in a crucial step toward fully reopening the busy Port of Baltimore.